This is my homework. I'm really lucky I love doing it so much.

It's well into Spring term at BYU right now, and I am taking my last two classes for my undergrad. I honestly cannot believe that I only have a little less than three weeks left of my college education. I feel like I've been at BYU for ten years-- not because it was boring or I didn't enjoy it. i LOVE college. i have just done so much in four years (got married, found my true calling in life, you know, those sorts of things) that I cant believe it is over. 

SO, for the last few weeks I've been working hard in the highest sewing class that BYU offers, which is Tailoring. As my teacher, the Doc, educates everyone else, tailoring is NOT just about sewing with wool to make wool coats. It's more about manipulating fabric to keep a permanent shape. Which is why wool coats cost so much-- there is a lot going on underneath the layers of your favorite coat that actually make it your favorite. It just happens to be made out of wool and wool happens to be the best material to use in tailoring. It can be confusing, but I am here to set the record straight. I'm not almost a college grad for nothin. 

I know this blog is solely about patterns that I make, but for time's sake in the tailoring class, we have to use pre-made patterns. It was hard to find one I actually liked, but gosh darn it I did. 

I love the giant collar! And I'm shortening the sleeves to make 3/4 length. I hate long sleeves.

The pattern is McCalls 5759. I highly recommend it. 

I found the fabric at  Yellow Bird fabrics in Salt Lake. Amy, the owner, helped me decide between a Marc Jacobs flannel or this heavy weight loose weave wool. It is very Chanel, and the Chanel girl inside of me just couldn't resist it.

A great learning exercise would be to go to a local DI or goodwill and buy a tailored men's coatm rip it open, and look inside to see all the interfacing, linen tape, and hand stitching that is involved to make it look as good as it does. You would be suprised. Part of me doesn't want to finish the jacket just so that I can look at all of my hardwork in the coat forever! but I guess it would be more fun to wear it, afterall, and keep all the tailoring secrets to myself. I was so excited to show my husband all the hardwork I had done so far when I finally got the body of the coat put together. I pulled the coat out of my backpack as he relaxed on the couch. 

Look at all this rad work I did, Steve! do you see all my hand-stitching work? and the cool interfacing?

yeah. cool. 

well did you ever think a coat would be so complicated and yet come together so simply? Isn't it beautiful??

yeah. sure. 

Pearls before swine, i tell ya. 

Tonight I finished putting together to collar of the jacket. This is the second time I've sewn this collar. The first time I messed up completely and sewed the interfacing to the upper collar, and not the lower collar (the upper collar is the collar that you actually see, while the lower collar is the one that makes all the shape and is interfaced). All those little stitches you see are done by machine, and make the stand of the collar really stiff and allows the rest of the collar to fall and fold over. it's really amazing. 

I have to steam the lower collar after it is interfaced and let it rest for about 24 hours so it can mold itself into the shape it needs to be. So awesome, right?? 

*sigh* i love sewing. This project is the most fun i have ever had.

Working On:

1. my homework. I'll be student for only one more month.

2. Courtney's dress for the Casual Blogger Conference. 

3. My side-business orders. 

Please bear with the lack of updates on the snake dress. Because I haven't even cut it out. yeesh.

Answering more questions...

1. the postpartum dresses for cjane are still in the works. Since she just had her beautiful baby, I had to do some more alterations on the first one. It will be done *very soon*.

2. I didn't line the skirt. I'm lazy. 

Not lazy-- just busy with other things. Like sewing cjane's dresses, for one. And going to school, for another.

3. yes, the exposed zipper is ten times easier than any other zipper, in my opinion. Doesn't have to be so exact and nit-pickey. I don't like nit-picky.

Questions regarding the Skirt

I have many questions about the skirt aand the exposed zipper...which is great because I LOVE questions. 

Well, questions I can answer, that is. 

I made the skirt pattern myself, actually. Anything in this blog will never have a pre-made pattern connected to it. I have resigned to make all my patterns myself to learn and grow in sewing. But, lucky for you, there are patterns very similar to it: 

McCall's M5631

McCall's M5591

For the exposed zipper, I found the tutorial here. It is wonderfully easy and I would have NEVER known how to do it without the tutorial. 

Anyone who makes a skirt like mine with an exposed zipper and sends me a picture, will be featured on my blog and you get a free headband! Get sewing!

I can get distracted pretty easily.

I know. I know I need to do my snake dress. And finish cjane's dresses. But I had to make a skirt yesterday. There are times when I just stumble upon an awesome print that I've had in my fabric bins that I forgot I had, and then I can't stop myself making a skirt. 

Skirts are great because they only take a day to make. Or six hours if you have a pre-made pattern. I love staying up all night when my husband is gone at work and make a skirt. Totally undistributed, playing Edith Piaf really loud with no one around telling me he doesn't like French music. Well I don't like you! No, I didn't mean that.

You see how distracting that can be?

Steve was around yesterday, so there was no Edith Piaf. There was however season one of Everwood that I got from Netflix. Does anyone else remember Everwood? Such a good show.

Anyway, here is the skirt. This was my first attempt at an exposed zipper, and I have to tell you it is GREAT sewing this. It is probably ten times easier than doing a normal zipper, and it is 100 times cooler. Don't you just love the print?

I'm going to be doing a ton of exposed zippers for my postpartum line. I am tres excited.

Concerning the how-tos, what do you want to know about sewing? I would rather do something that you can actually take something away from it. I know that a lot of you don't have personalized slopers lying around, so what do you want to know about sewing? What do you want to learn about to do at home?