Another tailored jacket in a week?

Good morning lovely people.

I'd been thinking about what I'm going to sew next for me because I have been going through so many projects for others. Now that it's winter, I was thinking it would be a good time to sew some knits. I envision myself in my own custom t-shirts with cool necklines and perhaps a 3/4 length sleeve but cut to a vintage standard. Oh yes, I can see that.



As you all know, I wear t-shirts beneath everything I make. I just like the shielding, so me making my own shirts would be cool next step in my clothing evolution. Next, underwear (no, kidding....for now). I also thought this would be a good way to finally, finally utilize the 5 cone serger I use at only half capacity.

I've always wanted to play with doing complete garments on the serger. It's capable of doing a chain stitch alongside an overlock, perfect for fabric with a bit of stretch.

I'd never loaded the serger with all five cones before, and I had never attached two needles either, so I was concerned the machine was not alined even though I had it serviced a year-is ago. I got out my instruction booklet and loaded the needle.

I then threaded the first and last spool and started my adventure. 

After playing a bit with altering the tension, I got everything to pretty much run smoothly.

Kinda.

See those gaps in the chain stitch? Well, that causes the entire stitch to unthread. Bummer. I messed around with tensions for a good twenty minutes and even used less gas and more gas on the presser foot and still got no consistent chaining. I was kind of upset. This is muslin, so I tried it on some cotton t-shirts to see if that may have something to do with it.

After playing with it, I was able to get *more* consistency, but not enough to trust a long continuous stitch. Now, I haven't tried different needle types and that *may* have something to do with it, but as it stands, my trying to sew more with the 5 cones is on hold. Perhaps I'll play with the ruffling and elastic stretch features it has (I know, right!) at a later date.

But this brings up another dilemma.

There is a tweed pub crawl coming next week, and I have nothing to wear.

The jacket in a week project I did a few years ago is hanging in my closet, 4" too large and I was wondering I I had the time (and energy) to take on another less-tailored jacket to wear.

What better style to do than a clean princess seamed jacket.

Because I'm trying no to buy any more fabric, I am using this plaid tweed alongside a few color blocks. The gray is a thick felted wool that I'd use for the back of the jacket, the plaid for the front of the jacket, and the brown for the sleeves. At least that was the plan.

I put it in the drier. I've done it before, but for some reason when I was taking it out of the washer, I thought, "I could hang this to dry but I'm impatient and want to have it dry now." Big mistake. Oh, it's ruined. The fabric is thread bare in places, scorched in others, and the smooth texture is gone. I *could* use it for interlining (I'm planning to interline the front of this jacket), but I have some material ready for that. So now I have to see if I have enough gray for the sleeves.

Right now on my sewing table I have a movie monster costume and another on the way plus some non sewing projects. So busy. So happy to be so busy.

So do you all think I can do it? I think I can, but I could use some encouragement.

Alright, have a great day!!