Wednesday, January 06, 2010

McCall's 5717




Description: Semi-fitted jacket, above mid-knee length has shoulder pads, princess seams, side front pockets with flaps. Pleated upper collar and sleeve variations.
Sizing: 4 to 18 with pattern pieces for cup sizes: AB, C and D. AB are together.
Instructions: The instructions were very good, as were the illustrations. I thought the lining instructions were some of the best I have seen in a pattern. I did use two of my books, High Fashion Sewing Secrets and Couture Sewing, to help with the construction.

Likes/Dislikes: I liked the lines of the jacket, the length and the pleated collar. After reading through the pattern instructions, I found the pocket construction to be quite unique.
First you sew the pocket flap and baste it to the upper side front.
Next, sew the pocket piece from fashion fabric to the upper side front (right sides together with the pocket flap sandwiched between these pieces).
Now stitch the pocket piece from lining fabric to the lower side front as shown in this picture:



Understitch

and press to the inside:

Match the pocket lining with the pocket fashion fabric, stitch pocket bag
Then you have this for the pocket:

here it is closed and it is a very nice neat pocket:


Changes: This might be hard for many of you to believe but I made a muslin for this pattern.
I was using some fabulous fabric and I did not want to make any mistakes in fitting or sizing.
I cut a size 10 in the muslin fabric with cup size AB, adding 1 inch to the sleeve length and body length. After constructing the muslin, I decided to use the C cup pattern pieces and added 2" to the sleeves, I can't stand short sleeves on a winter coat.
I emailed Pam Erny for interfacing recommendations and her reply was ProWeft for the coat and if I needed more support in the collar and lapel area, then use 2 layers. Which I did.
I used a piece of interfacing for the roll line as stated in one of the books. Added the interfacing to the hems, back, front and then the pattern pieces recommended on the pattern.
A back stay from muslin was added after interfacing and sewing the back to the side back pieces.
I probably should have used bound buttonholes for this project but I felt my skill for this technique wasn't at the level it needed to be.
Brigitte just posted a tutorial for bound buttonholes Here is the link: Brigitte's Bound buttonholes

Fabric: An incredible wool-lycra from Brigitte, after she sponsored a contest in February 2009 and I won. Also, included was a beautiful vintage lining.
Conclusion: I am so pleased with my coat. It took all of December plus the first week of January to construct but it was so worth it. A big thank you to Brigitte for selecting this fabric, it was a joy to sew.

Side view:





Pocket:








Inside pocket:





Back, I need to press the hem a bit better.








collar:





Finally, the front of the coat:










34 comments:

  1. Very nice work! I love the color!

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  2. Absolutely FABULOUS Lori! Do you have a new favorite item that you've sewn or are those coats of the twins still the favorite? :-) Great job, it is beautiful and I sure looks gorgeous on you.

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  3. Beautiful job!! I love that collar, too!

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  4. Just gorgeous! Beautiful color and collar!

    Lynda in LV

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  5. It's beautiful! What a wonderful job you did on it!

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  6. The pleats in the collar are so cool! Great coat, great job!

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  7. Wow. Awesome. The color is superb and the pockets are perfect!

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  8. That's a very nice coat. Beautifully made.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  9. It's beautiful Lori. A lot of work too I bet. I always love a colourful coat in winter.

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  10. Everything about that coat is wonderful.

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  11. That is a beautiful coat. I am in awe of your ability.

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  12. Wow! It's beautiful and you did an amazing job!

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  13. Lori!!! That is amazing! The jacket is stunning! Your buttonholes look pitch perfect- if I could trust my machine to make them that good each time I'd skip bound ones more often than not. Congratulations, you have done a fantastic job.

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  14. Just beautiful- I too love the color!

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  15. Absolutely gorgeous! Fantastic colour.

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  16. That coat is beyond gorgeous. I'm sure you'll feel beautiful in in for many years to come!

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  17. What a beautiful coat - the colour is divine!

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  18. Oh, my--that is truly gorgeous. I hope you love it and wear it often. The color is stunning. You did a great job sewing. It looks so professional! Wow!

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  19. FanTAStic coat! Taking your time really paid off. I hope it keeps you nice and warm this winter.

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  20. Lori, that is one fabulous coat! I think coats are so worthwhile to sew and wear, don't you? Great fabric.

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  21. I love this coat. I have the same pattern but haven't started it. Probably it will be a coat for me for next winter. I love the color you chose. How fabulous! I think it would be fun with the ruffled sleeves and hem too. Possibly in a lighter weight fabric for that version. Thanks for the recap and the tips about the interfacing.

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  22. Beautiful coat! The pockets are lovely! I'm going to have to go find this pattern now... love the pleats in the collar!

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  23. Lori,
    It's wonderful. Love it. I've been meaning to make Judy a new coat. She's so tall it's hard to find a coat that fits. Love that pattern. Didn't realize it had the cup sizes done for you. Makes me want to use that pattern for Judy.

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  24. Gorgeous Coat! I'll bet you wear it often.

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  25. Deborah James7:34 PM

    Lori,
    the coat is spectacular and you chose one of my most favourite colours! Beautiful job, just beautiful.
    Deb

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  26. Gorgeous Lori, simply gorgeous!

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  27. That's wonderful, Lori! Great job.

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  28. I LOVE it! So beautifully made and such a fabulous color! I know you'll enjoy wearing this baby.

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  29. Gorgeous. Love the pattern and the fabric is perfect.

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  30. Oh, Lori, it's just beautiful! How nicely worked, and the color is just perfect for the pattern.

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  31. So nice, color, fabric pocket and collar are very interesting, congratulations

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  32. What a beautiful coat - the colour is divine!

    Work from home India

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  33. The blue is heavenly. I bet it looks great with your coloring. I'm not sure if I missed a photo of you wearing it. Always hard to get somebody else to have the patience to photo us wearing our creations~!d

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