Carnivale of Couture: Technical Complexity

(click on any picture to enlarge)

Kathleen Fasanella, over at Fashion-Incubator is hosting the most recent Carnivale of Couture: Technical Complexity. I've had fun reading the entries, and got to thinking about my own sewing/patternmaking. This afternoon I remembered this pullover I made for my husband, in late 1994 or early 1995.

My husband designed the pullover, inspired by Dale of Norway, another company that I can't remember (Sondre?), along with Celtic influences. He drew it out, and I made a pattern, starting with a Vogue Sport jacket pattern and changing it. A lot.

I used UltraSuede for the welt pockets, and put zippers in them. The pocket is a kangaroo style, meaning if you put your hands in the pockets, they can touch each other. Everything was done by machine.

The clasps were purchased at a local knit shop, and I put welting in the seams. I mitered every corner, and broke a few needles, as it got pretty thick in places!

He used to wear it quite a bit, and I wish I would have used real suede instead of the UltraSuede. I think real suede would've held up better?

The back view. I put welting in the sleeve seams too. The jacket is made from a gray wool boucle, striped wool flannel, and is interlined with Thinsulate (I don't remember which weight). It's really hot.

I bagged the lining (Hang Loose), though I could not figure out how to stitch the little section across the bottom of the placket, so I did those few inches by hand.

He wore this on a ski trip to Colorado in 1995, and someone commented on it. Turns out he was some sort of ski celebrity, so David had him sign the lining. It's faded, but it did say "nice piece, Linda -- Scott Schimdt '95".

I've made quite a few complex things (wedding gowns, mostly, though there was that Taming of the Shrew costume), but this gave me more headaches, and I am proud of how it turned out. Do go over to Kathleen's site and read the other entries.