Tremont Flight

In the late 50's my family moved into a rental house on Tremont Street in Dallas. Daddy had just taken a new job and we lived there during one summer season. By the time school started, my parents had found a permanent home in the suburbs where I lived until high school graduation.

As I made the Tremont jacket from the Sewing Workshop for the third time, I thought about its name. Tremont. I have no idea about the origin of its name but I have my own memories of Tremont. Tremont Street.

It was a wide street with trees. I was unused to trees, coming from a very flat, very dusty Texas panhandle town. There were sidewalks where I could ride my bike. And the house was huge of course.

But I did not know how to ride a bike. That I learned on Tremont Street. We fought about how to learn, with training wheels or not. But eventually Daddy wore me down and I learned to fly. When you ride a bike, for the first time, anytime, you are flying. I still love that feeling of flight.

And the house. Oh yes, two bedrooms, one bath. Google Earth shows Tremont Street to contain sweet little craftsman bungalows. I'll never know which one. It must have been cozy, the five of us there. And it must have been hot. I do not remember.

All of this has nothing to do with the lovely Tremont jacket pattern, But I do like that too. This third time I made no changes to it. It folds right over left as it should, creating an asymmetric closure. It has sleeves that fold back to make a shallow cuff.

I did alter the fabric, a black woven wool with texture in the form of wale-like stripes. I interlined it with a fabric called radiance - a blend of silk and cotton with a satin side and a flat side. I quilted the two layers together in vertical lines about 1.5 inches apart prior to sewing the pieces together. This added more texture and so it does not have the drape that is probably best for this pattern. But it feels lovely on my shoulders.

For closure, I sewed a short bias tube to the inside of the right front, creating a flat loop for a button. I tried a button on the left side but finally chose to tack a long bias tube to the other side. It slides through the loop on the right and can be tied together.

I am still hand-finishing the interior by pressing each seam open, folding the raw edges under and slip-stitching in place. This may be my last Tremont. I have some other patterns I'm anxious to try out. And some other ideas.

So what are you sewing now?