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Friday, June 19, 2009

Uptown Girl Debrief






YAY its finished!!!! I've kinda been taking it slowly, just doing bits and pieces in the evening as I never seem to have enough time during the day. Its a great pattern and very, very easy but as it turns out I have some issues (like I dont know that already LOL).

I'm 99.9% sure that my issues stem from the pellon. I got it from Spotlight and they gave me 640 pellon whereas the pellon specified on the pattern is 630. I didnt realise this until well into it so I carried on regardless. Its made quite a bulky coat probably more than is necessary for a Perth winter. It looks great though!!

The first issue is a sizing one. As far as it goes the sizing is excellent however there isnt enough room in the back. I'm confident that this is because of the bulky pellon though NOT a problem with the pattern. Because I dont plan to use pellon in my next one it shouldnt be an issue next time.

The second issue I had was with finishing the sleeves. Boy is that fiddly to do at the end. Because they are fairly narrow for little arms the sleeve doesnt fit around the free arm of the machine. I took one look at those sleeves and then let laziness be my guide - I bound them with some of the gosgrain ribbon that I've used to embellish the front. Personally I think the bound hem looks awesome and I shall be doing that in the future as well. I'm also extremely happy with the ribbon embellishment in the front. I've found that as I get more confident with my sewing I'm willing to divert from the pattern a bit more and make the items uniquely my own.

Speaking of making items uniquely my own... I firmly believe that Uptown isnt just for girls. Stay tuned!!!!

(PS, it seems that not only is my middle name stubborn, but its also indesicive!!!! You might remember that I ordered ricrac to use on the jacket. Well I decided against that and went for the gosgrain instead. I'm really pleased I did because it looks great. What do you think?)

Pattern: Uptown Girl Jacket by Make It Perfect
Fabric: Crafty Mamas

6 comments:

Bridgie Didge said...

I have no idea what gosgrain or ricrac is but, I think that coat is fabulous! Well done! :) She looks gorgeous in it!

Carolyn said...

I agree about the sleaves, i didnt think of binding them. I just overlocked and folded them up. will have to look into some binding! :D thank you for the tip!

Jennifer said...

Carla - I so agree on the sleeves! What a pain those were. I folded them under and then stitched them. I love the binding of them! The material is great and inspires me to be more creative. Can't wait to see the one with the elephants. I used the H630 pellon and didnt have a problem with not enough fabric in the back - but I wont use it second time - I am using 100% cotton batting. Warmer and softer.

Natalie said...

Oooh the jacket looks fantastic! I love the grograin ribbon and think it's a great idea to bind the sleeves.

Sally said...

Awesome jacket. It looks stunning, as does the model wearing it :)
I have just been reading over your blog & really enjoyed it... I too have started a sewing adventure of sorts - would love to have a go at that jacket - what pattern did you use?

Sally said...

Oooopss... now I see that you had the pattern there at the end of your entry all along - I tell you I live in la la land most of the time.