Last of Simplicty 1283, Smoking Jacket

かなり寒くなってきたので、家の中で服の上に羽織る、いわば半てんのようなジャケットが欲しくて、作ってみました。
型紙は、ここのところずっと使っているシンプリシティの１２８３番。一つの型紙に、いろんな服の型紙がついてくるのでこの型紙はとってもよし。
生地は花模様にキルティングされているニットで、写真だとかなり紫だけど、実際は、ちょっと見黒な、ものすごく濃いナス色です。
ちなみに外の気温が６度ぐらいだったので、すっごい親指握りしめてるわ（笑）

Now that it's getting really cold, I wanted a house coat that I could wear over my sweater or even hoodie. So I made a knit jacket. Worn together with Butterick 5526 shirt.

By the way, I look funny in the photos with my thumbs in the fist. It was freezing cold outside. I guess it's my defense mechanism.

The pattern is Simplicity 1283, Mimi G design unlined jacket. Yes, the same pattern I was working on for the past 3 projects :) This pattern set is definitely a perfect capsule wardrobe builder. Considering the fact that you can buy the pattern for $2 at Joann, this is such a big bang for the buck. (Makes me more hesitant to buy indie patterns that are so expensive for a single pattern)

I made a view D, which is an unlined jacket pattern. It has patch pockets and a belt.

There was a wool mix fabric that I was eyeing on for this jacket, but it was 29 British pound per meter (about $35/yard). So I bought this cheap quilted poly jersey for a toil. It doesn't just have a quilted effect; it actually has some thin batting or fluff in between the two jersey layers.

The outdoor photos show the fabric color more purply, but in real life, it's a very deep eggplant, almost black like the below fabric close-up photo.

Couple of things I changed design-wise. You can see in the envelope photos that the belt goes over the collar in the original design. It looked too messy for me, so I shortened the collar by 3" so that it ends above the tie belt.

Then, once it was finished, I did not like the look of the tie belt on me altogether, so I ditched the belt and put a hook and eye at the end of the collar to keep the center front together. This means I do have belt loops sticking out from my sides for no reason, but this is a house coat, so who cares.

For the fit, I narrowed the shoulder about 1" and lower the high neck point to change the shoulder slope, which then required to lower the center back a bit.

Since this is an unlined jacket, I attempted a bound seam finish for the first time. I failed miserably for a couple of reasons. It looks OK-ish in the photo, but if you get closer, the binding is super wonky and tucks everywhere.

I used rayon seam binding. I guess the first mistake was to even think about using a woven binding for a jersey. The two materials were just not compatible.

I originally started sewing the binding in 2 paths: sew one edge on the seam allowance, fold over the binding, then sew the other edge down. Two seam lines of incompatible fabrics = double the wonky seams.

Then I remembered that I had just bought a binding foot. It worked much better especially after I pressed the seam binding in half before sewing it down. But the quilted jersey just did not like being fed through and the rayon binding too drapy.

I am glad that I made this toile. This design just wasn't for me. The Man of the House called it a smoking jacket. With my button-up shirt on today, he called it "Ellen Degeneres in Hugh Hefner jacket."

I actually finished this jacket last weekend but I was so disappointed I did not want to take photos. Well, since then, it has grown on me and I am totally wearing it (like right now), but I don't think I want to attempt another one with expensive fabric.