Jacket Attack, April 2019

Jacket Attack

Welcome to the Northern Virginia ASG, 2019 Annual Chapter challenge- Jacket Attack! The Annual challenge is a way for all of us to do something as a Chapter. First off a few guidelines for the challenge:
1. Your jacket does not need to be a brand new made from scratch jacket. It can be a refashion, it can be a store bought jacket that has been embellished, let your creativity go. I am always so amazed by what you make,
2. It does not have to be a coat, or even that particularly warm. Just a piece that you would put on top of your shirt.
3. You have to wear your jacket to the annual meeting.

To help you along I will be posting ideas and some history of jackets for you. I am also asking that the neighborhood groups devote one meeting to a jacket in their meetings. We are also asking some people who participate in the challenge to share the with the Guild so they can be part of our booth at the Sewing Expo in October.

For your first month, I present to you the most iconic jacket - The Chanel Jacket. The Chanel jacket was first shown by Coco Chanel in the 1957 Spring/Summer Collection, but had been in the works for many years with the first iterations showing up in Chanel’s collections in the 1930’s. The Chanel jacket is traditionally made from a boucle tweed, is lined with silk, trimmed with braid, and uses a chain in the hem to create weight so the jacket falls perfectly on the back of the wearer. The Chanel jacket was inspired by men’s suit jackets, but is not made with interfacing which gives the jacket a less structured look and is easier for the wearer to move. Although beautiful with a matching skirt, a Chanel jacket is equally at home with with jeans.



If you are interested in making your own Chanel-style jacket Claire Shaeffer’s Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket is an indispensable resource. The boucle for your jacket can be found at most sewing stores and if you don’t want to pay Chanel prices for wool, a wool acrylic blend can be more cost effective. And really, nothing feels nicer than silk charmeuse next to your skin.

I have made a Pinterest board with Chanel and Chanel-style jackets to provide you with some inspiration: https://pin.it/zrrkcr5zj43jen


I cannot wait to see what you make!