Vogue 8481 - Couture Shaeffer Jacket

The last time we talked about this jacket, I was done with it. I was frustrated with the slow progress, I was pissed off at the arms, I was angry that there was some weird back fitting issue. In a nutshell, I was not happy. I wasn't about to chuck it but I was about to leave it unfinished and let it die a slow painful death. A few days ago I realized that I was being impatient and stupid. Yesterday, I strapped on my girl pants, ripped off the right arm, tore out the back and did it right. Today, I finished the rest of it. So, without further adieu, here it is.

I like the look of it when it's unbuttoned. I love this light blue shirt; it's from Old Navy. It's one of the few blouses that fit me well. The color really matches my eyes and makes them glow. I think it looks great with this jacket.

It also looks nice buttoned.

I LOVE the lining. It's a fabric my husband brought back from Houston. I'm about to crack up because my neighbors (not the crazy ones) just walked out on their deck. They are eyeballing me and then they ask if I wanted a martini. We often drink martinis in lawn chairs in the cul-de-sac with their other neighbor. They are used to my flasher ways.

I fixed the back problem by letting out about an 1" down most of the length. You can see there is a tiny wrinkle in the right armhole but it's soooo much better than it was before. I took the bottom of the sleeve off, cutting into the jacket, and removing a bit of the jacket to make the sleeve fit.I ended up adding both a sleeve head and a thin shoulder pad. It's not perfect but it's really close and it's so much better than what it was going to look like.

The cuffs have a fake sleeve vent.

I had to take a picture of the handsewing stitches because I am so proud of them. Don't they look nice from the right side? I probably won't (no freaking way) handsew in another lining but I'm glad I did it with one jacket. It does give you unparalleled control but man is it challenging. This is the area where the back lining meets the front facing and lining.

Handsewing (attaching lining to facing) from the inside.

Same area from the outside.

There was one thing I could not figure out. I read the directions again and again and again for this section. There is a raw edge on the sleeve vent. It's on the inside so it's not a big deal but I'm sure it's not right.

Whew. I'm done. Woot!