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Post by Teri Berry on Dec 8, 2014 22:54:55 GMT
Over the weekend I have been making a jacket for myself, something that has been on my to-do list since last winter! Nada asked if I would share the template I used so this is just for you Nada the trunk of this template was the resist I used for this top: But I taped some arms and collar to it, using the measurements from my favourite coat and multiplying 1.5. The resist worked pretty well but there are a couple of things I will change for the next one. I will angle the arms of the resist downward; although this shape it allows plenty of arm movement there is a lot of excess felt around the arm pits - not a great look! I will have more of an overlap on the front panels, they only just meet enough to button up across the bust but I do quite like how the jacket flares open at the bottom, a great shape for a spring / summer jacket. And I will make the collar narrower, the opening for my neck is a bit too wide. But other than that it is lovely and this morning I found out that it is lovely and warm too when I accidentally locked myself out of the house and had to wait 30 min, in temperatures only just above freezing, for my other half to let me back in again
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Post by Pandagirl on Dec 9, 2014 0:02:41 GMT
Gorgeous Teri! We always learn something with each new project! Not a good way to test the jacket warmth, but I'm glad it did the job. How many layers of wool did you use? I can only imagine how long it took to felt and full. Great job!
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Dec 9, 2014 1:26:07 GMT
Teri, the jacket is stunning! Bold and beautiful, for sure. Really nice work.
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Post by Frances on Dec 9, 2014 3:49:47 GMT
Love the Jacket- Love red and black - thanks for showing the pattern - did you cut the front opening. Did this take a pound of wool or more?
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Post by halay on Dec 9, 2014 4:24:06 GMT
Teri, both your top and the jacket are gorgeous! As for the armpit problem I have similar concerns. The idea of having a seamless jacket is nice but I think to avoid having too much felt under the armpits I think I will (when I undertake such project) make the sleeves separately and machine stitch them. Thank you for sharing your own experience. Let me ask you: Is the top wide enough so that you can pull it over, or did you need to insert a zipper?
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Post by jwugg on Dec 9, 2014 6:44:57 GMT
Fantastic Terri, just lovely. Oh I wish you hadn't.... I've been putting the jacket-making-itch to the back of my mind for ages & now here it is again! I so want to do it, but keep thinking of the scale of it, must have taken a LOT of time & effort & space. But well done, it's really super - I particularly like the repeat of the square motif in the surface design. & the top I like too.
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Post by zed on Dec 9, 2014 9:06:03 GMT
It's gorgeous, Teri I don't know about dressmaking to help with the armpit problem, but I'm not sure angling the sleeves down is a good idea, it will make it very difficult to raise your arms, everything will be pulled up. (It seems like all coats are designed like this these days) Maybe the space needed needs to be on the outside shoulder, rather than armpit?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 11:07:19 GMT
Hello Teri,
Your jacket is very creative bold and beautiful....and I love the cracked mud look... Very neat indeed... It must of taken many hours of hard work.. Super great job..
Your other top is lovely too..
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Post by Shepherdess on Dec 9, 2014 15:28:25 GMT
Great jacket. The cracked mud looks really good. Sleeves really are a problem, gussets can help. You get extra in the underarm without getting the funny bulk at the front and back. Some shoulder slope is a good idea too. it is tricky. I am lucky to have a professionally trained friend to help me with fit.
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Post by Cherry on Dec 9, 2014 17:24:37 GMT
It's beautiful! Really fantastic. I like the cracked mud diamond pattern a lot.
I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one here with an itch to make a jacket. I've got to get a lot better at felting before I attempt it. In the meantime, I may make one by making felt yardage and sewing one the old fashioned way.
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Post by MTRuth on Dec 9, 2014 18:14:49 GMT
Great work Teri - I have had fit problems with any of the seamless garments I have ever tried. I haven't done a jacket just because of that. I had planned on doing yardage and sewing one but that hasn't happened either The design is lovely and the colors are delicious!
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Post by felicity on Dec 9, 2014 19:53:20 GMT
It's so beautiful Teri, both of them! Great job done! As for a problem of fitting the jacket around armpits I'm with girls here. It's the most tricky part in any jacket never mind felted. I've read a lot of discussions on the subject between Russian felters who make a lot of garments. If it's very thin and soft felt you could play with different ways of laying wool but for warmer/thicker coats it may be easier to felt sleeves separate and joint them with a body when the details are half felted.
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Post by Teri Berry on Dec 9, 2014 20:36:53 GMT
Thank you everyone, you are always so kind! It's funny, since I have started wearing this to work I don't think I have ever been groped so much, everybody wants to have a feel of it Thank you all for the suggestions for improvements too, Ann is the gusset something you can add to the template as you might for a gussetted bag? or something you would sew in after fulling? Galina - what do the Russian felt-makers recommend? (they make some drop-dead gorgeous garments - most of my garment pins are Russian!). I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how sewing or adding the sleeves by felting later would be any different from angling the arms of the template downwards? I really liked the idea of having a seamless coat, even though I am becoming more proficient with the sewing machine the idea of avoiding the ridges you get from seams really appealed. That said I might be able to add some dart to the arm pits but I'm concerned that will restrict arm movement..... In answer to some of the questions (please prod me if I have missed yours): - I used just 2 layers of wool but they were laid moderately thickly - the jacket needed 450 g (1 lb) of wool - I confess I ordered 3 times as much wool as it turned out I needed, watch this space for lots more red felt! - used a piece of plastic between layers on the front as a second resist so that I could overlap the wool with the intent it would be double breasted but that didn't quite go to plan! - it took 2 long days (about 14 hours) to make, but I did spend a lot more time thinking about resist and wool layout than I normally do. - The resist is about 7 ft across (wrist to wrist) - the tunic top is quite a snug fit but I am able to wriggle in and out of it without a zip (I found the same with the dress I made which is also zip-free)
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Post by felicity on Dec 9, 2014 22:10:14 GMT
Teri, I do not make garments (not even a vest!) so not much help from me. You could look at this tutorial: www.livemaster.ru/topic/110186-sposob-privalivaniya-rukava-s-ekonomiej-mesta?msec=14It's in Russian obviously, a felter try to show how she put together sleeves and a body using the limited space. There are a lot of pictures though... But anyway you need to have a good pattern with a proper shape of sleeve's top. Fiddly stuff...
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Post by Frances on Dec 9, 2014 22:36:52 GMT
I have been following this post and thought I would share some pictures of a Jacket my niece made in a class taught by Jean Gauger at Opulent Fibers in Portland - Note that the sleeves do look angled a little bit - Front and back pictures do not show much bulk in underarms - I have only seen these pictures so I do not know how heavy the jacket is. She obviously made hers more fitted than the person standing next to her in the 4th picture. Actually these pictures are what made me investigate felting - part of my niece's Graduate School Thesis was on making seamless garments. 1 1 1
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