Shawl Collar Wrap Jacket

I decided that I would use my ivory boucle from the Fabric.com sale for the Wrapover Jacket in the December, 2009 Burda. I knew that I was potentially heading for an unexpected result, as the jacket calls for a knit and I was using a woven. Fortunately, KID, MD had made the same jacket recently, and also in a woven and with good results. I heeded her warning that in a woven the sleeves were very narrow, and added some extra room in the biceps.

The boucle shredded like crazy, so I used my serger for nearly all the construction. The boucle also looks very different on the front and the back. One side very clearly has a pattern of squares, and shiny rayon threads are visible:


On the other side, the pattern of squares is much less visible, and it is this side that I used for my "front."


I initially had concerns about making a jacket like this from a woven, so I did a little snoop-shopping and found a couple similar boucle jackets with belted waists. This Classiques Entier Atelier Boucle Jacket, was on sale at Nordstrom, regular price $298.00, on sale for $148.00:


As well as this one from Lafayette 148 (also from the Nordstrom website), regular price $448.00, on sale for $267.00:

Here is the finished product:

And man oh man, is it warm! It may get worn open more often than closed:


Overall, it was a very simple pattern to put together, I read the instructions and they made perfect sense to me...which may just mean that Burda has given me Stockholm Syndrome.

There was a lot of handstitching, that probably took me as long as the entire rest of the project. You have to handstitch the hems for the bottom and the cuffs, as well as stitch the shawl collar down all the way around. Other than that, the sewing was really quick, and the sleeves are set in flat, so that made everything very easy. The only issue that I ran into was the tendency of the boucle to shred. Not ravel, but completely shred! So, I finished the hem and ends of the sleeves with the serger before it fell apart completely, and did all the construction seams on the serger. The only thing that I did on the regular machine were the seams for the sash and two small seams on the front.

The one issue that I have is something that, of course, is completely invisible in the model photo...the fact that the shoulders are very, very dropped. Of couse, that is the risk that you often take when you don't make a muslin...yes, I am impatient and did not do one. I figured, what the heck....if I mess it out, I'm only out about $5.00 worth of fabric. On the other hand, they are SO dropped it was clearly intentional, so I'll call it "stylistic" and wear it anyway!