Garment Lesson 1

Rather than spend money on a garment class, I recruited my coworker, Kim, the Editorial Assistant, to help guide me through the steps to making a jacket. Kim graduated with a degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY, so I was confident in her lesson.

At JoAnn, we selected the pattern, fabric and notions. I chose a purple and white houndstooth fabric to use with View A of this pattern:

I began by cutting the pattern pieces:

Then I learned the importance of the grainline. I pinned each pattern piece to the fabric:

I cut out the pieces:

Then I fused interfacing to the appropriate pattern pieces:

Following the pattern guidesheet and Kim’s expertise, I constructed the jacket pieces.

In that lesson I learned:

• Pattern symbols
• Darts
• Pressing collars
• Grainline
• Setting sleeves
• Ease

I constructed the back and front panels, the collar and one sleeve. I still have to sew on the remaining sleeve, finish the  hem and stitch the buttons and buttonholes.

Stay tuned for pictures of the finished garment!