Babe and Jean (or Variations on Butterick 6106)

butterick 6106 in plaid

 

 There are some wonderful plaids

available these days

in fabrics and ready-to-wear.

When I saw this bold plaid 

in grey and black I was hooked.

Sometimes I'm attracted to a fabric 

and it sits on the shelf

waiting for inspiration.

In this case the inspiration was right there.

No escape.

The moment I'd finished

the sample I was playing with I was on it.

with front collar open

Since I was going for a Babe* look

I knew I wanted to do something different

with the plaid -- more than just matching.

Butterick 6106 seemed right

for the challenge.

back butterick 6106

 Planning how to cut out something like this

takes some forethought.

I knew I wanted to mix it up

and I also knew

I wanted to match things up.

I started with the matching up.

 

side back cut at an angle

 The back is always a good place to start

as you won't have to look at mistakes 

(if there are any).

Originally I cut the back with the plaid

matching all the way across.

After I completed the two fronts

I decided that one of the side backs

needed to be cut at an angle.

Since this fabric was woven and then brushed

it was quite stable 

so I didn't have to worry about stretching

if I cut off grain.

Which I did a lot of...

 

left front plaid matching

I decided to match plaids on one side of the front.

I chose the most complicated side to manuver

but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I love how the bold black line

zigs and zags down the front.

front facing detail

 

All pattern pieces were cut out one at a time

moving from the shoulder to the hem;

back, left front, right front, back revised.

Decisions about how to design/cut the next piece in line

were made one at a time 

after studying the plaid and the pattern piece.

An organic process,

allowing each design decision 

to lead to the next.

fold back sleeve detail

The plaid fabric was too thick to use for facings

so I chose a lighter weight fabric.

The contrast fabric definitely 

takes the jacket up a notch.

* Plaids always seem to remind me of Paul Bunyan.

Paul had a sidekick named Babe

(never mind that she is a blue ox).

 Hence I call this my Babe jacket.

butterick 6106 jean jacket

I made the same jacket in a 'denim'

digitally printed from the image 

of a well loved jean jacket.

front button detail

I was able to utilize the fabric print

to my advantage.

Fun to be able to top the visual buttonholes

with real ones

and manage to find buttons 

that mimic those found on the real deal.

back view jean jacket

I call these 'jackets' but often

I wear them like a shirt

as well as layering them

over T's.

Can't wait to make another one!