I am wearing my new Alexander McQueen designed jacket. And did you know that Alexander McQueen's first name was actually... oh ok then, his name was Lee not Leo. But... pretty close. And this jacket has been taking up the, um, lion's share of my time lately... ?!
above; Alexander McQueen brocade kimono jacket, 2003
The pattern is a free download from showStudio and when I saw Catherine's fantastic version of this edgy design I just had to give it another go. Confession, this is my second time making this up; my first attempt back in 2010 was pretty disastrous and I gave up halfway through.
Attempt number two... and at least I finished it this time! Thank you Catherine for sending me the instructions :)
This is a very difficult make but I'm fairly happy with the end result and there was not as much angst involved as in my maiden voyage. Though once again there were times I wondered whether the late Mr McQueen had been having a bit of a lend of us.... ! but it does actually make sense and comes together successfully in the end.
The fabric I used for this new version is a very soft cotton denim in a shade of dusky apricot, and was part of my precious Japanese-bought stash, posted here. I just barely got the pattern pieces cut out of my 2.5m... barely! so I recommend that if you decide to make this yourself get at least 3m unless you really fancy an extra little challenge to go with this already challenging design.
I added discreet and fairly useless little pockets, just because why not. There is no pocket pattern piece and none are mentioned in the rather sparse reader-contributed instructions, however there are markings on the pattern not relating to anything else but that appear to indicate where a pocket could go (dot B) I wanted for my pockets to be as invisible as possible, so the sides disappear into the side seams and underneath the front flaps, and the lower edge is sewn flush against the lower edge of the jacket. Meaning the only visible edge is the top edge.
Actually there is no visible stitching on the outside of my jacket at all. I really like the apparent minimalism of the finishes, a contrast to, and a showcase for the complexity of those pleats and darts at the back.
The instructions did help but they are not fabulous. I transferred all markings onto the wrong side of my fabric with red pen which washes out with the first wash, and this helped enormously. As well as dot B, dots X and L are also not mentioned anywhere in the instructions and dot L is all by its lonesome with no other dot L anywhere. I joined up points X a little way along their joining lines, and freehanded the last pleats to guarantee symmetry.
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(Later edit: in a lightbulb moment I've suddenly realised you are supposed to join dot L from one back to dot L on the other back! Doing this would "look" about the same as what I did so I might leave mine the way it is!)
Visible hidden inside edges I finished with HongKong seaming which was then invisibly slip-stitched down to the garment. A few invisible inside edges were finished on the overlocker. The centre back piece was cut on the side edge and I left those raw selvedges unfinished on the inside too. I interfaced the lower facing then later decided this made the lower edge far too stiff for my taste, so ripped it off. There is no interfacing in the jacket now, and I like this softness.
Closure is by a single button and a loop covered with tightly spaced blanket stitching, made from embroidery thread, plus three small brass press-studs.
Details:Jacket; Alexander McQueen via showStudio, lightweight apricot cotton denim
Tshirt (not seen); self-drafted, white cotton, details here
Skirt; Vogue 1247, purple denim dyed brown, details and my review of this pattern here, and see this skirt styled in 6 different ways here
Tights; self-drafted, wool merino, details here
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from the now re-branded Uggies in Dunsborough
