This jacket is bringing a little bit of sunshine into my sewing studio even though the days are getting darker...
This is the latest pattern from Closet Case Patterns, the Sienna Maker Jacket. When I first glimpsed the line drawings of this pattern as a tester, well over a year ago, I was immediately smitten, and seeing the lovely Monserratt model the newly expanded size range was just icing on the cake.
I had trouble deciding which view to sew first! I love all the little details that really make this jacket special... although my first love was the belted version, in the end, I went for View C, the cropped chore jacket with a back vent and sleeves with button pockets.
I had a 2 yard piece of golden yellow denim in my stash that perfectly fit View C. I bought this 9 ounce mustard Cone Mills denim from Imagine Gnats a couple of years ago, but it looks like they just restocked it this week! It is the perfect weight for the Sienna Maker Jacket.
I think when I washed my denim, back in the day, I let it sit in the dryer a bit too long, hence the permanent wrinkles. I kinda like them, though! One of my coworkers thought it was leather...
I agonized a bit over which size to pick. I'm an in-betweeny, with my measurements putting me into both of Closet Case Patterns' size ranges (0-20 B-cup and 14-30 D-cup) and I wasn't sure which would be appropriate for me. I wear a D-cup bra, but that doesn't necessarily translate to a D-cup for garment sewing. My high and full bust measurements only differ by 1" and I don't have particularly small or narrow shoulders.
Reading up on the size ranges, though, and looking at the Sienna Maker Jacket's finished measurements, I ultimately opted for the size 18 from from 0-20 range. Really happy with my choice! It's loose enough that I can fit a sweater underneath, but not oversized. Are there a couple drag lines from some perspectives that maybe could be eliminated with a dart? Yes. Insert shrugging emoji. Maybe I'll try the dart version next time.
Construction-wise, I'll be honest that I had trouble with collar. Maybe it was poor marking, or maybe I'm just not that good at precision sewing, but sewing the bit where the collar meets the lapel (sew precisely to the dot from multiple directions, multiple times) was a nightmare that I unpicked like 100 times. I couldn't get it so that it didn't have either a big hole or a bunchy mess.
Ultimately I ended up unpicking the lot and trying a different method: rather than sew the undercollar to the jacket and the upper collar to the facing, then sew them together, I sewed the upper and under collar together, turned right side out, then sandwiched them between the jacket and facing and sewed it together. It may not be the proper way, but it's what worked for me!
Similarly, I had an issue with the hem for some reason- my hem stitching was overlapping the bottoms of the patch pockets. I think, in retrospect, it's because I was binding the hem rather than doing a double-turn hem, and I should have trimmed off the extra half inch before binding? To accommodate, I unpicked the bottom of the pockets, hemmed, and then restitched the pockets over the hem.
Speaking of binding - I did Hong Kong seams to finish all of my seam allowances. The fabric for my bias binding, and my sleeve pockets from a piece of beautiful Indonesian hand-stamped batik that I bought when I lived in Jakarta. I made my niece (I think?) a beautiful raglan shirt out of this batik a long, long time ago, and had half the piece left.
This jacket has a lot of buttons! 3 on the front, 3 on the back vent, and one on each sleeve. I opted for some silver jeans buttons from my stash. I was worried the ones on the back placket might dig into my back, but I wore the jacket to work and had no issues!
I got to use my new "one of a kind" label from Stitch Collective- I love it! This jacket is certainly one of a kind, and this hanging label pairs perfectly with my personalized sew-in labels from Dutch Label Shop. The perfect little finishing touches.
I am so delighted with my Sienna Maker Jacket! I wore it to work yesterday and my colleague asked me if I could will the jacket to her when I die. So if I go soon, you'll know it's Wendy at my office who did it for my Sienna Jacket! Until then, I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this statement piece... Can't wait to make the other views!