Details
I used Butterick Pattern #5603 to make this jacket. It's a very simple
pattern, eight pieces in all.
Changes I made are detailed below. I also discovered that you could skimp on
some of the fiddling about with bias tape without ill-effects, but don't skimp
on the steps involving the collar and bias tape, whatever you do!
Length: I chopped eight inches off the bottom, although I later discovered that
was a little too much. I would recommend you shorten the pattern by six inches -
five if you have a long torso - and do the final length adjustments while trying
the garment on.
Closure: The jacket has self-faced overlapping lapels - apparently this is
important in culinary circles, as ladies' jackets close one way, and men's, the
other. This pattern provides for both styles of closure - you just choose which
front panel goes on top during finishing. I cut the pieces and followed the
directions right out of the book, making sure to mark the
center front of each lapel. Then I just folded the lapels back, to the inside,
to create a center front (slightly overlapping) closure, with velcro. If I was
feeling confident, I could have altered the pattern like that from the get-go,
but it was faster to do it this way, if not cheaper. Honestly, I sacrificed
about a quarter yard of fabric, but saved myself a lot of worry!
Cuffs: The pattern includes a self-covering cuff treatment. You can just
appliqué on whatever fabric you want for your cuffs and ignore the cutting marks
on the pattern paper. I didn't make them on the prototype because I'm confident
I can do them, already - and I was rushing. In fact, I think the pattern paper for the sleeve - two
pieces - could be put together and the sleeve cut as one piece if you're not
going to follow their directions for the cuff, which might make
setting the sleeve a little easier. As it is, the sleeve feels a little odd - tight when
the arm is brought forward - but it's bearable.
Center front panel: I used the front-panel pattern piece to cut some
brown fabric to match the
right-front of the garment and then trimmed the outer edge to fit. I eyeballed
the panel to cover one-third of the distance from collar-seam to the shoulder
seam, and that worked out fine. Simply slipstitch or glue the color panel onto
the right-front fabric piece before assembling the jacket.
Epaulettes: These, too, were eyeballed. They're 1 3/4" wide and I
cut them several inches longer than the shoulder seam, to save anxiety while
sewing them in. I laid them out over the
shoulder seam, once the back and front of the jacket had been sewn together,
with the center of the epaulette running directly over (and in line with) the shoulder seam. Then, I
basted it it down inside the collar and shoulder seams to hold it in place and
attached the collar and sleeves as normal. I mis-guessed the ease for one of the
epaulettes - it's a little too long and tends to ruck up - but, heck, I was
rushing a bit. A well placed dab of glue will keep them in place - as will the
epaulette pins that will be on the final version.
Overall, the pattern falls well within my 'good enough' tolerances for Steincorp
Station. The collar isn't quite right - it should meet at center front - and
an experienced sewer could easily fit that by cutting a longer collar - there is
room on the jacket for the collar to fit. Otherwise, it worked out very well, I
think. It could do with some more shaping at the shoulders, so I'm hoping
maybe some crisp interfacing and some shoulder pads might do the trick...
Including time spent fiddling with the epaulettes and
frowning at the pattern, trying to tell my right from my left, it too me seven
hours to make this garment. Now that I know what I'm doing, I think I can get it
down to five or less, which is perfect.
In The Aftermath
Okay, the game is over now, and I'm only slightly ashamed of myself. I
neglected the jacket project for other issues - not the least of which being
coping with the heinous events of 9/11/01 a week before game-day - and, in the
end, I had decided that I just couldn't finish the jacket in time.
Then my husband, without saying a word, made me feel totally guilty for bailing
on his costume and, the day before the game, I got back to work on it. As might
be imagined, it was a little hectic.
Because of last-minute budget crunch, I had to use the cheapest fabric that was
a reasonable color match, and I ended up with $2/yd broadcloth. I had to
interface the hell out of that stuff to make it even less pillowcase-like than
it would have otherwise been. It was a bitch in terms of time and fitting.
If you're going to do this project, use a wool blend or a polyester suiting that
has some weight to it - and sacrifice an exact-color match for fabric drape. I
got stubborn, and I'm not very happy with how it turned out.
Shoulder pads are a must for this garment - I didn't use them, and it shows.
Better yet, find a better-fitting pattern with set sleeves. One of the
disadvantages of that chef's jacket is that the sleeves are freakin' huge. How
do chefs use this jacket without setting themselves on fire in the kitchen? I
ended up doing a quick-cheat on the garment during construction. I took in the
sleeve about two inches after it had been put onto the jacket, and then
gathering the wrist into a quick-and-dirty cuff. Lots of glue and swearwords
went into that at around 12:30AM...
I am sure that there is a better pattern out there, and I will share it with you
when I find it. No, I'm not giving up on this project just because the game is
done! My husband (that handsome chap in the picture) needs something to wear at
sci-fi cons, after all!
I might just resort to a suggestion that was given to me some time ago - buy an
old Ike jacket in a size that fits my husband, carefully take it apart, and
draft a pattern from that. Silly me, three months ago, I thought that such a
course would be too time consuming. After arseing about with armscye
alterations, collar adaptations and velcro for three months, I've realized that
perhaps that early suggestion wasn't such a bad idea, after all..
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