Kilt upcycle (finished!) Arare anorak v.2

 Just as I was set to meet my new classes of students, I finished up two projects. One was fairly long in coming, the other was a quicker (but slow and steady) remake of a previously made pattern.

First, the kilt upcycle

It looks great. I am very satisfied with the construction. Even the shifty silk organza looks fairly nice.  

Also, it fits. Mostly. 

front view during construction

inside front view 

The day it was nearly finished we did a try-on and I took some photos. It was only when I looked at the photos that I noticed something... the front was longer than the back. What the heck?

fitting

back view

hmmm a bit long in front

Well, I notice that it is the way CB places her waistband. When we 'fitted' the waistband I did not even think about the effect on the hem. Rookie error. 

But let me explain - kind of. Because I was using the pleats as is from the kilt, I also wanted to use the ready-made hem (I did not want to rehem that pleated section, obviously!). I was also able to use the ready made hem for the back. For the bias side pieces I added the hem to the cut, and folded up during construction.

So the front and the back ARE the same length. It did not occur to me that it would fit differently.😞 I am confident it is very wearable, but these are the lessons learned.

other side

As a finishing touch we decided to use the leather strap and buckle as the fastening for the top of the zipper. (Darn, I forgot to get a close-up of that; may add one later). At first I had thought of this, but worried it might be hard to do up and undo. But a skirt, unlike pants, does not need to be done up and undone multiple times a day (unless, of course, you go to the pool on your way to work, as CB does😉). So it is a nice nod to the skirt's origins as a kilt.

The Lekala 3027 pattern... is fine. The instructions are missing a step, which caused me some confusion about the waistband. But it is straight-forward enough pattern that poor instructions are not a deal breaker! If you do decide to make it, the instructions for the lining are opaque, as well, so be sure you know your stuff!

side view

back view

front

original kilt, pleats

the original garment

The WAffle Arare anorak v.2

 

When I made the raincoat version of the Arare I knew I would want to make a 'fall coat' version. In Montreal last March I fell upon some suitable wool. And it sat for a while. I got the urge to work on it recently while I muslined my blazer jacket. I wanted a project that was ready to go. I kept most of the changes I had made for the red version. In the end I only did a zip on one side seam, but kept the same lower hem shaping that I had done before.

One difference I did, though, was I used a different method for making the welt pockets. I did not like the way the method in the instructions leaves the sides of the welts unsecured until you handsew them. Although this is a common method, I chose to use the method from the Itch to Stitch Atenas jacket, which has you tuck the ends into the the jacket inside, then you can sew them in place more securely in my opinion!

But man, lining up that plaid... that was a real stretch for me. Sure there are some very high end ways of doing this. I think some people would cut off their seam allowance from the pattern pieces, then somehow visibly line up the plaid, etc. Or draw the pattern onto the pattern pieces. I DID cut on single ply, and I brought the common edges of different pieces together to line it up properly. And for the most part it worked out well.

not quite, darn!

One piece gave me a real headache. The collar piece is a bit strange. It is shaped like a U, and the outside edges meet in the middle. I carefully made sure the yoke pieces lined up nicely with the inner edges, but did not notice until it was all sewn up that those outside edges were not quite right. (I can't figure out why this paragraph is bigger type...)

YESSS, matched up

Now - was this me, not carefully placing the pattern piece? Or was it the fabric out of alignment? I will never know, but I unstitched it, recut it, and resewed it and am very pleased with the outcome! I was also very pleased with how the back lined up.

left side zip

The side  seams were not quite as satisfactory. The left side works out perfectly, but the right side is not matched, and there is nothing I can do.  Too bad I had to unstitch the left side in order to add a side zip (afterthought!). The first go around was an absolute failure. Silly me, I thought that if I kept in the stitching, sewed the zip, then unstitched the original stitching it would remain perfect. 

Another rookie error: I sewed up one side of the zip, then down the other side. This pushed it all out of whack (spelling?!), and when I unstitched the original stitching it was a mess. So out it came. I carefully basted the seam, applied the zipper, sewed it it in the same direction for both sides, then unstitched the basting and bingo - perfect(ish). 

So yes, I have done a LOT of unstitching on this project. Thankfully, the fabric was very accommodating!

I could not figure out how to make the sleeves match up nicely with the bodice. The photo at the Waffle site is PERFECT. Mine - not so much. Not a complaint, just an acknowledgement of the extraordinary precision and skill of those who made up the sample!

 

It is September, and we are still swimming in the river. The days have been warm, but the water cool - so I wore this to the river to be sure I was warm after our swim... that is when we took the photos. And warm and snuggly it was, too! And so, while I am sad to see summer go, I am looking forward to wearing this out and about!