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Revisiting My Salamanca Jacket: A Box Of Broken Dreams Rescue

Do you guys remember when I made this Salamanaca Jacket from Itch-To-Stitch last spring? I skipped the whole muslin thing, and while my final garment was a size too small, I thought it was still wearable.

Except...


I never wore it. The cuff modification I used made the sleeves uncomfortably tight from the elbow down. Take that as a valuable lesson about measuring yourself properly and taking the time to make a muslin!

I put lots of hard work into those bound buttonholes, and I felt sad every time I passed it up to wear something else. Now that Jacket Season has returned, I decided to revisit this jacket and do something to make it wearable. 

I put the jacket back on yesterday and found most of my complaints stemmed from the fit of the sleeve at the elbow. It's too tight and restricts my movement. I needed to cut the sleeve off just above the elbow. But of course, what good is a short sleeved jacket in the fall? I still wanted to maintain the 3/4-ish sleeve length. 

Enter Sirena Dress from Itch-To-Stitch

Itch to Stitch Sirena PDF Sewing Pattern 300 x 300

I've loved those delicate bell sleeves since the pattern was released...so why not try a pattern mash up?

I started by measuring the circumference of the sleeve at my elbow, then I marked the seam allowance on the bell cuff pattern piece and measured that same amount plus 1/2 inch seam allowances.



The rest of the prep was pretty straight forward: cut 2 cuffs from my outer fabric and 2 from my lining. Fortunately, I had large enough scraps of both for the pieces I needed.


I used the directions in the Sirena Dress pattern to construct the cuffs. It's pretty intuitive: Stitch the side seams, tuck one inside the other with right sides facing, stitch the bottom and understitch to the lining side.

I put the jacket back on and marked my elbow with a pin. When measured flat, it was about 4.5 inches from the edge of the cuff. 


I marked that all the way around and then pinned the cuff on for a quick check before I started cutting.


I thought it looked great, so I went ahead and sliced off the sleeve at my markings and stitched only the pink suiting to the sleeve, all the way through both the lining and the fashion fabric. I left the lining of the cuff loose, pulling it out of the way while I sewed.


To maintain the same clean finish that is in the rest of the jacket, I tucked the seam allowance of the cuff lining in and basted it down to secure it. It was a simple matter to pin the edge so that it just covered the stitch line where the cuff is attached to the sleeve.


A little slip stitch to hold it in place.

And here it is from the inside: Nice and clean.


Now I can bend my arms and my lovely Salamanca Jacket is wearable again!

I've rescued a garment from my Box of Broken Dreams... What garment do you have that can be given a new lease on life with a little modification?


Box of Broken Dreams: Where My Mistakes Linger.



Comments

  1. Nice save! I probably would have gone the hard way and put in a godot or gusset, on the outer side of the sleeve, essentially creating a faux seam. I think I like your solution better.

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  2. I almost never refashion, so if it was going to get done, it had to be an easy fix. I've been wearing it all day and it's really comfortable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great looking jacket...those bell sleeves it a whole different look...I love it...and not much left in the broken dreams bin at my place...as I went and made a bunch on nightgowns for me out of the knit fabric...my granddaughter says I am wearing my granny patch gowns... Lori Michel aka RosieGma

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