FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Stripes in the forest
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
My original plan was to make a plaid jacket like the one in the mood board I linked as inspiration image, but when I decided to make this project my competition entry, I decided to adequate the fabrics to the theme, instead of the shape. I had this beautiful black and white striped cotton in my stash, which reminded me of tree trunks against the light. However, only the striped fabric would not be a clear reference to the image I had in my mind… That was when I found an amazing floral lace! The lace over the stripes recreates perfectly a silhouette of a forest against the white light of a cloudy day. And were trees against a white sky the background I wanted to find for my photos.
As for the shape of the jacket, I wanted to make something challenging! I made waistcoats and coats before, but never a fully lined jacket. The peaked lapel using two different fabrics was also a fun challenge. I took inspiration from the 1890’s fitted jackets with pleats in the back.
Outline the construction…
I drafted the pattern myself, altering a waistcoat pattern I drafted some years ago from the Keystone Jacket and Dress Cutter, from 1895. The drafting of the sleeves was through trial and error - alterations after alterations over many mockups and past projects. I still find things to be improved in the sleeves, but for now, I am satisfied with the result. The collar and lapels were drafted for this project, since this is the first time I attempt to make a peaked lapel.
The fabric choice was made according to the theme ‘nature’, but also thinking about the structure. All 14 pattern pieces (9 for the bodice, 1 for the collar and 4 for the sleeves) were flat lined with cotton coutil. The velvet was repurposed from a piece (I imagine it was part of a skirt) I found in the fabric scrap pile in the sewing room I inherited from my grandmother who passed last year (it comforts me to have a piece of something she made in a garment I use). She was a very talented seamstress, and I was honored to be her apprentice.
The structural seams were machine stitched, but all visible stitches (including attaching the facings, lining, cuffs and making the buttonholes) were hand sewn.
I was satisfied with the fit and this garment turned out to be comfortable, elegant and warm.
I love this and how you have communicated the project so well through the photographs 🙂
Gorgeous use of monochrome, always a favourite of mine, and I also love that you have made an effort to make the inside as neat, thought out and beautiful as the outside.
I love the contrast of the stripes and the embroidery – they work so well together!!