I've had this pink/red herringbone sitting in my stash for years now. I originally bought it from Emma One Sock to make a skirt out of. I only had 2 yards of 54" wide which when your a size 22 limits your choices. So I chose a slightly shrunken blazer from Lekala 4162. I got a shocking pink china silk lining from Mood online and for the pocket lining I used a fun quilting cotton print.
For those of you not familiar with Lekala patterns they are a Russian based company that sells made to measure patterns using CAD technology. They have an American site and a translated Russian site. I use the Russian site because the patterns are cheaper 50c for no seam allowances or $1 with seam allowances (3/8") vs $2.50 for the US site. You can either put in your basic measurements or you can create a data string which takes into account things like shoulder width, whether you breast sags etc.
The muslin was nearly perfect. The only adjustments for fit were narrow shoulder adjustment and a bicep adjustment. I did slash and spread the collars to add more of a curve shape and cut the under collar in two pieces on the bias. Turn of cloth allowance had already been added to the pattern and the sleeves have no ease you don't need to gather the cap at all. I could have probably cut the pattern as is and still have gotten an amazing fit. I plan to adjust my string to account for the changes I have to make.
I'm going do use a light hair canvas on the entire front and pad stitch the collar and lapels. I'm going to bag the lining and do double welt pockets instead of single welt pockets.
OH I forgot to mention the one thing about Lekala patterns is they usually don't have lining patterns and this is because most Russian ladies know how to cut one without a separate pattern. Once you learnt how its super easy.
I've only made one Lekala thing so far but got really good compliments on it. Sometimes it's hard to imagine the real garment from their hilarious drawings - I like it when you can see real pics on the Russian site.
Is there a right way or wrong way to do something? Not necessarily but there is a way that logical, gives good result and less headaches and this is what this blog is truly about.
2 comments:
I've only made one Lekala thing so far but got really good compliments on it. Sometimes it's hard to imagine the real garment from their hilarious drawings - I like it when you can see real pics on the Russian site.
I think Lekala is a good example of how good something can look if it fits and I love that the fitting problems are all but eliminated.
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