Burda Jacket Shell

I cut out the shell last night and sewed it together today. This fabric needs to be handled very carefully because it unravels itself every time you move it! I think the fit is right now; I let out the side and CB seams 1/4" ea. I found that I MUST use a press cloth every time I touch the iron to this fabric because it wants to stick to the iron. Must be the metallic thread.

Thanks to those of you who have given me your opinion on the trim and buttons. I think I probably will go with the taupe after all and the gold and ivory buttons. Love that green trim but will save it for another project.
I've been consulting three books in the making of this jacket. First, Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing. Since it seems so much simpler to create the lining by lining to the edge, I opted for this method. I've been reading Connie Long's Easy Guide to Linings as well. She has some great ideas and techniques in that book. The other book that has been most helpful is Nancy Erickson's jacket workbook available at Fashionsewing.com.

Underlining: I decided to fuse the front and side fronts of the jacket with fusiknit. This has really helped keep all the little strings fron falling out and keeps the shape of the garment pieces. I also added another layer of so-soft interfacing where the back and front facings would be if I had not cut them off. The back and side backs I underlined with silk organza. I chose to use the silk organzaa here becuase I think it will be cooler. I didn't have enough to do the whole jacket, or I probably would have done the front that way. Personally, I find S.O. difficult to work with because it shifts all over the place. I decided to hand baste the organza to the jacket fabric by hand and did this at the cutting table using the paper pattern pieces as templates to make sure I did not distort the shapes. (click on the picture to get a better view) I probably did anyway, but it will work. I didn't use any underlining in the sleeves.


Setting in the sleeve I really like this method much more than running two rows of gathering stitches to ease the head of the sleeve. I cut two 2" wide strips of stretch fleece about 12" long on the cross grain so that they would stretch. You can also use wool or linen cut on the bias, but this was handy and works well. Starting at one notch, I laid it on the edge of the seam and stitched a couple of stitches on the seam line. Then I stretched the fleece as much as I could while stitching to the other notch. This gathers up the sleeve head nicely. I then pinned and basted the sleeve in place. I basted by hand since this was such fiddly fabric, and I'm glad I did. It only took a few minutes and was well worth it. After checking everything, I stitched the arm in. Then, I pressed the seam toward the sleeve and hand basted all the layers together but did not trim them. I would have trimmed them in a more stable fabric. The fleece acts as a sleeve head and gives a really nicely shaped sleeve cap. I still need to go back and add some seam binding to the underarm to reinforce the seam.



Lining: The inside of this jacket is very "stringy" right now. I think I will sew seam binding along the edge of the hem to stabilize that for later hemming. I have the lining cut out and am ready to assemble that. Probably won't get to that part until tomorrow.