Seeing Spots

My boss (who happens to be my pattern cutting lecturer) recently went to Japan for business trip. When he returned, he told me stories of the amazing things you can find in the flea market especially old Kimono fabrics. That’s when I saw a roll of fabric on my desk. It was this indigo coloured, spotty fabric which reminded me of Shibori (a painstaking Japanese manual resist dyeing technique) on a textured fabric. I pointed to it and he told me that he got it for me. I was so happy with this gift as the fabric is amazing and surprisingly, something I was looking for to make a summer weight French work jacket.

At this point, I was already itching to make this jacket so when I went home that night, I prepared the fabric and my pattern, ready for it to be cut and sewn the next day. As my previous work jacket pattern was based on the width of a Kimono fabric, I didn’t have to do many alterations to it. In fact, it became my go-to pattern for any work jacket as I have altered the original pattern so that it fits me perfectly. So perfect in fact that I have been getting some requests from visitors to my website if I could give them the pattern.

Sorry guys! Asking a pattern cutter to give you their patterns for free is like asking the bank to give you free money! I am more than happy to answer any pattern cutting questions or prepare commercial patterns at a cost but extorting a free pattern from me is the ultimate insult!

Anyway, annoyance aside, I managed to put together this garment within a space of an afternoon. I was so excited to show my boss the outcome as he wasn’t sure if I could make anything from such a narrow piece of fabric.

Just in case you were wondering if I pattern matched the spots, well, the answer is no. The spots, for some miraculous reason, just matched as I was sewing it. I guess this is the sign of a good fabric and that someone has actually put some thought into it as well.

In order to finish it to a high standard, I also used bias binding to seal the edges. This technique creates a fine finishing inside the jacket to a point that I can wear it inside out if I wanted to.

This jacket was promptly worn the day after I made it and my boss was surprised at how quick I made it;  he even used me as an example for our students. He commented at the response time and that they should act quickly on an idea instead of procrastinating.

I guess this jacket not only served to cover me up but also as a teaching tool. Who would have thought of that?