Patchwork Cat Jacket

About eight years ago, I made a patchwork blanket based on a quilt block idea I had about ten years ago.  I based the block on 4½" fabric squares.  Early last month, I wondered if I could figure out a version of the block based on the square die sizes I have for my die cutter.

I did a little sketching and math and arrived at cutting the squares at 35mm, the squares that would be cut into half square triangles at 40mm, and the squares that would be cut into quarter square triangles at 45mm.  Because I am not 100% committed to Perfect, I cut those squares into halves and quarters with scissors, so things were...variable...but workable.

The day I posted the previous project (still not happy with that), I cut enough squares and triangles to do a test, and made this 

Success!

Then the tedium started, eventually getting to this

 

 Eventually.

Mulberry Bouclé

After finishing the oversize bomber for a friend, I really wanted to make an oversize bomber for me.  Yes, I have made many bomber jackets for me over the years, but they have been considerably less generous in width and, especially, length.  I wanted this to be big.

I didn't feel like doing patchwork for this, though.  My last visit to the craft thrift store had turned up some dark pink toned wool bouclé, which the previous owner had cut sleeves from, then folded the sleeves and everything back up and did no more with.  I figured I'd make a blazer from it...until I decided I wanted to make a big bomber.  I knew the existing cut sleeve wouldn't be wide enough, but I figured I could use part of it, and add a seam to make a mock two-part sleeve.

There was the big question of which knit to use for the bands.  I have a lot of a pale salmon-y pink (also from the craft thrift store) that does coordinate, but I didn't like the idea of having lighter bands with the dark shell.  On a whim, I dug out what was left of the chintz print knit (used for a dress, a shirt, and in the patchwork cardigan) and tried to judge if it would coordinate well with the wool.  (Yes, that knit fabric is also from the craft thrift store.)  I decided that it didn't matter if it coordinated well--I just liked the idea of using it.

And then, for lining, I decided to coordinate with the floral print, and use the light blue charmeuse I picked up at the craft thrift store the same day I got the wool.

It is, perhaps, a bit more luxurious than I planned.  That's always nice.

Rain on a Parade

Simplicity 9896, released earlier this year, is a weird pattern

Where did the design come from?  Is it a knock off of something designer label that I'm completely unfamiliar with?  Was it originally intended as a costume/cosplay pattern, but they decided it was too complicated?  It seems like something science fiction. It has Pokémon Trainer Style.  It's also weirdly Kwik•Sew-esque. 

Whatever it is, I was drawn to it, and got it in the last Joann Simplicity sale.  I was in the middle of the patchwork cardigan at the time, and then I wanted to sew those two doll kimono,  then I decided I would try this pattern.

I very quickly regretted every decision I made on it.

But. It got better.

Purple Flannel Herringbone Blazer

After I finished the Halloween patchwork blazer, I wanted to give Butterick 4610 another try--specifically to see if the sleeves eased into the armscyes easier with a more appropriate fabric.

And it seems they do!

Halloween Patchwork Blazer

I have once again made a Halloween patchwork project.

I made the first one in 2020, inspired by a friend's similar project.  Then made another one the next year because my small yardage storage was getting crowded.  Last year I started to wonder if this was becoming a tradition.

And here we are this year, the evening before Halloween.

 

 I don't think it's a tradition yet--if it were, I might have thought of making it before October 25 and starting it on the 27th.

Gray Hoodie

I made a quick hoodie for the kiddo a few years ago from double knit polyester, which you probably know isn't always the softest stuff, so, when I found a few yards of a french terry(ish) fabric in the Walmart mill end pre-cuts, I knew I'd use it to make a snugglier jacket for him.  Eventually.

(but first I used it for the sleeves on a jacket for me)

I used New Look 6766, modifying the pull-over hoodie into a zip-front hoodie, which is easy enough because the original pattern has a center front seam

Band Together

 I grabbed Simplicity 3628 from the craft thrift store

with all eyes on view D and its mock military-style band jacket look.

I decided on a gray velveteen from the friend's relative's destash. I did not let the fact that there was not as much fabric as the pattern envelope wanted stop me.

I did hesitate over the discolorations on the fabric, and hesitated to wash it, because, beyond the "will it survive the washing/drying process or not" nature of velveteen, I really did not relish the idea of pressing it.  I went ahead, with the thought that if it didn't survive being washed and dried, then that would make the decision about whether to use it or not, even if the discoloration did wash out.

It did not.

It did, however, come out of the dryer completely wrinkle-free, so I decided to go ahead and use it.

Varsity Try

 When I made the Halloween Varsity Jacket, I combined New Look 6120 and Simplicity 8175 on the fly

 

because I wanted to keep the short length and Junior sizing of the New Look (albeit cut in the largest Junior size), while having the button closure of the Simplicity.

I liked the result so much I wanted to trace off properly-merged pattern pieces for the front and front facing.  And I did!  This project was to test the merger.

The merger was a success! I'm still not so sure about the actual garment.

Roll the Die: Varsity

Rolled a 6: Varsity

Which meant combining these patterns--the bomber jacket from New Look 6120 from 1999, and the "loose-fitting unlined baseball jacket" of Simplicity 8175 from 1987

and using up the fabrics left over from the two pairs of pants and the Carbuncle Gonk Split shirt I made for the kiddo.

It took a few improvised changes as I was cutting things out, but I made it work

Floral Cascade Bomber

 Even with the need to fussy cut for pattern matching, there was still quite a bit of that floral and stripe knit left from the previous project.  I wanted to use enough of it that whatever was left wouldn't take up much storage space, so...hey...how 'bout another jacket?

I used Stretch & Sew 1027, which I'd traced and modified a few years ago to make a gift.  Even before starting the project, I wasn't sure if I'll keep this jacket, so I wanted to make it in a size that could suit more people than the New Look bomber I usually make.

It certainly used up a good amount of remaining fabric.

Floral Cascade Moto

 I really should stay away from the precut bins at Walmart.

But.

Since I so far have not, I'm trying to make more of an effort to sew at least some of it right after I get it.

So, this cloth I got 4 yards (for $4) of on Sunday

I turned it into another KwikSew 3764 by Tuesday night

The Kid Is Still Growing

I made a coat for the kiddo in the summer of 2020, right before he started virtual school in the autumn of 2020, and he hadn't needed a coat since then...until...I checked the forecast and saw that it would be below freezing the morning of his booster shot.  So!  I ended up with a day to make something.

I didn't think I'd have time to make a nice coat, but I wanted to at least make something to wear as another layer over the hoodie he already had (which...his arms are a bit long for that, now, too.)

So I grabbed a fabric I had thrifted, when I was looking for fabric to make the replacement hoodie linked above, and threw this together--including cutting the pieces--yesterday.

A Jacket Revisited

 Years ago, I thrifted Simplicity 6601 from 1974

I thought the long sleeve jacket had a lot of potential, and in late 2013 I used some thrifted polyester fleece to make this

I learned two things from this project:

    • The jacket is not only cute, but extremely easy to make
    • I Do Not Like™ polyester fleece

I don't remember the ultimate fate of the jacket, but I do still have the buttons.

So when a recent visit to the Walmart mill end precut bins found some 60" woven boiled wool (?!--I mean, it obviously has something synthetic blended into it, but...still.) in a '2 yard for $4' bundle (??!!), I couldn't resist buying it, and very quickly realized it would work to make a proper version of that polyester fleece jacket

With the same buttons!

Moto Mauve

 One of the bargain fabric mill end precuts I got from Walmart precovid was a pale mauve with gray heather stripes french terry knit.  I'm not sure if it's 100% cotton, but it's close.  I recently decided it was time to figure out what to make from it.

Since mauve is leaning toward purple, I asked the kiddo if he'd like something made from it, but he said it wasn't purple enough (which was why I asked, instead of surprising him.)  So, then!  Something for me.  I initially leaned toward a simple sweatshirt, but figured I'd get more use from a(nother) light jacket.  For that, I Initially leaned toward a simple sweatshirt-style raglan sleeve jacket

but...you know me.  So!  Time to revisit Kwik Sew 3764.  Last time I made that, it was in a color shifty green woven synthetic, and size large. Definitely going down to a medium for this one, and with the longer length/plain bottom edge view, despite the fact that that view? has no?? pockets???  Easy enough to rectify, at least.

Shimmer Satin Bomber Jacket

 So.  New Look 6120.  I had forgotten how fast it could be to make it without getting excessive with the fabric.  I decided I would make it "straight," and I almost did, but couldn't help complicating it just a bit.

I had a few pieces of satin and coordinating ribbing and waffled over which color to make first.  Eventually decided on black, then immediately decided not to use black ribbing for the cuffs/waistband/collar, instead going for a bit of turquoise and purple mylar shot novelty knit, which made me decide to go with a dark blue zipper and lining

Pretty straightforward from the front...

Distraction Projects

 About a month before Halloween, a friend shared a sewing project: a bomber jacket made from a patchwork of Halloween prints.  It turned out adorable (I'd add a link but I cannot find it on their blog), and I wanted to make one, too.

I did make a patchwork bomber jacket for a (different, but mutual) friend a few years ago, so I knew that the amount of fabric needed would be a lot less than expected.  I got out the gallon bag full of Halloween print scraps, figuring that would provide more than enough...and was faced with the reality that most of those scraps are better suited for doll-size projects than human-size.  So.  I'd have to cut out the patches.

I shuffled through my Halloween fabric, starting with the smaller pieces, and was drawn to a color scheme and...hmm...let's say...attitude? of some of the prints.  After I sorted out everything that fit the (vaguely-defined) theme, I figured I should look at the larger yardages, too, and ended up with one more Halloween print and three non-Halloween prints.

What size would the blocks be? I have a quilt block ruler that makes 4" squares, so I went with 4" squares.  How many?  I measured the front pattern piece and did some math and knew I'd need 15 blocks for that, so I extrapolated 15 blocks for the other side + 30 blocks for the back + let's say 30 for each sleeve = 120 blocks.  I ended up cutting 123 initially and three more later, but those last three were purely for design purposes; the sleeves ended up being 25 each + 3 halves across the very tops, so my math was sound, yay.

I cut out a lot of blocks and I sewed together a lot of blocks and I even ironed a lot of blocks.  Simple patchwork like that goes together easily enough, even if it's a bit tedious, and since I used New Look 6120 again you know the jacket cutting and assembly were easy.  I didn't rush things and managed to complete it in five days.

Which was good, considering I hadn't started cutting and assembling until, like, a week before Halloween.

Sewing in Denial: Dancing Circa 1990

In the early 1990s, I had so many scarves made out of this kind of polyester chiffon with lamé brocade sections, so I couldn't resist buying this fabric when I found it in a thrift store

But what would I make from it?  ...uhhh...

You can possibly guess that the fact that I'm posting about it now means I decided to use New Look 6120 for another bomber.

 Honestly, I probably would have considered myself somehow above wearing something like this when I was a teen in 1990--it would have seemed way too casual.  'course, in the world we're enduring right now, it's probably way too formal, so that works out.

Sewing in Denial: Parties I Never Went To Anyway

 Another iteration of New Look 6120, this time with a fabric I knew might cause messy regret

That's the length of iridescent-to-holographic flip sequin ($29.99/yard in JoAnn) I thrifted in 2018, in the form of a "blanket," roughly 30" by 2 yards, with polyester fleece on one side and this on the other, for about $3.  I had no idea what I'd do with it, but, for that price (even minus the labor cost of cutting the stitches holding it to the fleece), I couldn't resist.  I eventually thought...maybe a jacket?  

And now: yes, a jacket.

Sewing in Denial: Wool Jacket in Summer, Unselfish Sewing Edition

New Look 6120 again, and this time following the directions...well...at least...what I remember of the directions. Haven't looked at 'em for years.

A nice thing about this pattern--when made as directed--is that it doesn't, for a jacket, take a lot of fabric, especially when I make it in the smallest "teen" size for the kiddo (who is indeed a few years into the double digits now.  The fact that I have no idea when he'll wear this/leave the house again is moot.)

 

 

Sewing in Denial: Wool Jacket in Summer

 This is, I suppose, a muslin, because I have an odder fabric that I want to use the same pattern for, but this fabric itself isn't exactly throwaway

 There's definitely wool in it--I can tell by how the insides of my wrists itch when I'm working with it.  The iron came nowhere near this project, so I haven't had the chance to accidentally learn if it's blended with any synthetics (like I did with the woolen moto jacket I made in February.)

The pattern I used is a revisit of New Look 6120

buuuut, since there's a big difference between a thick spongy woolly tweed and the fabrics the pattern actually calls for, I...did some improvising.  I'll ramble about that under the cut.

Here's the jacket