Sewing for Me
Nursing Jacket, January 2003
Pattern: ELD 206
Fabric: MM 200 print from the outlet in Seattle
(You can click on any pic for a larger view.)
First of all, here is just the front and back of the jacket (excuse the odd angles & expressions, this was my first foray into doing my own pics with the remote control for the camera):
Compare the look with drawstring (left) and without drawstring (right). I think there's a big difference:
From the back, the non-drawstring coat is particularly sack-like:
Other some more closeups of the waist (yes, I finally have one!). Also I think the left pic shows off the stripe matching across the zipper, which I am very proud of:
Other comments: I am very very happy with this jacket. The stripes were a bear to cut out properly and sew matching, even with a walking foot, and the sides are not quite right, but you can't really see. I did re-do the sleeves (these pics show the new sleeves). The original sleeves were just too huge, as Lily warned. So I took out about two inches, tapering up to the armscye. They're still plenty full. Also, I made the jacket a bit too long (actually, I made it the exact length of the pattern). In my first version, which you can see on my 2001 page, I shortened the pattern 3 inches and it didn't quite cover my rear end how I wanted, especially when wearing the sling--the padding of the sling pulls the jacket up a bit on that shoulder. So this time I didn't shorten it at all. If there is a next time, I'd shorten just a little, like 1 to 1.5 inches. But I'm not complaining!
On the matter of the drawstring, I should note that I purposely made this jacket about two sizes larger than I would have if I weren't using the drawstring. So, theoretically if you made a smaller size, it would still look good without the drawstring.
I did the zippered nursing openings. They work fine for nursing. I forgot to take a picture of them. The topstitching on the zippers came out totally crooked, but fortunately fleece is very forgiving and of course the openings are covered by the overlay anyway. Much of my stitching was crooked (such as the collar and the drawstring casing), but I don't think it's really noticeable in the fleece. I only knew it because I would start out following one stripe and end up following another.
I know that I did a good job because I keep pulling this jacket out of the closet even when it is really a bit too cold or warm and I should wear something else.