Making a Fabulous FabMo Jacket

I am happy to introduce a new blogger to you all today. Meet Melissa Lin a sewist for over 20 years who agreed to use FabMo fabrics to make fabulous garments. We are hoping to make this a semi-regular blog to bring you new ideas for things to do with FabMo materials.

But I’ll shut up now and let her speak for herself.

One more thing: make sure to check out her blog Trevor Loves Mommy were she shows more of her creations and reviews patterns.

Meet Melissa

Me wearing my FabMo jacket

Hello everyone!  My name is Melissa Lin, and I’m thrilled to be working with FabMo and blogging about all the wonderful garments you can sew with rescued fabric.

A little about myself - I’ve been sewing for over 20 years and write about my sewing adventures on my blog Trevor Loves Mommy.  Three years ago, I learned how to refashion thrifted clothes and sew with salvaged fabric mostly to save money (new fabric can be horrendously expensive).  Eventually, I realized that refashioning is also the most environmentally friendly and socially responsible way to make clothes.  Reusing existing fabric is far more efficient and cost-effective than creating new stuff from raw materials.  There’s no textile pollution, waste or exploited labor.  Everyone wins.

A month ago, Tina Baumgartner (comment: that’s me, your chatting regular blogger) asked me if I would like to partner with FabMo.  I would source my materials at FabMo and blog about my makes.  How could I say no?  This is the kind of stuff I dream about.

At the FabMo warehouse, I spotted a roll of plaid fabric with autumnal shades of brown perfect for a fall jacket. I wasn’t sure if it was upholstery or apparel fabric, but it didn’t matter. As long it works with the pattern I had in mind, who cares what kind of fabric it is.

This fabric has a wool-like hand feel and a lovely drape.  At first touch, I could tell the fabric was high quality by its soft loftiness.  The McCalls pattern (M7912) I used for this project had been sitting in my stash for a couple of years, and I thought it would pair well with the fabric. 

M7912 comes as a loose-fitting, unlined jacket or vest with dropped shoulders, tie belt, shawl collar and patch pockets.  The casual, unstructured jacket suits my laid back lifestyle.  I chose view C because it was the shortest jacket that complements my petite frame.  Anything longer tends to weigh me down with too much fabric.  The absence of darts, buttons and zippers made this project a fast sew.

It’s hard to get a sense of the patch pockets, so here’s a close up of it with the jacket un-belted.  The edge of the pocket disappears into the side seam, simplifying the lines of the jacket.

Check out the back.  I love the way the belt cinches the waist.

My favorite feature is the shawl collar.  Elegant and relaxed, it reminds me of a smoking jacket.

 After-thoughts

If I could do this project over again, I’d finish the inside seams with a Hong Kong finish.  Given the classic vibe of the yarn dye fabric, this jacket deserves a refined finish.  I don’t consider myself a sewing snob, but I do like my garments to look as beautiful on the inside as the outside.  I’d also line the collar with the same plaid fabric.  From the photo, it’s hard to see that the collar is lined in a solid, tan cotton fabric.  When the collar flips out, the undercollar peeks out, and the contrast makes the jacket look cheap. 

As a rule of thumb, it’s usually a good idea to wash your fabric before sewing to pre-shrink it.  I forgot to take notes on the fabric content at FabMo and didn’t know if it was washable, so I crossed my fingers and threw it in the washer and dryer.  Luckily, it came out even better as the wash cycle fluffed up the fibers and softened the fabric.

I hope you enjoyed my first project with FabMo.  Stay tuned as I have many more projects up my sleeve.