Lady Grey: Hooray the Finished Jacket

Well here she is…my version of the Lady Grey using Butterick B5401.  I wish my picture had turned out better…a photographer I am not!  Trying to take the picture, see how it turned out and retake it aren’t the easiest things to do with the sun in your eyes and the weather being a wee bit brisk.  On top of that, the photographer forgot to tell me to smile. ;-) All in all I do love how this jacket fits me and what a difference the tailoring made in the looks and drape of the coat.  I will most definitely take on another tailored jacket project in the future.  Below are some views of the finished jacket hanging out on Myrna.

And of course, according to Gertie, we had to offer you an accessorized version as well.  Every Lady Grey needs to be adorned;  mine is with a beautiful Celtic Brooch my mother gave to me for my birthday.

I am totally loving the look!!!

Onward we go to our next sewing adventure…

Happy Sewing…

Mail Call via Club BMV

This weeks Mail Call post comes to you courtesy of the Club BMV website and the Lady Grey Sew-Along taking place on Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing.

In participating in this sew-along it is requested you purchase the Lady Grey pattern designed by Colette Patterns.  It is quite a lovely jacket pattern but upon seeing some of the participants muslins I deduced quickly the pattern wouldn’t work for me!  You see…I am rather tall, all legs and short-waisted; taking these body features in combination with the short styling of the jacket and sleeves, the added volume of the peplum along with the large lapels I’d end up adversely accenting areas of my body I would rather not!!

In making this deduction I gave the Big 4 pattern books a once over and came across a Butterick pattern with similar styling to the Lady Grey minus the short length and peplum volume which fits in with the longer, sleeker lines that I prefer on my own body type.  This has led me to choose B5401, View C to make my “Lady Grey” jacket out of.  The styling is similar with princess seams and the jacket length is longer with less fullness while the sleeves are full length and straight.  I believe a good, alternative match for the Lady Grey.  What do you think?

While picking this pattern out and not wanting to miss out on a good, three-day, $1.88 sale; I also purchased two other jacket patterns on BMV that will make good projects for the future.  McCall’s 5525 trench coat pattern which is currently being featured on Gorgeous Things’ Blog in a lace version and Butterick’s 5295 which will be used to replace an old L.L. Bean duster that has seen better days.

All in all a great “Mail Call” haul.

~Happy Sewing~

Waiting in the Wings…Lady Grey Sew-Along

As if the knitting projects I have going on at present weren’t enough I’ve added sewing The Lady Grey project to my “Mama-Do List” as well.  In comparison to the other participants in this SAL I am literally the turtle of the group!!!  You want to talk about being at the back of the pack…I haven’t even gotten off the starting line!!

My main goal for this project???

In order to participate I could only use what is in my fabric stash…NO PURCHASING OF MATERIAL!!!  Boy that is hard to do once you get to perusing the online fabric stores and all the wonderful fabrics they have to offer the sewist.  Ok, I can do that…as a matter of fact I have 3 1/4 yards of a 62” 100% camel hair, black heather fabric.  I also spent several hours going through some fabric bins downstairs and came across 5 yards of a hunter green moiré fabric that would work out nicely for the lining as well as a cute flannel that I plan to underline with.  Even though you won’t see the ring pattern on the underlining I like the idea of having something funky on the inside of the jacket!

Up next:  Pattern Acquisition…

Gertie’s SAL is using the Lady Grey by Colette Patterns.  It is a very sweet jacket pattern but I’m not a fan of it for myself and feel it just won’t work on my body type.  My original thoughts were to keep inline with using only what was available to me via my stash but upon seeing the Sewing Princess Seams post on Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing I’ve changed my mind from using McCall’s 5767 to finding a coat pattern that incorporates princess seams with a lapel design similar to the Lady Grey so that I can practice the techniques that will be used in the SAL.

What I came across was B5401 in the Butterick pattern book but unfortunately for me I missed the previous sale at Joann’s and I absolutely will not pay retail for a pattern or even 40% off when I know the store offers the very same pattern for $ 0.99 during the sale.   In my e-mail last week was a notification from Butterick Online in regards to a three-day sale they were having on their patterns…$ 1.88 is a good thing!!  Still more expensive then the Joann’s sale but taking into account time spent going to and from the store plus your gas it pretty much is a wash so…click…into the shopping cart it went and to my door it came today.

Wooo Hooo…I can finally join in the fun!!

Up first….UGH…tracing and adjusting the pattern then stitching up a muslin.  I will be playing catch up all weekend; nice to finally be with the group.

~Happy Sewing~

B6677

PR: B6677

Pattern Description: Easy To Do Shades

Fabric Used: Broadcloth, Drapery Lining Fabric

Pattern Size: N/A

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Pretty much straight sewing on the view I made (View B). Very easy!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made valances to go with the shades. The ribbon trim that View B called for would have detracted from the look I wanted so I didn’t sew that on. Next time around I would use a heavier drapery cord than what I purchased.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: I really like the pattern, too bad it is now out of print.