No Longer Swimming in San Diego

I have tweaked the jacket - I think successfully.

After showing the issues I had with the San Diego jacket, I spent the next week or so ill. Illness slowed my thought processes to a crawl - which was a good thing for this jacket's survival. I was able to really think through what was needed and how I was going to accomplish those goals.

First line of business: unpick the shoulder seam only partway (due to the curve in the neckline which turns into the collar) in order to place a dart at the front. I normally need to make a 1 3/4 (one and three quarter) inch FBA so I couldn't skimp on the size of the dart. I had plenty of ease to accomplish the large, needed, dart. I simply folded out the dart(3/4 inches on each leg - for a total of 1.5 inches) in the seam allowance and then top stitched the dart down to help it lay flat following the vertical lines in the material. (No forming the typical triangle bust dart.)

Before attempting this alteration, I used a disappearing marker to mark the original shoulder seam line on the front, back and sleeve seams. It was just a matter of tracing over the stitching line before starting to pick anything apart. I did this to give me a point of reference.

After taking in the dart from the front, it was just a matter of pinching out an equal amount of material from the back and sleeve (without unpicking the existing seam) and sewing around the shoulder seam....matching the seam I had already unpicked on the front piece to a new seam allowance I drew with a disappearing pen. It really was quite easy, though I think I'm butchering the explanation. I was easily able to cut off the excess seam allowances.

To take in the sides and sleeves, I tediously unpicked those seams and pinned to fit.

I was unhappy with the wonky front facing popping out, so I top stitched it down at the front edges and decided to also top stitch it at the inside facing edge to give added structure which the fabric required. I debated sewing vertical seams at each stripe within the facing, but decided that would be overkill.

I finished the inside raw seams with a hong kong finish (darn, forgot to take those pictures!).

I re-hemmed the jacket and sleeves.

I'm happy with how I managed to salvage this jacket. I think I'll be wearing it this spring - it does add warmth and will cut the chill from the air.

I doubt I'll be making another Sewing Workshop pattern for quite awhile.

Oh, one more thing. I did not wear the jacket with that skirt. The jacket it loose and large, so I think it requires a fitted bottom or a pencil skirt. The skirt shown in the photos is a-line. Too much bulk and width from top to bottom when worn together!