A Velvet Jacket

On Monday I went up to Birmingham to a day with Gill Arnold. She told me to bring a favourite jacket pattern that fitted well. I have a Burda pattern (No 8339) which I have used in various forms four times so I took that. But I was a bit mystified about exactly what I was going to do at the class. I soon discovered! What Gill got me to do was make a tissue paper copy of the parts that fitted me and then we worked on them to get rid of seams. At the beginning I had four patterns for the body, two front and two back. When I was finished, I had 2 body patterns. So when I cut it out, I will cut 3 pieces for the body, one back and two fronts and 4 pieces for the sleeves. And it still all fitted!

 

I brought up the problem of buttons and buttonholes. Gill is against buttonholes in velvet. She says it cannot be done without wrecking the pile. So I was shown how to do rouleau loops. But what I am going to do is a buttonhole band where the buttonholes are gaps in a seam.

 

I also took to Birmingham all the lining material I could find in the house and Gill selected suitable linings for the red velvet and the black. I am making up the red velvet length (dyed by me in red and orange) first and then I will make up  the beautiful length of black Art Deco velvet. I had hoped to use one of my Japanese kimono lengths but there is not enough give in them. 

 

I have decided I would really like to attend a weekly class with Gill and have asked to be put on the waiting list.

 

I am back to the Megado and the knots have appeared. Hurrah!