I've made up my Norwegian souvenir fabric.Pining for the fjords? me? well, maybe just a little ;)
I bought this divinely thick, strong, and sturdy cotton drill in Oslo during our Scandinavian holiday, with dreams of making a boxy, nautically flavoured little hoodie.
And done, and dusted. :)
I used pattern 108 from Burdastyle magazine 10/2009. In the magazine it's made in felted wool, is lined, and has a fur-edged hood. I fancied it made up as a lighter, warm weather thing, and knew it would work out perfectly ok in that role too. Mine is unlined and I finished all the raw edges off using my overlocker so it all looks nice and neat inside. The fabric is beautiful quality, actually quite thick and wind-resistant; so even sans lining it's turned out to be a rather cosy little jacket. Brisk spring breezes? ha! I laugh in your general direction!The pocket, pocket flap edges and the interesting shape of the yoke pieces are all highlighted with navy blue piping, for which I used readymade bias binding. I've had this in my stash for decades, no kidding, and thought, yay! I'm finally going to use this up! Obviously, I then did not have quite enough, which meant I had to buy a bit more. Which meant now I stillhave some in my stash. Doh! It's a conspiracy!!!
I ummed and ached about the front and pocket closure... first thinking I would put in big white chunky zip, rejected that; then thinking metal dog-bite clips, but the ones I found weighed quite a lot and would've dragged the jacket down. I wanted something a bit different, but it still had to be lightweight. The magazine version called for toggles, since it was supposed to be a wintery thing, and finally I thought a summery version of a toggle would be a fun thing to have.
I made mine using cotton twill tape and cotton rope. My Dad made the lovely wooden buttons, aren't they beautiful? Many years ago I asked if he could make me one for my little brown cardigan, and he generously made several so I would have a selection from which to choose. And I'm thrilled I had enough to finish this little jacket. Thanks Dad!
I had bought enough of the cotton rope to put in the hood as a drawstring, so I sewed miniature teeny buttonholes in the hood front and inserted the rope in the self-facing casing. The hood seams are flat-felled.
Doesn’t scream Norway? Well, I can hear it quietly whispering Norway, in my shell-like ear at least :)
I put a lot of time into getting that piping and those toggles positioned just exactly right and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I particularly love having Dad's wooden buttons on it!
Details:
Jacket; Burda style magazine 10/2009, 108, cotton drill from Norway
Dress; Burda 8071, made from an old polo Tshirt, details here
also white/navy blue Tshirt underneath, details here
