my first reversible jacket...

the idea for a reversible jacket has been in my sketch books for months, maybe even over a year...











originally it was for a beautiful 2 sided fabric from my aunt, but i didn't trust my sewing skills enough to work on it, or enough alone time to sit down and get on it...

then a few months ago i saw a gorgeous reversible batik jacket with my mom, and she told me that i should try it using the fabrics she got as gifts.

so i picked a batik i got from my grandmother, and matched it with a simple embroidered fabric thats actually for making muslim abayas.

last weekend i altered a tunic pattern for the body, and made a pattern for hood by tracing one of my favorite hoodies.







with prayer, i hoped that i didn't miscalculate anything and started cutting the fabric. i have to admit it wasn't easy working with batik sarung, as there is only so much fabric, and one must align and place the motif accordingly/aligned, as to keep the geometric pattern looking neat when done.

i decided to used the "head" of the sarung (small unique part; as opposed to the "body" which is usually 75% or more of the sarung that has the same motif) for the hood.


with the embroidered fabric i used the bottom embroidery for the back, so i don't have to cut or sew over any of the pretty embroidery, and use the pair of small embroidery parts for the sleeves instead of the front part of the jacket...

of course any "experimental" projects has it mishaps:

1. make sure the pattern is the size you want it to be. im good at enlarging patterns, but i find that sometimes i make them too big, and now i have to learn how to make a pattern smaller. i guess im not as fat as i think i am. or as tall as i think i am.
   
2. i mis-sewed the sleeves many many times. first was sewing the hard-to-control part of sewing the sleeve to the body. im not that good at "easing" fabric. i found out that making loose stitches like for gathering helps a lot. and using more than a few pins.
   
3. then i sewed the plain to the batik side wrong (note: sew main opening first, flip inside out, then stitch over the sleeve openings).
4. oh and make sure which ever side is inside, to be straight, not twisted. bad bad nala.
5. having pockets should be planned for in the beginning, not as an after thought. pulling out stitches and trying to make neat pockets fit in is not that easy. but its in, with flaps, so its all good.
6. mom suggested next time to add a stiffer fabric or a sort of interfacing to make the jacket stiffer
   

but all in all, it was a good job, nicely done... i get enough compliments, and i love that when i wear the batik side out, i can flip the sleeves and have a pretty embroidered cuff...






next reversible garment project? i still want to do that fabric i got from aunty, but i have to make sure i can make a fitted pattern. and mom gave me a red peachskin abaya fabric with white pillow embroidery; thinking of matching it with a dark purple or baby pink batik pekalongan. im thinking a longer coat with stand up collar. and maybe detacheable hood... still sketching it out...