It has a red wool outer with black cotton velvet collar and buttons, and a grey, red, black and white striped lining. The wool and lining came from Joann Fabrics, but the cotton velvet is from my stash.

I love this back pleat...it's what drew me to the pattern in the first place.

There are three buttons on top and two hidden snaps on the bottom. I'll likely swap these out for large hooks and eyes since the snaps are a bit cumbersome.

The velvet buttons were purchased but matched my velvet fabric perfectly as though I had covered them myself. :]

Since my lining fabric was striped on the diagonal, I cut the pieces individually so that one side mirrored the other, creating a chevron pattern. It worked only because there was no right side to the fabric. The original lower back piece was to be cut on the fold, so I added a 1/4" center back seam instead.

The process of cutting the lining took hours since the stripe pattern wasn't uniform and I had to match the areas piece by piece. This wasn't an issue with the sewing pattern, just my fabric choice. I love the results, but what a pain! :]

This was made from Butterick 5145, using View C with the sleeve tabs and back tab from View E.

pattern cover

The skirt I made from the same fabric as my red wrap dress...which is what I wore on our Valentine's Day dinner date.  I just happened to have it on today when I tried on the top.  Weird!  :D

The site regularly holds contests, more to motivate people to sew than to create crazy competition.  :D  Having been a member of the site for a number of years now, this is the first time I'm entering a sewing creation into a contest.  It's for a lined jacket that has set in sleeves.

I have a couple of lined jackets in the hopper already, but this contest is for a new creation started after March 1, 2011 and ending April 30, 2011.  Still, maybe making something new will motivate me to finish those past projects, too.

The pattern I am making for the contest is Butterick 5145, using View C with the sleeve tabs and back tab from View E.

pattern cover

photo of back from Butterick website

Mine will be made from red wool with a black cotton velvet collar and buttons, and a grey, red, black and white striped lining.  The wool and lining came from Joann Fabrics, but the cotton velvet is from my stash.

click image to enlarge

Probably the wrong time of year for making a new winter coat, but with Chicago weather being what it is, I'll likely wear it before winter is up!  :\

The embroidery leads to three-dimensional flowers.

And the lace cuffs are so beautiful.

I've watched eBay and other secondary markets from time to time but figured I'd never find this blouse in my size let alone in like new condition.  Very recently, though, a size 8 popped up on eBay.  Considering I usually wear a 0-2 in Anthropologie blouses, I knew it would require a good amount of alterations.  But, it was new, never worn and $30.  So, I took the plunge!  :]

Interestingly enough, the fit in the shoulders was nearly perfect...just a tad low off the edge.  But, it was workable and meant I wouldn't have to redo the entire top and collar.  In fact, I wonder if the blouse would have fit me in the smaller sizes I had been hoping to find.

As is size 8...

The first alteration I made was to remove the enormous garment tag from the upper back.  Considering the sheerness of the fabric, this big block of a tag just didn't look right.

I then removed the sleeves.  These might have been meant as 3/4 sleeves, but they hit just at the wrist for me.  I raised them so the two buttons were just behind my elbow and the start of the cuff began at the top of my forearm.  Even if they weren't meant to be this short, they look much better in relation to the overall aesthetic of the blouse.  Resetting the sleeves also gave me the opportunity to correct the line of the shoulders.

When I set in the sleeves, I took in the side seams under the arm.  I then finished fitting the waist by taking in the side back and side front seams.  The shirttail hem was a bit long on me, too, so I took that up an inch and a half.

And, here's the final tailored blouse.  :D  Hurray!

And the back...

The fabric is purple matelasse jacquard from Fashion Fabrics Club.  I didn't realize this was sparkly until I received it, but it's not over-the-top glitzy.  It ended up very posh looking, actually!  :]  Here it is with the bustle skirt from my last post.

shoes: B. Makowsky 'Sindy'

Butterick 5485 has options to make a top, tunic and dress, all with the same general lines.  I'm sure I'll make the dress version soon.

The fabric is blue woven poly suiting from Joann Fabrics.  I bought a half-yard remnant of this at a local store and loved the color so much that I called customer service to find out if there was any more of it at another store.  I found it in another state.  Both the woman working at the out of state store and the woman working at my local store were so helpful; they set up a store transfer order and I got more of this beautiful fabric.  :D

The ruffle is lined with dark blue crepe back satin.  It can peek out a bit while wearing the skirt, so I wanted it to be pretty.  :]

The pattern is Vogue 8317.  I've made the skirt three times now but haven't attempted the jacket.  The pattern envelope shows a fancy satin and lace suit with rhinestone details, which I am sure would be lovely for evening wear, but I love the modern bustle skirt interpretation the back ruffle creates when using suiting fabric.  Very feminine silhouette!

I bought this fabric awhile ago at Joann Fabrics with no real plan for it.  As I was looking for lighter fabrics to start sewing for spring and summer, I brought this out of storage.  I made a striped skirt for cooler weather from Vogue 7971 once before, and the design lends itself so well to stripes that I thought this would be perfect for it.

The cooler weather skirt was made from a wool blend from Trim Fabric that had just a bit of stretch.

shoes: Söfft 'Venessa'

Unfortunately, the green fabric didn't behave the same way the wool blend did, and it ended up being too tight.  I didn't want to cut new pieces for it since I have plans for the remaining yardage, so that meant raising the waist and hip to fix the problem.  I marked 1 1/2 inches from the waist all the way around the top of the skirt and cut that portion off, thereby bringing the hip line up to a comfortable level.  This method works only with A-line skirts that have some length to give up, which this was.  :]

I had to flip the zipper to the right side instead of the left since I had already finished the left side seam when I put the zipper in the first time around.  There wasn't any spare fabric to lower the zipper on the left side.

After putting the zipper in again, I adjusted the fit by taking in the darts in the front and back.  The facings also no longer worked since they were cut to fit the original pieces, so I used bias tape to finish the waistline edge.

Many times when I try a pattern for the first time, I like to use less expensive fabric just to make sure I like the fit and style.  In this case, I lucked out with a one yard remnant of suiting fabric that was just enough to make the shorter skirt from Simplicity 5259.  It was originally $5.99 per yard, but the remnants were marked 50% off.  I bought a zipper with a coupon, got the pattern during one of those 99¢ sales and used thread I already had.  So, I now have a fabulous work-appropriate skirt for about $5.  :D

I also eliminated the waist line facings and instead used bias tape to finish the edge, tacking the thin facing down at the seams and darts.

click image to enlarge

I also added top-stitching over the front slit to keep the facings in place.

This is an excellent "I have nothing to wear" pattern that you could whip up in a few hours.  In fact, I made it today and wore it tonight.  :D  I am sure to make many of these in the future.