Midnight Garden - Jacket - Part III

More Artwork

Well, I was supposed to post yesterday, but went hiking instead. More on that later.

Today's Q/A comes from designdreamer: "Did you just come up with the opening shape, or was it based on the opening of the "other" pattern. Also, do you actually measure (in degrees) how much you spread each slash?"

I came up with the opening shape for the back peplum myself. I just drew some curves on the muslin until I was happy with the shape of the curve and the area under the curve. (Oh - "area under the curve" I haven't heard that phrase since college calculus class!) I do actually measure in degrees how much I spread each slash. I think one of the photos of the drafting process had a protractor in it a few posts ago.

At this point, I think I've completed all the fitting/design changes to the muslin. I needed to do that because the artwork on one side (there is different artwork on both sides; thus the jacket is reversible) is dependent on where the hems, waist, and collar are actually positioned.

The changes include:

• taking 2" total out of the neck to waist length; 1" was removed from above the waist, the other one was removed from below; this keeps the front scalloped edge fairly even. This is also more proportionate to my body size and keeps me from looking like I'm playing dress-up with grandma's old suit.
  
• enlarging the undercollar piece to actually become a full collar piece so that the collar (which won't be made of the blue silk) can be attached and turned to either side of the jacket. It looks exactly like it does now, just the pattern pieces are different; I won't need the front facings anymore, either.
  
• taking 1 1/2" or so out of the sleeve length - this is not definite yet, but any changes won't hurt the artwork.
  
• replacing the bound buttonholes with loops that extend from the edge of the front. Normally, I would do bound buttonholes, but with two different designs on either side of the buttonhole, I didn't want to break up with designs with a buttonhole. Furthermore, the closure must work and look good for both sides. I will probably cover buttons to match the fabric underneath them so that they're not obtrusive.
• shortened the pocket opening by 1"; this is partly due the hem being raised by 1" and partly because I really don't need such a huge opening for my small hand!
  

Here's some of the artwork. It's been cleaned up a bit and will probably go through a little more refining as the design process goes forward. The first photo is a reverse image of the whole motif that I've also traced off, so that I can position it as desired to create larger or smaller arcs. You can see how that works in the following three photos.

I traced a whole new front piece with all the changes incorporated so that I could then start positioning the artwork according the curve of the front edge. So far, this is what I have. Nothing is definite yet, and I'll let it sit on the work table and look at it every now again for a few more days and change a bit here or there. Sometimes it's good to get away from the artwork and get a fresh look at it after a few days. I used to do that with college papers, too. I'd write them, shelve them for a few days and then edit them to death.

New front, no art:
New front, art penciled in; you can also see the collar piece in the upper right of the paper. I was checking to see that the collar did not cover the artwork.
Right now, I need to finish up the artwork on both the front and back so that I can actually start the hand applique process. This process takes time. A lot of time. That's why it's best to start it as early as possible in the project. I can also work on it anywhere (remember buswork?) or anytime and not have to be in the studio at a machine. I will work on the jacket as far as I can for either side and if the applique isn't done, I'll move on to the skirt or other ensemble piece, and work on the applique as I can.

Parting Shot: Yesterday I hiked Mt. Hale with my son. It is another 4000 footer, but a smaller one at only 4054ft. (The term "4000 footer" refers to any peak over 4000 feet in my state; many are over 5,000 with Mt. Washington over 6,000. Yes, I already hiked Washington!) This is one of the easier ones, but one I hadn't done yet, so I figured he'd be able to hike it. He did a great job and we made really good time on the trail. Here I am on the summit cairn. In the second shot you can see the whole summit area; there used to be a fire tower where my son is standing, but it was removed as it was no longer needed.