Finally finished my Morris! I'm not sure why it took me so long to finish it up, as it's a really simple project. Sewjo blockage + long weekend trip = drawn out sewing project.
Anyway, here she is, the Morris Blazer by Grainline Studio. I loved the pattern right off the bat: buttonless, unlined blazers are my jam. I won't wax on too much about how much I love the style because you've probably already seen 97 Morris blazer blog posts in your feed in the past couple weeks do the same.
The fabric is some lovely faux-animal print (the spots are comprised of lots of tiny cross-hatches) stretch cotton sateen that was given to me by the lovely Heather of Heather Grows. She and I, along with Nicole from Pudge and Nico took a cue from Lola and her Sisterhood of Traveling Fabric and decided to do an international fabric swap!
After some emails back and forth followed by a flurry of snail mail between Bangkok, Ottawa and Austin, I found myself with this killer fabric, as well as some seriously awesome stripey rayon jersey and amazingly soft floral Betsy Johnson jersey, which you will see here soon, once I decide how not to screw them up. I can't wait to see what those two badass ladies make with the fabric I sent them, too! Thank you, Heather and Nicole!
OK, back to Morris: I had some issues with fit. I don't know if I made a size too small or what (I don't think so, as the body seems fine?), but I had problems with the armscye/armhole and sleeves.
I had to re-cut the sleeves because they were like sausage casings on my arms. Crazy tight. Thankfully Heather sent me plenty of this fabric - even with my screw-up, I still have enough left for a skirt!
With help from Fit for Real People, I made a "full arm" adjustment of about 3/4" and sewed the new sleeves back on:
That helped a bit, enough to make the blazer wearable, but the armscyes/armholes still feel a bit tight. I think I'll need to lower them and/or make a bigger size next time I sew Morris. As is, I can't wear anything but a tank underneath... nothing with sleeves. Anyone have any tips on lowering/widening armscyes? I assume you also have to widen the sleeve to match?
Speaking of sleeves... what are your thoughts on this sleeve length? I feel like I might shorten them a bit next time. Right now they feel neither here nor there... not really full length, not really 3/4 length. I am undecided.
I ended up topstitching the facing down all the way around because, ew, slipstitching. Anyone want free room and board in a sunny apartment in Bangkok in exchange for some hand stitching?
All in all, I think I will love Morris once I get my fitting issues sorted. I can't wait to make it in ponte... I have been eyeing some of the ponte versions popping up on the interwebs: Suzy's colorblocked version, Gillian's polka dots, Hila's mustard. Awesome.
