Vogue 8932...Better Late Than Never

It's a warm, sunny morning here in southwest Florida and I am basking in the quiet.  Mr. Lucky and I are back in our rental condo enjoying the vitamin D, seeing beloved dear friends and celebrating our mutual birthdays this month.  What better time and place to sit down and catch up on blogging about some "recent" sewing projects.  
Our Baltimore winter has been mild for the most part...with the exception of that 30 inch record-breaking snowstorm about a month ago.  That weather made it perfect for wearing this Vogue 8932
jacket.  Vogue 8932  It's OOP but still available on the internet.  I worked on it two years ago at the Northern VA winter sewing retreat in Winchester, VA.  I had made some pattern alterations and was working on my "good" version in a luscious brown ponte.  But those back seam lines caused me an annoying problem.  I got a "bubble" at each of the points and no steaming or pressing could make them sit flat enough for me.  Was it "wearable?"  Probably.  Would I enjoy wearing it?  Probably not.  So I abandoned the project, sulked, and moved on.  This past summer, at another sewing retreat, the talented, focused and creative Audrey, of    Sewtawdry casually asked about the jacket since she was curious about the result.  I had to somewhat shamefully admit that I had not returned to the project but that question made me pull out the pattern again in late fall.  
I made one more alteration before I cut it out.  I used this olive/chartreuse wool jersey that I had washed and dried several times so it feels like very lightweight boiled wool.  Yes, another Fabric Mart find from years ago that I had been saving for just the right project.  When I tried on the brown ponte jacket project (stored in my failed project mock up closet corner) I noticed that if I wore it with a tank top that the back was still a little too short for my taste.  I added 1 1/2 inches to the center back hem and tapered the curve to nothing by the side seams.  I also added 3/4 of an inch to the front of the jacket or else those points pointed to an unflattering part of my front anatomy.
Here are the pictures:

Vogue 8932 Front

Vogue 8932 Back

Vogue 8932

I love the lightweight but warm coziness of the jacket.  One of the challenges was deciding how to finish the facings on the jacket.  It is unlined but has facings along the front and all the way around the back.  Turning a seam allowance on this fabric, even with understitching, just was too bulky.  So I looked at several RTW boiled wool jackets and noticed a nice, flat seam edge technique for facings....

The facing is stitched wrong sides together then two rows of top stitching keep it in place.  

To prevent the facing from moving or flipping out, it was invisibly blind hemmed with nylon thread on the inside of the jacket.

Front facing, wrong sides together, two rows of top stitching then SA trimmed off.

I hand stitched the facings very lightly all around the jacket and am happy with how very "sweater-y" it feels when I wear it.
I topstitched all the seams with a medium weight silk thread, very subtle and tone on tone, but it also let me trim the seam allowances down and make them very flat.  I took my time doing it and was grateful for the free arm of my Viking 770 machine which let me slowly reach both sides of the two sleeve seams.

When it came to a closure, I decided I didn't want snaps as I had originally planned.  I found this strong magnet set on the notions wall at Joann's and hand stitched (with the help of a leather hand needle and thimble) both pieces in place.  It is strong enough to keep the jacket closed when I want it closed but does let time wear it open which is how I wear it most of the time.

I like how the magnetic keeps the front of the jacket sleek and unfussy.
Overall I am so happy that I came back to this project.  I think this pattern was a real sleeper and really deserved better than drawings on the pattern envelope.  I am planning to make a lightweight wind pro polartec version in the future.  I might even consider making a slightly longer straight hemmed version which keeps those flattering vertical seam lines but changes the hem design.  All in all, a great pattern and a real reminder not to give up when things don't go your way on a sewing project....although you might not want to put it off for two more years:-)