The Tailored Suit: It's Done!!!!

Somehow I managed to beat my self-imposed finished suit deadline by a week. Given that I've been working on this thing ceaselessly since the beginning of time, I don't really know how that's possible. Not that I'm complaining. If I had to spend another day sorting it all out I think I would lose my mind.

What do you want to see first? The whole shebang? (On dress form still. You don't actually think I can be seen at this post-sewing-frenzy juncture. My greasy hair is plastered to my greasy face.) Or maybe I should show some pics the finished skirt and lead up to the suit.

What? You really don't care because at this point you are totally fucking sick of this theme? Amen to that, bloggy friends.

I'll choose for us.

Here's the high-waisted pencil skirt (V8640), which I lined (the pattern does not come with lining instructions) and faced with petersham ribbon:

Ooh, nice darts!

And the zipper inserted like this FIRST TIME OUT???

The skirt is really more straight than pencil...

And here's the interior - that silk is as awesome in the skirt as in the jacket. I slip stitched the lining to the hand hemmed skirt (same method as I used on the jacket). It's not bagged but it looks very lovely nonetheless. As gravity weights the silk, it will fall over the top of the skirt hem and create a jump pleat.

Honestly, that petersham couldn't have worked better.  You have to go to Sunni's shop and buy some now! I don't think I'll ever make a regular facing or waistband again. And I'm a total convert to lining a skirt. Not a casual summer one, but tailored, fancy ones.

In truth, the skirt profile is still too thick for my liking. This suit is most definitely winter weight. It'll manage in early spring or late fall but I think it's going to have a bit more limited application than I had originally hoped.  I have a lot more I could say about making the skirt. In short, it was a delight with some road blocks thrown in for good measure. Get it, good measure??!

OK, here's the completed suit:

Eeeeeek!!! Can you believe I made this??

Let's take a moment to reflect. I. MADE. THIS. Like from a few metres of fabric and some notions.

I'm less conflicted now about the jacket construction process than I was last week, which is to say that I'm definitively disappointed with many elements of the Craftsy course. I'm not going to crowd this happy post with that discussion, but I will speak more about it in the near future.

This weekend was very full of sewing. My sewing friend, S, came over and we worked on her pants sloper. Let me just say that fitting is a serious learning curve. Armed with Sarah Veblen's book (which is so worth the money, it's not funny) and a lot of pins, I did my best to be helpful, but I have ever more respect for S's abilities as I see what awesome fitting help she provided to me, while I can barely envision how to place the pins. I'm intent on improving.

Tomorrow S and I are starting a Pattern Review course on bodice fitting - taught by the same Sarah Veblen who wrote the book! I should have more to tell on that front as we begin the online tutorial. S has taken courses on Pattern Review with SV before and I'm heartened to hear that Ms. Veblen responds to questions, throughout the duration of the course time frame, multiple times per day.

So, there you go. One things done and the next is ready to begin. Gotta love that.