jacket

MADE | BurdaStyle Parka 09/2012 #129

November 9, 2015 By Chie

My new parka is ready for just in time for the coming cold! I’ve been wanting to make a parka since I realized I did not have a single item in Khaki color in my closet. I was deciding between this military jacket and BurdaStyle 09/2012 #129, but finally decided to go for the version with a hood.

Guess what, how much it cost to make this parka? 700 yen! That’s about 5 USD in today’s conversion. I bought 4 meters of khaki fabric, 2 meters of knit for lining, and 1 meter for sleeve lining all at Nippori Tomato. I had interface and buttons already. The material was cheap, but it took me about 10 hours to finish. BurdaStyle is notorious for confusing sewing instructions and this parka was no exception, unfortunately. Many of the instructions didn’t make sense. So, I had to use my gut instinct. I do not recommend this pattern for a sewing beginner. It has details like bellows pocket, fly front and button holes.
Here is some pattern review.
Size: I cut the smallest size, size 36.
Modifications: I read on BurdaStyle member project that she slimmed the sleeves a bit so I did the same. I took in about 10cm all around arm. I am glad I did this since even after the modification, the parka has plenty of room for laying.
What I love: The pockets. They are great. They fit a wallet, water bottle, iPhone, snacks… so many things. If I don’t feel like carrying my purse, I can just go out with this Parka.
What I would change: I found the elbow patch kind of unnecessary. If I were to do it, I might do it in leather or some other fabric with different texture.

I also hated the back vent. It’s slightly curved and it looks weird. The back hem itself has a slanted design, which I am not a huge fan of. I would modify it to have the straight hem.

I have something to say about the hood too. It is way too big to be functional. It covers your entire face so you can’t see what’s in front of you! I would definitely make it smaller next time.
Some fun variation ideas: Add some fur around the edge of the hood for some winter proof variation? Or use some kind of fluffy fabric for lining (except for sleeves). It might also be nice to add some breast pockets for additional details. Finally, replace the buttons with zipper.

Next up… I’m making a blue lace dress to wear to my friend’s wedding!

秋から冬への変わり目のシーズン用に、パーカを作りました。
型紙は、BurdaStyleのこちら。
PDFでダウンロード出来ます。が！５０枚近くプリントし、貼り付けるのは結構な作業。

コート系は何度か作ったことがあったので（去年はこれを作りました）、なんとか仕上げましたが、本当に型紙の指示書がいけてないです。
わからなすぎ。。。
指示書は当てにしないことをお勧めします笑
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Hand-worked Buttonhole

June 2, 2015 By Chie

For the Butterick 4610 white jacket, I made a handworked buttonhole. I have a home sewing machine that does buttonhole (Thread Banger) but I didn’t feel like taking the sewing machine out of closet for just one buttonhole, so I decided to finish it by hand. I usually use my Juki industrial sewing machine and Juki home serger. My Thread Banger, that has been used to death is neatly been stored in the back of my closet.

Tutorials for handworked buttonholes are out there online already, so I won’t write a step-by-step process here. This one from by gum, by golly and this from A Fashionable Stitch are great. They are easy to follow and there are tons of pictures for graphic learners like me. I also made a reference to my Japanese sewing book, “Atarashii Bubunnui (新しい部分縫い）by Yutaka Shimanaka (嶋中豊）, pictured below. I love this book! The book goes over every sewing techniques you can think of for casual clothes sewing, going over different type of zipper opening to pockets. I find myself referencing this book over and over again while I made a tuxedo. I happened to find this book along with other sewing text books from Bunka Publishing at a local library for sale for 100 yen (1USD) each! I got so lucky.

I think handworked buttonholes are very durable, but I prefer the look of bound buttonholes. I used the latter for my first and second Butterick jacket/coat. Of machine sewn buttonholes, bound buttonholes and handworked buttonholes, which finish do you like the most?

こちらの白ジャケットは１つボタンなのですが、ボタンホールを手縫いで穴かがりしました。
１個しかボタンホールがないので、家庭用ミシンを取り出して始末するのが面倒くさかったのもあるのですが。
手縫いの穴かがりのいいところは持ちがいいところ。
市販のファストファッションのボタンホールみたいに穴がぼろぼろになったりしません。
が、ちょっと手作り感が強いかも。

少しこういった細かいところで差をつけられるのが手作りの醍醐味ですね。

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Me Made May 15 | Most Worn Item

May 22, 2015 By Chie

Sometimes when I am in the midst of sewing, I doubt that I will love what I’m making or actually wear it. There is a gap between the ideal creation you are aiming for and what you end up making. I spent a few nights making this jacket and at the end, I totally hated the experience. The fabric was given to me by a friend, and it feels like men’s shirting fabric. As soon as I cut the fabric for this jacket I thought the fabric and patterns didn’t match. I finished making this in mid March or so and it sat in my closet without being worn until recently.

I was presently surprised by how much I like this number, now the weather is warmed up enough for me to wear it. I still think the fabric was not best suited for the pattern, but I love anything white and the light weight jacket is so useful during this season when it’s still a bit chilly outside with just a t-shirt at night and early morning. This turned out to be the most worn item for Me Made May 15!

Speaking of MMM15, I pledged, and have been incorporating at least one handmade clothes a day so far. I’m so proud of myself for making my own wardrobe! In the past seven years of my sewing life, I’ve accumulated enough clothes for myself to wear something every day.

The hardest part of MMM I found was to take pictures of my outfit daily. Most of the time I’m not in the mood for being photographed or I don’t take enough selfies… I have a big mirror in my sewing room, but if I take a selfie in front of that mirror, you will end up seeing all the mess I’m working on in the background, so the photos are not going to be pretty… I admire those of you who post MMM photos on instagram everyday.

Outfit details: Jacket – Selfmade, T-shirt – T by Alexander Wang (best white T!), Earring – gu, Jeans – bought on Rakuten for cheap and destroy them myself.

I used Butterick 4610 for this jacket. You can see my first and second tries. I’m modifying the pattern each time and hopefully, I can use the edited pattern to make a pants suit soon! I’ve been collecting images for my ideal suits quite a while.

Check out the inside of the jacket! Isn’t it neat (bias finish)?

What’s your most worn garment so far for this year’s MMM?

海外のソーイングコミュニティの中では、毎年Me Made Mayというイベント（？）をやります。
詳しくはこちらに記載されている通りなのですが（英語のみです）、
毎年5月は1か月間、自分の作ったものを毎日着て、写真をとってシェアする企画です。
私は毎日は余裕がなく写真を撮れないのですが、毎日１つは自分で作ったものを取り入れています！

お客様とミーティングするときなど、「これも作ったんですよ」とか言えると、ちょっとうれしいです（自己満）。
この白いジャケットは5月に一番良く着ているもの。
作ってる最中は、あーこれだめだと思いつつ作ったのですが、
なぜか毎日手に取ってしまう笑
生地など、改善点は満載なのですが、白だし、丈もちょうど良くて。
パターンはButterickの4610番を使いました。

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