Hi all! I’m back from a bit of a holiday break with a plaid jacket, inspired by one I saw in Vogue pattern Magazine. If you’re like me, you look forward to each issue of the Vogue Pattern magazine because there is always something there that will spark an idea for a project. This issue was one of my favorites as it was all about PLAID.
Love the plaid coat on the cover!! Inside, a vintage Vogue jacket caught my eye, and I knew I’d have to make my own version.
It’s hard not to love a good Vintage Vogue design! Vogue 9082 is especially appealing because it has a cute cropped jacket.
I made my jacket from a plaid I found at the Mill End Store here in Portland on my usual Fall visit there. I’m always on the lookout for classic but fun plaids, and, as usual, they did not disappoint. This fabric is really lovely in person; photos don’t do it justice. It has a bit of olive green and gold in it, and it’s so soft, a blend of wool and acrylic. I was lucky enough to get the last two yards on the bolt.
Challenges: The pattern is pretty straightforward and pretty easy, but hey, I had to complicate things by making mine from plaid. It was a bit of a challenge to lay the pattern out because the sleeves are cut as part of the bodice. This means you must be sure that you place the plaid on the bodice carefully because that line follows down the sleeve. The good news is…because you don’t set in the sleeve, it means you get to avoid the whole sleeve to bodice matching ordeal, The bad news…the wrong placement could mean you’d have plaid sitting awkwardly on your shoulder. My plaid was large so a mistake would be glaring but I think it worked out well. By the way, my success rate with matching plaid has increased considerably since I started using Wonder Clips to hold things in place while cutting and sewing. 
I love these things so much! Just posting a photo of them makes me want to buy a zillion more. You can find them at Joann’s, at craft stores, on Amazon. They are so useful and all the colors….I could go on and on!!
More about the challenges – – those collar points!! From the line diagram, it appears that the collar is designed to look a bit more angular and pointed than in my version. Not sure why, but mine aren’t quite as dramatic as I expected. I think the error happened when I cut the bodice. When I inspected the pattern pieces later, to my surprise, I’d cut the collar points as I expected them to be, rather than how they were. Perhaps it was because I was binge watching Outlander. Blame it on Clare and Jamie.
I think the cropped style works best with my highwaisted denim skirt (made here). It would probably work with jeans too!
Future posts and plans….
The holiday season is in full swing around here. It’s my favorite time of year because I get to sing in several Christmas concerts with my choir, which is such a privilege and joy. It also means I’ll be sewing a few fun EASY gifts for friends…Curious if you are too? My next post will probably be about that. In other news, the year is coming to an end, as is the 2018 RTW fast and I’ve been thinking alot about that experience and what it’s meant to my sewing journey so I’ll share those thoughts too. Then, of course there will be a hits and misses post for 2018. So much to talk about!
I hope you had a nice holiday with family and friends. Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!
This version of McCalls 6844 is a coatigan of sorts. I found this thick sweater knit at Joann’s. The weight is perfect for this time of year, and the stretch recovery is great for this pattern.
Next up is (no surprise) the Blackwood cardigan by Helen’s Closet. Who doesn’t love this pattern?
I’ve made this before, but this time, I really wanted a stripe along a solid front band for contrast, as I’ve seen that detail on RTW cardigans.
With this striped fabric, I got lucky! The selvege edge of my fabric was solid navy with a thin purple stripe, and I had enough fabric to manage to cut the entire neck band from it!! Such a perfect opportunity to add a fun easy detail to this cardigan. Again, I made this version very, very long. The advantage is that the longer look makes a shrimp like me feel tall. The bad news? It’s so long, none of my coats cover it. Such problems….
