The jacket is made in pleather. I fell in love with the floral pleather from Fabric Godmother
https://www.fabricgodmother.co.uk/winter-rose-faux-leather-black/ It's still available and it is gorgeous. Love the blush coloured roses. I paired it with some plain black.
The jacket pattern is fairly straightforward but it is made much more difficult if you sew it in pleather. I used a leather needle and invested in a Teflon foot
https://www.sewingmachinesales.co.uk/sewingmachineparts/feet/pfaff-teflon-foot.htm. I also used clips and not pins. You can't make holes in this fabric as they will show.
As you can't really press pleather I top-stitiched all the seams and the collar etc.
I'm also wearing the trousers/leggings from the pattern, and I love these. I made them from ponte and they have a two inch wide elastic in the waist. I added 1" to the crotch length and also an inch to the leg length (even though I'm only 5'4"). I just find these trousers so useful and will make them again and again. The seams are top-stiched and this gives a much better finish. I made a size 12, but have lost a bit of weight since then and they could do with being a little tighter.
Also wearing a sweater I've just knitted. This is Wool and the Gang's Relax Knit through It Sweater
https://www.woolandthegang.com/en/products/relax-knit-through-it-sweater?taxon_id=673. Now this is a great beginners sweater. It's basically four squares. I knitted the smallest size, and strangely has a whole ball of wool left.
I decided not to sew the neck right up to the top, preferring to create an asymmetric collar.
If you can do basic stocking stitch, you should be able to knit this one. Love the blush colour.
It's been a long time since my last post and there is a reason for this. About a month ago I was made redundant after working for my College for 23 years, it was a real shock and threw me so I didn't feel a lot like sewing or blogging. I also lost quite a bit of weight, which does mean most of my clothes are a bit on the loose size.. It's been a time of reflecting and thinking about how I approach this and what to do next. I'm unlikely to get a similar job at my age. I am thinking positively though; after 43 years of working at an incredible pace and in my last job with a lot of pressure, it is something of a release and having more time, which eventually will mean more sewing is great!
