Monday 24 July 2017

summer sewing: a denim Lupin

I've been thinking about making another Deer and Doe Lupin jacket since I finished my first one, but for one reason or another - mostly that making a jacket feels like a bigger project than making a dress and it's not quite as easy to find the right fabric - I've never got round to it. I was determined to do it this summer, though, because while my dark green one goes with a lot more than I originally thought it would, it doesn't go with everything.


For this post, we have "randomly wandering around Funchal" photos.

This version is made of dark denim, which I wasn't originally planning to use. The traditional denim jacket has never appealed to me - I've never been into button-up clothes or shirt-type details, and my style isn't really casual enough to pull one off. But I'd decided I wanted a navy jacket and then couldn't find any fabric I liked, which eventually led to me reasoning that a jacket made of denim wasn't the same thing as a denim jacket and it had to be worth a shot.


I made my first Lupin using a heavy crepe, and working with the denim was in some ways easier and in some ways really, really annoying. Gathering denim is not something I'll be doing again in a hurry, and putting the cuffs on was also rather a pain in the bum, but on the plus side there is zero fabric slippage so everything lines up beautifully and nothing odd happens to any of the seams. 


The only difference between this jacket and the previous one is that I decided not to include the shoulder tabs this time. I did cut them out, but when I tried positioning them I realised it looked like an unnecessary trick rather than an interesting design detail, so I left them off. Since it's denim and therefore more casual, I think the simpler lines work better.

I used a viscose lining because I hate acetate. It's fine for a winter coat that will never be touching my skin, but for a lighter jacket that will probably be going over bare arms, I want something soft and breathable which isn't going to cling sweatily to my arm like a drunk guy in a bar.



I'd like to take a moment here to note my welt pocket-making progress. Here are my three attempts in chronological order (first Lupin in August 2016; Thurlows in November 2016; second Lupin in June 2017):


I'm pretty pleased with that, I have to say. I will note, though, that the Deer and Doe instructions leave a couple of things out in the welt pocket-making steps (most notably making diagonal cuts to the corners after you've cut between the welts), so it's not entirely surprising that I didn't get perfect welt pockets using those instructions alone.


This jacket is great and I've been wearing it all the time. The only slight issue I have is that as soon as I put it on to show my boyfriend, he started singing this and now I can't unsee it. It's not going to stop me or anything, but I am going to have it at the back of my mind when deciding what I can and can't wear this with. No double denim, no awkward glitter eyeshadow, no Riverdancing on green-screened grass. Shame.


I don't want to have a shit ton of jackets or anything, but I would like a third Lupin in coloured suede. This won't be any time soon because I have decided that it either needs to be dark berry pink or seagrass, and finding suede in the very specific shades I have in mind probably isn't going to be as easy as wandering in somewhere, proclaiming "Take me to your bright suede" and being led to a roomful of interesting, saturated colours. Which is probably a good thing. Otherwise I'd be even more broke. 


Next up: the last of the Madeira photos and the first step in Mum's various birthday dresses...

4 comments:

  1. I have enjoyed your blog for ages but the Bwitched video made me click though JUST to comment and say "Oh lawd."
    God, I'd forgotten the riverdance section.
    ... I should say something sewing related but I'm too busy thinking about S Club 7.
    Love the jacket!

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    1. It's quite something, isn't it? Fight like me da as well! Oh, the late 90s...

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  2. It's a lovely jacket and I just wanted to say how good it looks with that dress.

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    1. Thank you! It's been my go-to summer outfit combination.

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