Tremont Jacket

Just now finished my first Tremont Jacket from The Sewing Workshop (TSW). I like it quite a lot. And there is much to like!

This pattern has not yet been released but Linda Lee allowed participants in the July Sew Kansas to trace a copy. She tells me that the final version is off to the printer and should be available in about 2 weeks. I think this will prove to be a very popular jacket for TSW.

There are some small differences between my jacket and the final version of the Tremont Jacket. My tissue contained separate cuffs and I was short on fabric so that was a good thing. The final version has cut-on fold back cuffs.

Also I have mine crossing left over right which of course is the wrong way. This is OK but you cannot see that the left and right fronts are different. Here is how it looks with the left and right fronts positioned correctly:

The things I love include a sleeve design that sits right at my shoulder. That is my favorite sleeve. The armhole is deep and it is not a set-in sleeve but that will allow easy layering without a blouse sleeve ever bunching under my arm.

I also love the neckline. A lot. I think I've seen this in another TSW pattern. The back collar is actually part of the front pattern piece(s). You sew the shoulder seam and back neckline in one continuous seam. This creates a right angle seam right where the back collar and the shoulder seam meet.

The right angle is not terribly difficult to sew in this stable cotton Ikat. However, this right angle became a fun feature because I got to apply another technique from Marla Kazell's recent lecture at an ASG event in Atlanta. It is also found in the Roberta Carr techniques book. The advantage to the technique is that it strengthens that gap that is created by the 90 degree angle in the seam.

I also used Roberta Carr's mock Hong Kong edge finish as well as the real Hong Kong edge finish. I found I needed the real HK finish on the seam connecting the sleeves to the jacket body. Elsewhere I just used the mock version.

Yet another feature that I like is the opportunity to use Linda Lee's signature mitered corner:

The side seams have deep vents that create a acute angle at the vertex. The result is a lovely drape along the hips, I think.

Lastly I tried my hand at the Spanish Snap Buttonhole. Let me just say that I am feeling very courageous right now. If this had failed, I would be scrambling to fix a hole in my Tremont jacket. Whew!

The Spanish Snap Buttonhole is new to me, but I see lots of related posts out in the blogosphere. Most give credit to Roberta Carr. I highly recommend her book:

The Tremont jacket gave me just the right opportunity to try out a new buttonhole method. It only calls for one button. I wanted to use a relatively large one, too large for a standard machine buttonhole.

I followed her instructions carefully and after 2 samples, I put one in my newly finished Tremont jacket.

Here you can see the wrong side of the jacket front (top part) and the wrong side of the facing (bottom picture). Actually this was sample number 2 but the real version looks just like this. I used red silk dupioni for the buttonhole facings (or lips).

Here is my finished sample.

And here it is buttoned on my finished jacket. I like that the red peaks out just a little.

  

The front side and the back side look identical IMO.

Now I'm just waiting for the temps to drop down low enough to justify a jacket.