French Jacket Tag

06 Mar Shanel No. 3 – French Jacket Completed

My mission: to make a versatile French Jacket, one I could dress up or wear with jeans.  Mission Accomplished 😊. Helen Haughey and Mary Funt offered a superb six day French Jacket class, that challenged me both technically and creatively. I needed it and I loved it. MY FABRIC My original plan was to use the multicolored tweed on top. Mary and Helen knew I had made two previous jackets, and that my goal was to improve my skills. They told me I'd learn much more (such as ironwork shaping) using a different fabric such as one with a grid. I ordered the blue and white...

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24 Jan Shanel No. 2 – Completed French Jacket

“It's the not the Destination, It's the Journey.”   Ralph Waldo Emerson For three weeks I've embraced the French Jacket journey. My diligence was strong and I was not impatient…… but reaching the destination was pure ecstasy! In 2013 I traveled to Baltimore and made a French Jacket in a Susan Khalje class. Once I completed it at home, alone, after the class, I was shellshocked, and it never occurred to me to make another until writing A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing. We featured pages of my sewing friends & colleagues in stunning French Jackets. What was wrong with me? Why did...

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14 May French Jacket Guest Post – Dorcas Ross

In March, Julie Starr wrote a beautiful guest post featuring her latest classic French Jacket. This post features her partner in crime, Dorcas Ross, creator of lonestarcouture.com  and popular Instagramer (go HERE). Though Dorcas lives in Houston and Julie in Charleston, they sew French Jackets together each January and invite others to join in and sew along for the #januaryjacket project. It's always a good time to sew a classic French Jacket, no matter the weather or time of year. Since the jackets take up to 100 hours to complete, sewists often break the intensity with quick and easy projects during the process....

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01 Mar The French Jacket Experience: Julie Starr

QUESTION: What's effortlessly chic, always appropriate and lasts forever? ANSWER: The French Jacket: It's a Classic. I've made one French Jacket six years and as stated in the last post, it's time for another. My friend Julie Starr has made six and they are all stunning. Julie, Dorcas and other dedicated sewists have mastered creating these couture garments requiring  100+hours to assemble. I've watched several of Julie's jackets come together and though I can't say she makes it look easy, I will say the process is intriguing. Over the next several months, I'll be sharing French Jacket posts created by my sewing friends and I'm beginning...

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