8. Stash Stretcher - McCall's 7100 Brick Red Bomber | #sew16in2106

It's getting closer and closer to the end of the 2016 so I'm trying quickly to get in my submissions for #sew16in2016. Some will probably trickle into 2017 but that's fine with me. This post will be dedicated to Stash Stretcher: sew something entirely from stash materials, patterns, notions and all.

Back in August McCall Pattern Company announced that their next sewalong would be "The Bomber Jacket". They offered participants to sew-a-long with either Butterick 6181 or McCall's 7100 and I chose the latter; 1. Because I already had it , and 2. because I didn't want that casing of elastic. I wanted real ribbing. I cut View A in a size medium.

The fabric I used is from Fabric Mart. I bought it in either Jan or Feb of 2015 so it had been collecting dust in my fabric stash (like quite a few other fabrics smh). The name of it was "Dark Brick Red Wool/Poly Twill Suiting". It doesn't feel like a wool... or a suiting lol It feels like a non-stretch denim with a really loose weave. It pressed really well but it also frayed well. It does get a little wrinkly though and you'll see that later on pictures of the back. I really like it though and it is a unique fabric for this bomber.

I got the double-striped ribbing I used on the neck and lower band from a store in the NY Garment District in march of 2015... MAYBE Pacific Trimmings. I can't be sure though. It was a precut amount. I didn't have enough (length- or width-wise) for the sleeve band so I used a remnant of all black ribbing I got from JoAnn Fabrics. My remnant stash is still overflowing lol.

The lining I used is a remnant of black "Monece" Satin that I got from Hancock Fabrics when they were still open (RIP). It was fine to work with and it provides a little bit of warmth but is still breathable. 

I kind of cheated on the zipper because I have in my stash a couple of separating black zips with gold teeth that I planned on using but they were nowhere near the the right size so I just went out and bought the right size. I also interfaced the zipper area before I sewed it in because Auntie Erica says I always should and I didn't want to regret NOT doing it lol

Now onto construction. Like I said above, I cut a size Medium. The only fit change that I made was to add a center back seam so that I do a 1" swayback adjustment. It worked perfectly and this fabric does a good job of camouflaging the seam. ETA: I also added 1.5 inches to the sleeves. Surprisingly they ended up exact. Next time I will add more length to them so they can cover my wrists comfortably. ALSO, I will do a quarter inch FBA next time. 

For the lining, I used the body and sleeve fabrics to cut and removed what I needed at the front for it to fit with the facing piece. I separately underlined the front pieces, the sleeve and the back pieces. I knew that I wanted to have a contrast bias binding on the inside so I didn't do a bagged lining. I sandwiched the sleeve bands in between the sleeve and the sleeve lining so the inside sleeve is machine-lined. After attaching the sleeves to to the body, I used white store-bought binding that I had in my stash to cover the seam allowances. I did the same thing after I attached the ribbing at the neck. I hand-stitched the bias down to the lining body at some spots so that it did not stick up. I didn't do any trimming of the seam allowances so it was feeling stiff and bulky. The more I wear it, the more malleable it gets.

To close up the lining, I hand-stitched it down to the bottom band of ribbing all the way to the facings.

Construction wasn't hard but the instructions for the lower set of sizes are wrong when it comes to attaching the pockets. If you email McCall's they can send you a pdf of the corrected instructions. They are posted in the sewalong fb group but as far as I know, that group is now closed to new members since the sewalong has been over for a while.

If you read my Fall/Winter sewing plans, you know I have another one planned. Probably won't get to it right away though because holiday time can get pretty busy. The other version should be quite WARM so I am looking forward to it!

Also, did anybody notice my pants?? My Favorite Ginger Jeans. :-)

What do you think? Yay or Nay? Should I have used a more exciting fabric? Have you made one? What's the wildest fabric you would make a wearable bomber jacket out of??

Answer below in the comments!

Be back later this week!

xoxo, Tasha

p.s. Thanks to my long-time friend Jahaana for these pics!

p.p.s. (p.S.s???) I have linked this jacket over on Allie J.'s November Social Sew! Go check it out!