One Down . . .

and one to go.

That was a bit of a stretch for me.  The directions for the pockets was weird, I've never done a proper lining before, and organza made me nervous. I didn't follow all the directions exactly:

•  I didn't properly turn the sleeve lining & the main lining and hand stitch them together. Instead, I basted them together and then serged the seam to clean it up. It's not as nice as if I'd done it properly, but at least it's done. My hand sewing is garbage anyway.

• I didn't do a "narrow hem" on the edges of the organza. Instead, I serged the edges and then turned them under twice. I knew that if I just pressed it and sewed it down, it would be terribly uneven. From a distance, it looks kind of like a ribbon edge. Up close, I've decided it looks like "faux lace."  I would love to have a rolled edge foot for my machine, because I think that would be the nicest finish of all.

•  I topstitched all around the outer edges. I wanted to make sure that lining stayed in place, I didn't want to slip stitch the opening where I'd turned it, and I think it gives it a nice finished edge. 

Detail on the pocket.

• I did NOT make the fabric loops on the back and the tie to go through them. I hate making teeny narrow bands of fabric that I have to turn right side out.  I used satin ribbon instead, and I like the contrast in color. Also, I only did six instead of ten. Seriously--ten. No way. I didn't even bother with the measuring tape to make sure they were evenly spaced.

I did hand sew the collar on, using invisible thread.  I think it adds a great flourish on top.

The pockets had me so confused at first (that flap!), and I'm still not crazy about the directions, but I do like the final look of them. Still, I've told Sarah not to put anything heavy in them.

I really like the fabric we got--it irons up well (I've ironed the hell out of this thing), and from a distance it looks like it could be leather or suede. Originally, I wanted to line it with some cool print, but the more traditional lining fabric turned out fine. It's not a very warm garment, but I think a more substantial lining fabric could have made it too heavy. 

"Faux lace!"

The buttons were hard to get properly spaced at first, until I hit on the idea to overlay the cut buttonholes and use a pencil to mark the right spot. Yes, I know I'm supposed to use the pattern piece as a guide. That piece was downstairs.  In other words, totally unavailable.

Making the muslin first was a very good idea, because I realized that using quarter inch seams would screw up certain areas, such as those pockets, and I was able to avoid that. I did take the seams down as far as I could along the back though, which made pressing them open challenging. Moral of the story: MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY.

She's really happy with it, and I have to say I'm pleased with the result. That's a big deal for me--in the past, many of things I've made just don't satisfy me. I liked Lauren's Easter dress, too, so either my sewing is improving or my standards are relaxing.

Oh, and I told her that a character like this definitely needs an original name, so she came up with "Detective Belladonna J. Skipworth." Yep, she's a character, all right!

Sorry it's sideways--I keep forgetting the camera doesn't automatically fix video the way it does stills.