Friday, October 14, 2011

The 'C'moooooooon Poil!' Swing Jacket

I am super excited to show you my latest creation! You may have guessed from the sewing inspiration board from this week that it was going to be a swing jacket. I'm a HUGE fan of 1940's musical films and one of my absolute favourites is 'Cover Girl' with Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. In that musical, Rita wears a very stylish swing type jacket that is very reminiscient of the mid-1940's (photos of Rita's jacket on my inspiration board).


McCall 3619 fit the bill perfectly for a swing jacket! I actually think this is a rare pattern as it's the first time I've seen a swing jacket so early in the 1940's (this pattern is from the year 1940). They didn't really come into full fashion until 1943/44 and later in the decade (1946/47) and again throughout the 1950's.


When I was in NYC for the fabulous blogger meet-up, I bought some amazing bright teal/blue wool twill from Paron Fabrics (it's actually much brighter than in the photos which were taken at dusk). It's absolutely buttery and fabulous to sew! You might think it's odd that I would buy wool in the States when Scotland has such fantastic wool (which it does!) but I've found it hard to get 'unusual' colours of wool in Scotland. We've got the best quality (and prices--even compared to the States) on high-quality wool in traditional colourways but we don't really have many of the brighter or funkier colours! I've never sewn with wool twill and I must say that I LOVE it!


The pattern was very easy to put together and is fully lined. I opted for view C with the box sleeves. It's funny because whoever had used this pattern before me had shorted it by about 1 inch. I had originally thought of leaving their alterations and doing mine shorter too but decided that I wanted the longer length. Now in retrospect I think I would have liked it a bit shorter!


I really love the rounded front lapel and the neat pleat in the front shoulder areas. I am also a huge fan of pleated sleevecaps! I'm glad I went for the boxy sleeves as that will make this a perfect layering jacket for winter!


The back of the jacket does take that 'swing' jacket shape but not as much as I had hoped. I think I may have to coax it into more of a soft pleated shape with some very gentle ironing!


Overall I am quite pleased with my new 1940's jacket--it certainly gives a proper look for the time period! I love how it matches my other me-made items (my 1943 DuBarry blouse and my 'Mrs Peacock' skirt). Can you tell I'm trying to make a wardrobe of matching items :)



I want to get your advice, I have approximately 1.5 metres left of this fabrics. Should I make:

a) a 1950's godet skirt (I got this through the pattern swap as part of the NYC meet-up)


 
or b) the new Colette 'Clover' long capri trousers (this fabric does have a bit of stretch to it):

 
So far when I polled the readers at the Sew Weekly--they are leaning towards the godet skirt--though many more clover votes are coming in!  What do you think?
SHARE:

27 comments

  1. Lovely jacket and a great outfit together. So stylish! I think the skirt would be lovely with the jacket.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Initially I thought the skirt, then I rethought. A skirt with swing won't look right with a jacket with swing, it will be unbalanced. Slim pants will look much better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a glamourous coat! It's such a pretty shape and the colour is Devine!
    I would have to put my vote in for the godet skirt, I love the way that style skirt flicks when you walk :) x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Definitely the godet skirt! I feel like you'd get much more wear out of it than the capris in that color/fabric.

    That said-- wow! The jacket looks great. I love the color you chose. So bright and vibrant, which can be a real bonus in cold weather! The whole outfit really is smashing. You look great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am voting for the clover pants, because then you will be able to wear them together. The skirt has to much fullness to wear with your wonderful new jacket.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous jacket! I agree with Rachelle. You already have a great skirt to wear with the jacket. Trousers/slacks would be a nice addition, and probably look better than the skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Go for the skirt!!
    Jacket is lovely, I love the way it just swings!lol x x x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gah, I love this jacket!!! I definitely want to see you make the skirt out of the jacket fabric. I know you would rock a pair of tartan Clovers, Debi. Go for it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh debi this is GLORIOUS!!!!! i must say... i'd love to see you in the clovers. and once again i think david would agree.

    40s musicals?! the next time we visit, we are so watching 40s musicals. gene kelly is my absolute favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely, I find that the pictures on pattern covers always exagerate the amount of swing, I've just made a similar but d/b jacket and it looks great with a very slim skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I never knew that that's what swing jackets were. I personally prefer A for looks, but I think the capris would be more interesting. You don't see people sewing trousers often!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gorgeous! I adore the color, and the shape is just perfect! Love it! I am leaning towards the clover pants, although the skirt looks cute too. Depends on the drape of the fabric, I guess. Good luck with making a choice!

    ReplyDelete
  13. i know i already commented on the sew weekly post, but i feel that it bears repeating: HAIR. your hair looks amazing!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. GREAT color on you! Hmmm, if you plan to wear the jacket with the matching piece, I would opt for the skirt. If you don't, the pants would be fantastic in that blue. (How's that for a non-answer!?!? LOL)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Skirt. You may find that 1 1/2 yards is not long enough for trousers, unless you have really short legs. I have merely short legs, and need 2 yards to be sure to have enough length. Lovely color -- glad you thought to snap it up when you made your trip home.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Godet all the way!!! I adore the jacket, of course, and it's so interesting to read your take on wool availability. Whodathunk?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I vote for the Godet skirt. The Clover seems more mid-50s/early 60s than 40s?

    I love your hair too! Did you do something new to it?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Godet skirt all the way!! Lovely pattern.

    Well done on the jacket. You've done a great job. I love the location you chose to shoot your pics :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. It looks fabulous. I love the colour. I think you should make the godet skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gotta be the skirt! I just love godet skirts. And that colour is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Debi, that is such a beautiful coat! And I'm with the others - the godet skirt would be gorgeous in that fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Clover takesmy vote. Debi your creations are superbe !

    ReplyDelete
  23. Very cute jacket. I wonder how it would make up in hemp or cotton as a sun protection garment...? hmmm...

    I say go for the skirt. I've heard the pants are a little weirdly low-waisted.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Could you do a post on where you buy wool in Scotland? When I was in Ireland two years ago, I thought I would find wool everywhere only to be severely disappointed.

    Can't decide on the what-to-make-next question. Your slim peacock skirt looks delish with the swing coat. In that vein, I vote for the slim Colette pants.

    On the other hand, I can totally see this blue wool made up into the godet skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Debi ! I think you should make the Collette pants. I'd love to try those too. I have yet to make up the pattern you gave me but now the weather is cooling a tiny bit so a long sleeved dress is a good idea.( it was a long sleeved 40's dress) thanks for sharing at my blog link party and of course you did a fab job on that coat! I enjoyed reading about your New York meet up over at The Sew Weekly.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful jacket! And that color is absolutely fabulous on you!

    ReplyDelete

I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
MINIMAL BLOGGER TEMPLATES BY pipdig