McCalls M6329 (Jacket) & Butterick B6850 (Dress)(previously McCalls M7352) 

Fabric: Navy blue cotton twill, gift from a friend. Organic cotton print from Quilts N Things Fiber Arts in La Crescenta, CA (available on Etsy). Teal green 100% linen from Joanns.

Do you find that, sometimes, things just have to age? I find that both the fabrics and patterns in my stash sometimes need time before the right combination comes to fruition.

This teal linen has been in my stash for ages. I originally bought this linen to make a suit jacket and skirt. Later, I contemplated using it for a pair of wrap pants or a sheath dress with a matching coat. I finally decided to make Butterick B6850 (previously McCalls M7352) after making a navy linen version which has been incredibly comfortable. I needed another, as I use this pattern to teach a fitting class on princess seams. I use this dress to demonstrate alterations to my students; bodice length, high round back, forward shoulder, full bust, and sway back alterations are all a little more complex when executed on a princess pattern. I also use the dress to demonstrate techniques: flat-felled seams (a bit of a challenge to create over the bust, around the shoulder, and down the back), French seams (for the side seams), self-bias bound neck and armscye, and hand-picked zippers. B6850 is a great teaching dress --- both for the lessons it demonstrates, and for the comfort it provides when I’m moving around a busy studio.

This jacket pattern has taken me ten years to make. I bought McCall’s M6329 shortly after it was published in 2011. However, I never seemed to find the right fabric for it. I came across the lining fabric when I was teaching a fitting class at Quilts N Things Fiber Arts in La Crescenta, CA this summer, and I thought that it would be the perfect fabric to tie together the teal linen dress with a navy jacket --- a little “surprise” inside the garment. I initially made a full lining, but the cotton poplin wasn’t slippery enough and made the sleeves bind. Instead, I opted for a partial lining. I lined the jacket body, and used bias strips of the same fabric to bind the sleeves’ seam allowances and hems. I also used it to cover the large snaps which secure the front of the jacket. It’s a fun, lightweight jacket.

Both the jacket pattern and the dress fabric aged a long time before they became garments, but I’m happy I waited! What’s the longest time you’ve “aged” fabric or a pattern?