Precious Fabric Challenge Part 2: Pairing Fabric & Pattern

It’s time for Part 2 of my #preciousfabric24 journey … matching the fabric to the project.

In Part 1, I shared the three fabrics from my stash I was going to consider for the Precious Fabric 24 Challenge. After searching through patterns and – most frustratingly – comparing the amount of fabric I have against the fabric required for the pattern – I finally landed on the perfect match.

I’ve decided to go with Fabric Option 1 – the designer deadstock from Stone Mountain Fabric; a polyester (twill?) woven with a smooth hand and crisp body – of which I have 3.5 yards.

Question: Why hadn’t I sewn this up yet?

One of the main reasons I hadn’t yet turned this fabric into a dress or skirt is my concern about how much it will hold in the heat. My central nervous system goes a bit wiggy sometimes (thank you, fibromyalgia) and I’ll flush hot from head to toe. Because of that, I’ve focused on using breathable fabrics for my clothing these past few years, which largely excludes 100% Polyester.

So I decided to lean into this trait of the fabric. If it’s going to hold in the heat, let’s make an item where you want it to keep you warm: a jacket.

Question: What kind of jacket do I need?

Normally, I’d say this fabric is way too light for a coat, but the item missing from the outerwear portion of my wardrobe is a transitional lightweight jacket. Living in Texas, we get maybe 6 weeks of really cold weather and ice storms in a year. The rest of the time, temps might be in the 40s – cool enough to need something over your clothes, but not cold enough for anything heavy. And while I love the two coats I’ve made for myself – a Love Notions Octave Coat in luxe red fleece and a flannel-interlined Cashmerette Savin in royal blue twill – they both call for cold weather.

The one lightweight jacket I have is my Cashmerette Kimball Bomber Jacket – which I love – but I’ve found it challenging to wear unless my outfit includes a top that ends at my waist. You see, I wear tunic-length tops 90% of the time, so I really need a longer jacket to make sure my top is covered. It might have been sloppy-cute to show my long t-shirts and tunics beneath my high school letter jacket when I was 16, but it’s definitely not cute now.

So I need a lightweight jacket, suitable for the fall and early winter months here in the DFW area, that is at least tunic length.

Question: What pattern will use just 3.5 yards?

The biggest challenge came in selecting a pattern. Since I only have 3.5 yards of this 60″ wide fabric, and as a designer deadstock it’s not possible to get any more, I was pretty limited in my options for a longer coat.

I finally landed on the Lou Hooded Jacket by Seamwork. It calls for 3 5/8 yards of 60″ wide fabric, and I’ll be able to either squeeze it in on the 3 1/2 yards I have or just shorten the length a little bit to make it work. All the other jacket patterns I looked at called for 4+ yards, so this was a big win.

Gathering my supplies

I picked up 4 yards of static-free lining fabric in a shade of purple that is a good match for the outer fabric along with matching thread. I ordered the metal snap dies for my Kam Press so I’ll be able to install some heavy-duty metal snaps for all my closures. And I sent the pattern PDF off to Tape Free Patterns to get it printed. This was my first time ordering prints from Tape Free Patterns, and I couldn’t be happier with their service! Their turn-around time was crazy fast – like, less than 48 hours – and since they’re located here in the DFW area, standard shipping gets it in my hands the very next day. I’ll definitely be using them for my next printing order!

Did I make the right choice?

Ultimately, I chose this fabric out of my three options because I feel like I have a good grasp on how to make the project a success (and I have a hope and a prayer of getting it finished by the challenge deadline at the end of this month). I’m still completely in love with Fabric Option #2 – that wildflower panel print – and I laid out a sketch of what it might look like done as a dress, but the process of laying out the pattern pieces is far more complex, and I’m still fighting through massive brain fog … I’m worried I’ll do something to screw up the layout. So that project is getting a mental bookmark and I’ll come back to it when this one is done.

Next step: making a muslin!