Finished: Red Military Jacket

So there I was, trying on this jacket for the first time, and feeling pretty pleased with the whole thing, when my husband catches a glimpse of me and says "Hey! You made a Sarah Palin jacket." Thud.

[Note to any DHs reading this blog: It is generally not a good idea to tell your wife or significant other that the jacket she just sewed makes her look like Sarah Palin, no matter how hot you think Ms. Palin is. ]

Politics and resemblance to governors of states far colder than mine aside, let's talk about this jacket. It was the first thing I made after my bouclé coat, and I wanted to tackle something easy. I used the same Vogue pattern I made my coat from because I had a muslin to use for pattern layout and I knew it would fit me. And I had some great red double knit from Metro Textile in my stash all ready to go.

The details:

• Okay, the fit that I achieved with my coat, which is snug but comfortable, did not readily translate to this jacket, I think because the double knit fabric has a little more ease in it. It's a little loose through the armscye, shoulder area and sleeve. I really had to tweak the sleeve cap area, taking in about an inch of ease at the top of the cap. Sleeve heads and thin shoulder pads help support the shoulder area and define the sleeve cap. Overall, though, I'd rate the fit as decent-but-could-be-better.
  

• I topstitched the princess seams, using my 1/4" foot to guide my stitching.

• I have been snoop shopping double knit jackets for awhile now, and I've noticed most of them, regardless of price, do not have linings. So I skipped the lining in mine, opting to serge the seams and finish the front facing edges with a contrast binding. I fusible-interfaced the collar and two front facings.
  

• I had keyhole buttonholes made at Jonathan Embroidery when I was in the city one day for work. (7 buttonholes for $7!)

• As far as design changes, I added flaps (is this what you call them?) to the sleeves, and I decided to keep the buttons to one side of the jacket.

• The fabulous gold dome buttons are from Pacific Trimmings on W. 38th.
  

Here I am after work on Monday, tired and resorting to my standard hands-folded-across-the-chest pose. I like this jacket. I love the tomato-red color, and it looks great with jeans. I think I wore a jacket similar to this in the '80s, but with the requisite humongous shoulder pads, of course.

A lousy cutaway shot of the inside, showing a serged princess seam on the right and the front facing edge bound in some knit fabric I had in my stash.

This is a closeup of the wrong side of a Jonathan Embroidery-made buttonhole on my jacket. Pretty perfect, right? The right side looks even better.

Which one of these three women is the least likely to spend $150,000 on her wardrobe this year? Hint: She is not a member of the NRA and she doesn't have a platinum American Express card, though she thinks spending that kind of money on clothes and accessories could be a fun challenge.

Photo credits: Sarah Palin, New York Times; Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live