Ottobre 05-2014 #3 Asymmetric Knit Jacket - This is why you should read directions . . .

I've been wanting to make this jacket for a long time. Four years, in fact. I don't know why it took me so long to finally do it. I think it was all the inside bias tape that slowed me down. I was scared of so much of it. In the end, it turned out that all the bias tape was not all that horrible. Here's the line drawing from Ottobre. What almost killed me was the knit welt pockets. I am used to the Jalie Charlie bomber jacket welt pockets and those are SO EASY compared to these Ottobre ones.

I like that you can unzip it for several different looks. I managed to find a zipper that was the same yellow-orange as the double-fold bias tape at JoAnn's. 

I love the pops of yellow on this jacket. I made it out of a medium-weight orange, wicking knit. It has some stretch across the width, but almost none in the length. 

And, directions, let's talk about that for a minute. Usually, on a knit, I take the cuff and fold it wrong sides together and then serge it to the sleeve. This time, people, this time, I read the directions and they blew my freaking mind. I never could make a good looking topstitch stitch when there was a lumpy, uneven seam on the back. There would be three layers on the backside of one side and only one layer on the other side.  You understand what I'm saying, right? You can't topstitch that shit. When you read the directions, they tell you to do this instead. 

Sew the cuff to the sleeve with a straight stitch and press open. 

Fold the cuff over the open seam.

Flip to the right side and do your fancy stitches (on EVEN seams!!!!).

It ends up looking like this. You end up with a nice topstitched seam and something that looks nice underneath.

See??? A whole new way to add decorative stitching to seams with thick and uneven seam allowances! I'm going to start doing this for cuffs and sleeves. I'm going to use this for the rest of my sewing days.

Also, there has been less on the blog these days because quick things, like t-shirts, I've just been posting on Instagram. Come and find me @two_on_two_off!!!!! I have a private account so you just have to ask to follow me. I have it set that way because, well, I'm a teacher, and I don't always want my students to see my sewing things. But if you sew, come and look me up over there!