Channeling Chanel:

A few years back, I started to work on a Chanel style jacket inspired by this vintage Chanel suit:

and this more modern Chanel suit:

You can read about some of my work on this thing on my old blog HERE (January 10, 2010)
The fabric is a Vera ivory boucle’....from back in the days of that fabulous Fabric.com Vera sale. Remember that?

Well, that was before I really started being particular about fit. No, let me take that back. that was before I really know all of the particulars of fit.

I spent many evenings hand sewing that trim in place. I loved the fabric and trim and the buttons. But, that silly jacket has hung unfinished in my sewing room for years. Mostly because I was not happy with the way the sleeves fit. I tried letting out the seams, but it still didn’t work for me. I shortened the sleeves for a different proportion. It still didn’t work for me…even with tight sleeves.

So I tried it on again this week. And I ripped out the sleeves.

Then I rooted around the stash for that fabric (which I had plenty of….I had originally wanted to make a matching skirt, in fact.) And started to think about those sleeves.

I redrafted a wider sleeve to set into a deeper opening (whatever that part is called!) And suddenly, I had a cute little jacket.

                                   (this is a very primitive documentation of my alterations!)

I guess the lesson in all of this is to never give up on a project. When I looked at that jacket hanging there, sadly unfinished for all these years, “failure” or “waste” or “wadder” were not words that came to mind. I knew given time, this one could be resurrected…

After all, it is a Chanel. And Chanel is timeless.