McCalls M4601 Review

Jacket (And the uhm..Pants)

Pattern Description: Jacket is above mid-knee with princess seams, flap and front button closure. No waistband pants have front and back darts, back zipper and belt carriers. There is also a description for a vest and skirt


Pattern Sizing: 10-16. I made a 14. 


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes and No.
The jacket looked exactly like the picture, the pants looked like balloon pants, and I undid the seams immediately. Wish I had taken a picture of the horrible pants.


Were the instructions easy to follow? Dream instructions. This is a a princess seamed and lined jacket, so there were 8 main body pieces, and then another 8 for the lining, not to mention the collar, and the darts! To sew this jacket, one must be organzied :)

Collar

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Loves: 

1. Love the style of the jacket, love the lines. Love that all the seams/notches/collar, everything matched up. 


Dislikes:
1. Balloon pants. If you get a hold of this pattern, do not make the pants. I was really dissapointed with the pants, but I had extra fabric and the simplicity 2860 Amazing Fit pattern. So I cut up another set of pants. Those are the ones i'm wearing in the picture.

Lining

Fabric used? Mystery fabric from Jomar, with serious seperation anxiety issues. There are frayed fabric bits all over my house. It was 67 inches wide - I asked my mum, "what fabric comes in 67 inch width?" she said, "Drapery." I wont tell if you wont! :) The lining is china silk - polyester (I think) also from Jomar. The lining is a chevron pattern, in a complementary tone. The lady that cut it gave me an extra yard of the FF. So when I cut the jacket and pants, I was thrilled, I was going to get a dress too.. and maybe a bag.. and.. and..!! So when the first pair of pants didnt work out, I made a new pair of pants, and I was determined to make a dress too. I used some of the fabric from the botched pants, to make the simplicity dress 2404. Good thing I dont have any extra fabric, anything extra would probably be overkill!

Button, Flap and Darts

Pattern alterations or design changes you made?
1. Square shoulder dilemma: I have incredibly straight shoulders, most patterns have a depth of about 2.5 inches or so. I need a 0.75 inch slope ( I'm not even sure if i'm describing this right- on second thought maybe this is called shoulder depth). Since the jacket starts so close to the neck, I thought I would adjust the shoulders after I sewed up the body, and before I cut up the sleeves. When I tried on the jacket minus the sleeves, It looked fine, and I thought maybe I'm imagining my slope issues. I attached the sleeves, and the dimpling and wrinkling happened. The shoulders were too wide, and the slope was too steep. Very dissappointed. Then I had a brainwave. Shoulder pads! So I put those in, and voila! No more dimpling, no more wrinkling! 

Sleeve Lining

2. The Lining: I bagged it! No hand sewing sleeve lining to sleeve seams for me.


3. The buttons: Its supposed to be a 3 button suit, and I made it a 5 button suit.






Would you sew it again? Recommend it?
Yes And Yes. This was my first lined jacket, so I didnt break out the good stuff. Now that I know it fits so well, I will definitely make this up again, probably in a light wool - minus the shoulder pads. 


Conclusion:
Love my new interview suit! Make this jacket if you have this pattern - it fits wonderfully. Stay away from the pants. This is also my first contest, so I'm very excited!