Incorrect Haphazard

So, a few months ago, I stumbled upon the random remnant patchwork creations of Get Crooked, and took special note of the patchwork bomber jacket.  Now, you know I like a patchwork bomber, but this kind, with a mix of textures, is something I hadn't done before--I had cut out a lot of knit squares with the intention of making one that would have had a little bit of texture variation, years ago, but I never did, and eventually donated the bag full of little squares.

I'm also not a particular fan of synthetic fleeces and fake furs and similar, but the use of those is a big part of the charm of the Get Crooked patchwork jackets, so I was determined to include at least a few of them, especially after acquiring the blanket that would provide fabric for the controller cardigan.  That's also why I thrifted some cheap (both in price-I-paid and construction) sweaters, parts of which I used for the recent quick hats.  I thought maybe mixing some nice textured sweater knits in with the synthetic fleeces, plus of course adding sequins, and making the color range more coordinated, might make for something in line with my general aesthetic.

It did not.  

 

 I'm not saying it's bad, just that it's bad for me.

Teal Shine Bomber

Using New Look 6120 once again, and hearkening back to the first time I used it by once again making the shell from a foiled synthetic knit.

...although I may have gotten very slightly excessive with the pockets...

Varsity Plaid

 I suspect this is something Teenage Me would have adored.

Blue Bomber

 I wanted to use up the rest of the blue knit from the previous project; I had many options, and decided to go with another button-up variation on New Look 6120's bomber jacket.

And while a solid blue jacket would probably have been perfectly useful, we all know I'm going to make things more complicated, but in a way that comes easy to me, which means: appliqués

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

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

Screaming Loud Jacket

So.  The shorts I posted yesterday.  The way I ended the write up by lamenting about the extremely obvious print repeat on each side of the center back seam?

Yeah.

However, since the same print elements even ended up on the sleeves, it tips over from unfortunate to funny...right?

Scrappy

It was getting hard to cram more scraps into my scrap bin again, but I didn't want to add to the pile of "patchwork blanket tops that will probably never be finished"--multiple piles, actually, but Chippy kitty rather enjoys laying one one of the piles, so that's OK.

Still, though.

Not more blanket tops.

Not now.

But...hmm...what about that sewy thingy I'm actually interested in making now, a bomber jacket?  I definitely have a pattern I've used before with no problems, New Look 6120 from...um...from that time around Y2k when Simplicity wasn't including the copyright on the envelope.

So I decided I'd try it again, only this time I'd also try crumb quilting to build up the panels from which the jacket pieces would be cut.  I'd never done proper crumb quilting before--I'd always taken the time to square up the little bits, which probably added significantly to the amount of time things took.

I grabbed a gallon bag and started digging into the scrap bin, with the goal of gathering light purple, light pink, black and white, and gray.  The bag filled quickly, and just as quickly did the idea form that, no, these scraps would not be used for a bomber jacket, they'd be used for a motorcycle jacket.  (Which I do have a pattern for.  A pattern that's still never been used.)

So I grabbed another gallon bag and started putting allll the bright colors in...and noticed I had a lot of yellows and oranges and blues and I know someone for whom those are perfect colors so the plan became "Make a crumb quilt patchwork bright color bomber jacket for her!"  And once I decided it would be for her, I started adding all sorts of prints that I really liked and knew I would have continued to otherwise hoard.  The power of friendship: it can actually use the precious stash.

I didn't take pictures of the scrap assembly, because when do I ever remember to take progress pictures?  But it took big chunks of one Saturday and the following Sunday, which was a lot less time than I expected, and also it didn't use up the entirety of the gallon'o'scraps, either.

Brilliant

As in "ooh shiny," not as in "ooh great idea," because, even though it's finished, I'm still not really sure if it was a good idea to put these together