Scroop Patterns

Making an extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket

Remember the chintz robe I made for Lynne last year?  Well, I saved a length of that fabric for myself, to make the most fabulously, floral-y, extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket.

A calico cat with green eyes lying on floral fabric

I’ve been plugging away on it all year.  It’s been my happy sewing.  I love the fabric.  The cotton and linen are so easy and fun to work with.  It’s really nice to make something without a deadline, and to just work on it when the mood strikes you.  It’s not a fast process, but it’s so satisfying. And I’m still so delighted with the Amalia Jacket pattern!

Here’s a look at the making process.

I started with the lining, and then added the back panels, building out from the center back, and lapping each piece over the other:

A partly made 1780s jacket in bright floral fabric

Felicity, in her own special way, made sure that I didn’t go over my daily sewing allotment.

A calico cat lying on floral fabric

Bodice assembled!

The lining of a partly finished Amalia jacket

Now, on to the sleeves:

Sleeve pattern pieces lying on ivory linen

Here’s a little sewing tip.  If you need to cut a pattern piece with the pattern wrong side up, fold the pattern piece along the grainline:

A sleeve pattern piece folded along the grainline

Now it’s easy to see the grainline, and make sure it’s placed properly on the fabric!

A sleeve pattern piece positioned on floral fabric

I loooooove sewing 18th c sleeves.  The assembly technique is so clever.

A pinned seam on the linen lining of an 18th century sleeve

And involves whipstitching!  I could whipstitch all day long…

A whipstitched seam on a white linen lining

Then it was on to the bodice front.

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

I opted for the cutaway front, even though it’s very subtle in such a bold print, because most of the extant jackets with cutaway fronts are also in chintz.

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

Lots and lots of finishing stitching…

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

And then a final try-on, and the excitement of sleeve fitting!

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

Yesssss…

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

Am I excited about this outfit?  Yes I am!

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

(yes, there’s a matching petticoat!)

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

Not exactly a proper pinning job!

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

The final outside touch was the chintz straps…

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

But there was some inside finishing to do.  I felt this jacket deserved that!

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

And my Amalia Jacket is finished inside and out!

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

An extremely exuberant Amalia Jacket thedreamstress.com

I wore it to the Georgian Dinner, but it’s definitely going to get a lot more outings, and, eventually, so many ruffles!  (seriously, so many!)

A midwinter Georgian dinner thedreamstress.com

20 Comments

  1. Vancouver Barbara says

    Mrs. C stole my comment. That’s exactly what I thought as I scrolled through. It is glorious and suits you perfectly. Wherever did you find such beautiful fabric?

    • Thank you! The fabric is an block printed chintz from an Indian fabric seller on ebay. Unfortunately the original seller no longer seems to have the fabric 🙁

      • It’s worth hanging out on ebay and etsy checking out the indian fabric sellers. You can get some fantastic stuff, and if you know the kind of print that suits the particular clothing item you want to make, you may well strike it lucky.

        🙂

  2. Alice says

    Another plea for the source of that fabric!

  3. nofixedstars says

    what fun! i loved your outfit in the georgian dinner photos, so it’s a treat to see it here in different lighting.

  4. Martina says

    That is seriously beautiful. Loved seeing all the handwork (I could whipstitch all day too!).

  5. Lynne says

    Wonderful! First look at it with the matching petticoat – oh, my!! A total delight. All praise to the work, and to a very fine pattern.

  6. Kem says

    This material is delightful! Such eye candy! I love the whole ensemble!

  7. Claire Payne says

    I love the fabric and of course Felicity looks delightful as ever. Well done to you! I hope you get lots of opportunities to wear your new ensemble.

  8. RenfrewSue says

    Such a beautiful jacket and I also love the fabric.

  9. Just the project/outfit for cheering up a grey winter!
    I love your pattern weights too – much more decorative than my large metal washers from Mitre 10.

  10. Izzy says

    It looks beautiful! I also could whip stitch all day, something about it is just delightful.

  11. Anna says

    Oh this is gorgeous! I really need to break out my Amalia pattern and give it a go soon, I love every iteration of it that I’ve seen on every body type, which is just delightful.

  12. Katie says

    Absolutely stunning!. Having read the older posts about making Lynn’s wrappers….have you guys thought about releasing it as a pattern?

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