This is McCalls 5936, which I made up in a black wool boucle. First impressions: SIGH. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it. I just don't love it. When I look at it, I only see all the things I'm dissatisfied with: the way the peplum won't lie flat, for instance. And also the way the peplum is much shorter and, well, protruding than it is on the model on the envelope photograph. Basically, I have peplum problems.
I mean, right? Doesn't her peplum look way different than mine?Anyway, let's think positive for a minute. (But just a minute, and then we can go back to thinking negative.) The things I do like? The covered buttons, which I made using a Dritz kit. Oh, and THE LINING. I found a silk crepe with bright pink roses on it that just screamed Betsey Johnson to me.
Maybe I'll wear it inside out.I made a small change to the pattern, which was narrowing the shoulders and making the sleeve cap higher to fit the new armhole. Even though I don't think I'm narrow-shouldered in the least, I always find McCall's patterns to be very wide-shouldered. But I think this is more of a personal fit preference than anything.
I thought Erica B.'s version of this jacket looked awesome. I just don't think it's for me. I wish the photograph had been more accurate with the peplum. And I wish there had been a better way to sew the peplum lining in so that it wouldn't interfere with the jacket peplum lying flat. Oh, if wishes were fishes . . . they'd solve all my peplum problems.
I think it looks great - particularly with that skirt and can't see any difference between yours and Ericas.
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at yours and the pattern (only because of your comments)the difference I can see is the length of the bodice - it seems longer on the pattern, particuarly noticable between the buttons. As your not going to be carrying the pattern enveope around with (I presume!) all anyone will see is a lovely, well fitting, well made, expensive looking jacket with a gorgeous lining.
I think it looks great. I don't see any problems with the peplum, especially not when not right up against the pattern envelope. I think it looks great on you and that you really are being your own worse critic. You are so pretty and have a such a great figure, pretty much anything you put on looks great!
ReplyDeleteI gotta say I don't see a thing wrong with it. I think you look gorge :o)
ReplyDeleteDitto! You look great! I love the lining. Nice touch.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great on you and I love the lining!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the commenter above who says that the bodice looks shorter in reality than on the picture, but no one will know this when you wear it. I like it
Well, I understand once we gals get an idea in our head about something, not even congress can get us to change it...and if YOU think it is laying wrong, it will just plain bug you....
ReplyDeletebut, doll, it looks wonderful from here!
May I suggest taking it to a good cleaners and having them give it a professional claening/ironing? I had a jacket similar to this years ago that I bought at a thrift store. I loved the way it SHOULD have looked but it wouldn't lay proper....so I took it to a cleaner who has been around here since the world (or at least our town) began and they gave it a proper cleaning and ironing and VOILA! It lay perfectly.
Wish I still had it...of course, that would also mean wishing I was still 98 pounds..but, hey, I'm not and that just means I can make/buy new-to-me clothing!!
See? Always have my glass half full!!
I think your jacket looks great on you. Your fit looks like mine. I've come to the conclusion that the pattern companies jury-rig garments to look a certain way... we have no clue how many clips and pins are probably in the back of her jacket.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of your peplum! I had no idea it was called peplum (I'm not native English speaking). Thanks for educating me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree -- your jacket looks more like the pattern sketch. I bet they've got a big clip in the back pulling her peplum back. I've even seen some reflected in mirrors in the Burda pattern magazine! Trust only the technical drawing...
ReplyDeleteI second the suggestion for professional dry-cleaning/pressing. I've heard many people say this is just the final step in proper sewing.
And, it's a beautiful jacket, with a gorgeous lining, on a lovely woman. What's not to like?
I agree with Erica B., if you look at her jacket again you can see that her peplum looks just like yours.
ReplyDeleteThe difference I see between IRL and the pattern picture is that the front of the peplum is shaped differently. The real peplum starts curving out directly from the waist seam where the one on the pattern comes down straight overlapping the other side for at least an inch and THEN starts to curve out. I personally think you did another great job.
Ha ha, yes, we are our own worst critics, aren't we? You are all very sweet. I'm wearing the jacket today and it's definitely growing on me.
ReplyDeleteErica, you probably think I'm crazy, but I feel like your peplum lies flatter than mine. Do you think that maybe in the step where you sew the peplum fabric and the peplum lining together and turn it right side out, it would make sense to baste the raw edges together? That way the peplum and lining would hang better I think.
I do like the fit of the bodice, and I think if I make this again I will lengthen the bodice and maybe use a peplum from a different pattern. We'll see.
Having sewn from this era, the waistline was always a little shorter/higher than in the drawing. And this was the beginning of distortion in drawings....longer necks, longer bodices, longer legs, longer arms, etc. But all that in consideration, I think you're being too critical. The peplum looks great, maybe the next time, for your own personal preference you can take out some of the fullness and put in a fairly stiff interfacing to make it not be so flouncy....maybe, but it looks good to my eye.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Gertie. I do think that the pattern looks longer than your version. Not that that is bad, you understand. Yours is great. But, I have found the same thing sometimes in what I sew. What I really hate is doing a good job - as you did - on the piece and then having it not be what I wanted or what I was hoping it would look like. Grrrrrrrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteI like it. But I understand where your coming from. My personal sewing torment is jackets and blouses. I have big boobs and I have big problems fitting them since a pattern will never properly occomodate them. But it gives me a 2010 goal.
ReplyDeleteI JUST bought this pattern, and I only hope I look as good in mine as you do in yours.
ReplyDelete-Sandra
Beautiful jacket! I think it looks great on you!
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome! Perhaps if it stuck straight out, like you see sometimes on space age dresses in the jetsons or whatever, that'd be a bit weird looking. But as it is, really lovely.
ReplyDeleteIn my minds's definition of a peplum, it is not supposed to lay flat - it is supposed to be a little wavy - like the sketch. Yours looks great! Could it be a little short waisted? Maybe it would make a difference if the jacket were about an inch longer before the peplum.
ReplyDeleteAlso - a gorgeous picture of you! And the picture of you with Mr. Henry Higgins is terrific - life is good!
It looks like you've cut it on the bias ... have you tried shrinking it down with a steam iron? x
ReplyDeleteHi Gertie-- I was going to say the bias cut like Julia above. It looks as if it was cut on the bias which will always give you a flare. And like Julia mentioned-- try steam!
ReplyDeleteI actually love the peplum. So cute! And love, love the lining!
The carefully placed and matched plaid used for the pattern envelope jacket may be visually distorting / influencing the way one 'reads' the shape of the jacket?
ReplyDeleteI second kazoom - I wouldn't think it's a peplum if it lied flat. The model pic looks like a waist seam, but not a peplum to me. Also, it looks great on you!
ReplyDeleteWhatever you think its flaws are, it looks gorgeous on you!
ReplyDeleteI think yours looks quite good and that it looks like Erica B's version.
ReplyDeleteI agree with kazoom about how I envisage a peplum; it has a gentle wave to it.
Aside from that, the model seems to be wearing a larger size which has been lapped and pinned to appear to fit. This makes the jacket seem longer waisted, and the overlap at the peplum may help it lie flat. Plus, notice the contrived way she is holding her hands to cover the exact location of her hips below the peplum, disguising the amount that it actually sticks out.
A. the model's left hand and right arm obscure the floofing. The drawing shows lots of floof. B. Photoshop?
ReplyDeleteMcCalls drives me crazy, I've never had a pattern there turn out quite right, I always wondered if it was just me! I think it looks great though, peplums are so flattering and cute, and I just love the lining! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI think the pattern envelope is photoshopped, and that drives me crazy! I think it happens a lot, because finished garments rarely have the same proportions and shape as the pattern envelope illustration.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I used to prefer to buy patterns with photos, as they were more realistic than the stretched-out drawings. But photoshop has destroyed that realism. Now the only place we can check what a garment will really look like is the internet, on blogs and pattern review.
Don't beat yourself up. It looks pretty good to me. Love the lining. You should do buttons on the inside so you can make it reversible. Double the value!
ReplyDeleteWow,that looks so stylish especially with that skirt. I always feel that that style is not for me, but your's looks so good that now I want to make one. I can just imagine that black wool boucle - what a wonderful fabric choice.
ReplyDeleteYeah I love it! The model on the front of the envelope is like VoNBBS-skinny! Look at her rib cage! I think that is why the peplum looks different in that picture, the whole thing's been altered for her and pinned like mad down the back, so the whole thing looks longer & narrower. I think it's a great-looking jacket that will work so well with a lot of the things you've made just this summer alone. The neckline angles frame your ink really well, too!
ReplyDeleteYour jacket looks great! I can't remember what pattern it was exactly, but I can remember on the Burda website, seeing a photo where I could CLEARLY identify a binder clip holding sticking out from behind a model, holding the back of her dress. At that point, I stopped trusting images entirely and only fully trusting my muslins! Besides, those models are all built like twelve-year-old boys and well, we, are not. Hence, the non-flat peplum. Revel in your curves, you look FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing I can add to all the comments above, but to say that the jacket looks very nice, and yes,the professional photographers do pin the garments so they look form fitting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at your jacket, I see perfection!!! I think we are always harder on ourselves than others are. I love it with that skirt!!!
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else has said, I think your jacket looks great. I know how you feel, though. I have made items that don't turn out like I envisioned. They just never regain their luster after that initial disappointment.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, LOVE that lining!!!!!!!!!!
I love your jacket and it is a fabulous frame for your ink!
ReplyDeleteThe peplum looks like the pattern illustration (blue jacket).
Actually, I like your peplum better than the one on the pattern jacket. Yours has a little ruffly look to it. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI can understand your frustration with the peplum. It is extremely vexing when things that should lie flat DON'T (I'm having the same problem with a wide-lapel jacket that I'm working on). However, the jacket looks adorable, even if the peplum isn't perfect! I think I'd be tempted to wear it inside out just so that I could see the lining--it makes me smile!
ReplyDeleteYou don't love it?!! Well I do, I think it looks fabulous, I like the way the peplum flares out and I think that your fabric choice gives in an expensive classic look.
ReplyDeleteYour jacket looks great; however, I think the jacket on the pattern envelope has a longer bodice. That's why is lays flatter. I always thought that "Peplum" didn't lay flat. It's defined in the dictionary as "a short overskirt or ruffle attached at the waistline of a jacket, blouse, or dress." Anyhoo, you look fab!
ReplyDeleteOne of the down sides (and there are few) of the Happy Land of Sewing Blogs it that pretty much everyone posts very nice, upbeat comments. So you tend to not believe readers when they tell you something looks good. You figure they're just being kind or they're clueless.
ReplyDeleteTRUST ME: This jacket really looks fabulous on you. It's flattering, well constructed and looks like a peplum jacket should.
I agree that it doesn't look like the pattern envelope (though weird that it does look like the illo), but it also looks 10 times better than the pattern envelope.
The jacket totally jumped out at me as I scrolled down the page. My first thought was WOW. Then I read the word "problems" in the post. I thought, "Problems, what could possibly be the problem with this jacket?"
Seriously, it's a great jacket.
Not a fan of peplums but it looks GREAT on you. Rock it!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks GREAT on you. I like the way the peplum flares a bit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone; the garment is really lovely and looks tailored to a T on you, who is also lovely!
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your blog and it hit the spot with me. Thanks for sharing your hard work and time with all of us.
I think the difference is that your peplum is flirtier than the model's peplum, and frankly, I think that's a good thing. The model on that pattern looks like she's some sorta principal's office secretary, whereas you look like a pin-up. I'm just sayin', is all.
ReplyDelete