Houndtooth Brushed Cotton Jacket

This is my third project done during confinement, and another one that I have not been able to wear in public yet. I thought I might wear it for an important presentation I had a couple of weeks ago, but that day started to feel hot, and it ended up in the back of my chair. I only wore my two previous projects for videomeetings too, and that is making me rethink my whole sewing activity. Now I have decided to make some work trousers for my hubby, since he has to work as a postman in the wild outside and we have to wash his clothes everyday.

The good part about this project is that it has been a slow sewing that stretched for almost two months. I am doing crazy hours working online with my primary school students, and I have not much time left to sew nowadays, but still, I made it slowly, by hand, with much care as I could. The result reflects that.

This small houndtooth brushed cotton is simply gorgeous. I totally recommend it to everyone to make a jacket, tailored dress or slacks. it really looks like wool, but it is soft and strong as cotton. I think I bought it from Ray Charles, but I cannot find the product there now, so I suppose it is not in stock any more. It is a gorgeous fabric to work with and to wear, although I cannot testify for much wearing it yet, sadly.

For the pattern, I used my tailored jacket own pattern. I drew it long ago using Aldrich's book, and I still think it is an awesome pattern. I have used it many times with slight variations. 

In this case, I made the middle front bottom part square, and changed the lapels to copy my inspiration source. I simply omitted the upper collar and made the lapels bigger and more square at the top. I love this front!

The procedure I followed is quite standard in my sewing. 

I transferred the pattern to the folded fabric with tailor tucks, I applied thermofusible interlinng to all the bodice and the sleeve caps in this case, and then proceeded to baste it. 

I tried it on and adjusted the waist and the back princess seams, I added the lapels and upper neck facing, turning it over. 

Then, I made the double welted buttonhole and finished it in the back, on the facing. 

Next, I foded the bottom hem, but before that I had to attach some extra fabric to a couple of the panels, since they were too short. It became invisible in this patterned fabric. I put a lead cord in the bottom fold to give more weight to the jacket, Chanel Style.

 

I proceeded to baste all the front facings and hems, and after ironing it well (this is cotton, it takes the iron like nothing) I hand slip-stitched it all in place.

Sleeves were the next step. I applied interlining to the cap, gathered the top and basted them to the jacket. I then machine-stitched the bottom part, and back-stitched all the top by hand. If sleeves are slightly gathered at the top, sewing them by hand with back stitches is far better than machine stitching, which always provokes pinching the subtle gathering.

With sleeves in place and their bottoms sewn by hand with slip stitches as well, I proceeded to cut and assemble the lining, and apply it to the jacket, which was on my dressform inside out. I pinned the lining and proceeded to sew it by hand with slip stitches all around. 

And voilà. 

I think the jacket is a masterpiece and it is going to get a lot of wear if we some day recover the prepandemic functioning. I only have slight doubts about the sleeves, are they too long or too wide? Only wearing the jacket i will be able to decide on that. 

I hope you like it!