Marfy 1625 - Boiled Wool Jacket

Another SWAP sewing project. Technically this is the first one since I cut this out ahead of time (in November I think) then left it until Boxing Day, when I could start SWAP sewing. The jacket itself didn't really take all that long to construct. However, the trim was a whole different story. That took a Looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnggggg time. Which is how come SWAP project two overtook SWAP project one.

The jacket is made from navy boiled wool, bought during my last trip to Preston, with RuthieK, which I think was in October. As such its made it from stash to wardrobe in quite a short timescale. There are small small shoulder pads, and the neckline and shoulders are stabilised with twill tape. Other than that, it has no appreciable underpinnings and its unlined.

I made some changes to the pattern to make things easier for construction in boiled wool. First I eliminated the waist belt, by extending the body pieces by the width of the belt, being careful to ensure the extension section is straight not shaped since the body section is very shaped and when you extend an angled line two inches, you make the body narrower and I didn't need that.

Also, used a different sleeve. This jacket pattern came with a one piece, three quarter sleeve that I've never actually altered to fit. I normally make this with the two piece sleeve from Marfy 1444 which was altered to fit this jacket during my tailoring course two years ago (the tutor being horrified at the idea that a one piece sleeve should adorn such a jacket). BUT this time I wanted a one piece sleeve, full length, so I used the sleeve from Marfy 1756 because I have altered that one. Making things complicated? Who? Me?

Its totally unlined which meant my seams are on show. Having consulted numerous books, in the end I chose a normal seam, sewn right sides together, for most of the seams. I trimmed on side of the seam quite close the stitching, brought the other seam allowance over the top and pressed it. Then it was top stitched from the front, using a longer stitch length (4.3 in this case) and the rest of the excess seam allowance was trimmed very close to the topstitching using pinking shears (which gave the inside quite a nice finish really).

This method wasn't really practical on the armhole or sleeve seams. For these seams, I sewed a normal seam, then for the armhole seam, I sewed again, one eighth of an inch into the seam allowance, then trimmed off the excess seam allowance. The resulting narrow seam was pressed to one side. This gave a very narrow seam in the armhole area, helping to reduce bulk. For the sleeves themselves, the seam is a normal one, pressed open and the edges of the seam allowances pinked. This gives a supple and comfortable sleeve with no bulk at the elbow.

For the sleeves, I departed from all the books and put them in flat, like a shirt. I tacked them in first to check the ease and hang, sort of expecting that it would not work but was pleased with the hang (better than some sleeves I've spent hours setting in properly). I thought it might be a fluke, but this method worked perfectly with jacket number two (which I have almost completed) so it seems it may be an acceptable method, at least in boiled wool and possibly other heavy knits. It probably helps that the fabric is slightly stretchy which makes setting the sleeves a bit easier to achieve. The flat insertion allows really good pressing and taming of the armhole seam allowances which in turn helps the jacket's comfort and hang.

For the notched collar, I attached the collar so that the lapel gorge line was sewn on the face and the seam allowance was underneath. This means there is an exposed seam underneath the lapel gorge line and also the collar attachment seam shows at the back neck. I used the top stitch seam method, closely trimmed, on this seam and it looks reasonably neat. When I cut the jacket pieces out, I cut them with seam allowances all around (rather than leaving the seam allowances off the parts I would not need them on). Although this was slightly wasteful of fabric, it was simpler for me and I was very glad I had done so when I got to the collar. The collar on this pattern is very small when completed and had I taken the seam allowances off before sewing, my attachment seam would have shown. When I had the jacket constructed, I cut my seam allowances off all the way around the jacket EXCEPT on the collar edge, thus covering my seam neatly when the jacket is worn. Leaving the seam allowances on when the pieces are cut then cutting around the jacket edge last, also means you can cut off/neaten, any little protrusions at seams where things moved slightly, and means you can cut a very smooth line around the edge. Crucial if you aren't going to bind the edges but intend to leave them raw.

A note about pressing. Its very easy to make this fabric shiny and ruin it. It was necessary to use a press cloth on both right and wrong sides, turn down the iron a little bit more than normal, and be exceptionally careful not to squash the loft of the fabric by too enthusiastic an application of heat and pressure.

A note about boiled wool. It seems that you most definitely get what you pay for in this fabric. This navy wool was very reasonable in cost. Its a lovely fabric, and if I'd not had the other fabric to compare it to, I would be raving about it. Don't get me wrong, its fantastic fabric, but its not quite as stretchy, its less supple, more solid, than its much more expensive burgundy coloured cousin. The burgundy was twice the price, presses better (though all the notes above apply and if anything more care is needed with the more expensive cloth), eases better and, don't laugh, smells more sheepy when its pressed. I'd say that the navy is actually the more forgiving of mistakes though, and easier to work with as a first attempt at the cloth type because its not as easy to over stretch it. The burgundy had to lie on the floor to rest for 24 hours laid out flat and even then I couldn't get the selvedges to sit flat, so it was a more challenging cloth to work with from the start. However, its drape and feel when worn, make up for the challenges presented.

The roll line of the jackets could not be taped as the jacket is unlined. Instead, when I had the garment almost done, I placed it on Twiggy the dress form, pinned the lapel back where I wanted it (pinning vertically into the jacket and dress form) then used the vertical steam function on my iron to steam the lapel heavily (without touching the cloth), then left it to dry completely before moving the jacket. This seems to have worked reasonably well.

The navy jacket is trimmed with stash trim that just seemed perfect for it. Took forever to sew on (two whole days), however, you can't see the stitches on the back (even with my new reading/close work glasses on) so I was pleased I'd taken the trouble to work slowly and carefully.

The buttons are backed with tiny flat buttons so that they don't tear out the cloth when repeatedly used.

The buttonholes were a pig to do. I used a stretch buttonhole on my machine as the standard one just wouldn't lie flat and neat at all. Even the stretch buttonhole is a bit wavy where the buttons have been put through it a few times. I can see this is going to be a potential issue and am not looking forward to doing the buttonholes in the more stretchy burgundy wool.

The burgundy one is the exact same pattern, exact same construction and I only have the shoulderpads, buttonholes, buttons, sleeve hems, and trim to do on that. Its stalled currently due to a lack of suitable trim. I won't post a picture of it until its got its trim on. It doesn't want to be seen in its undressed state. It told me so just now.