A TNT jacket

I'm still sorting and assessing and putting my life back to rights.  In my bits and pieces of spare time, I've moved from the closet(s), which I haven't finished, to the rest of the house: cleaning, sorting, rearranging, and settling, with a rather hefty dose of negotiating going on as well.  It is a slow process, but worthwhile.  I think of it as a rather grand spring cleaning, and it was long overdue.  

But while I was involved in spring cleaning, Spring seems to have actually crept in unannounced.  I wasn't quite ready.  After all I just found all those lovely wools to wear. 

Luckily I do have choices now, and one of my projects has involved figuring out how the bits and pieces that remain can work together, and what I actually am missing and need in my wardrobe as well as what I have to work with. 

With the return of warmer weather and the promise of spring clothes I am also finding the remnants of TNT patterns past.  The trick is to reassess them now and see if they retain enough appeal to be reworked to fit my figure as it is now.

Take this long jacket.  This is made from an OOP Vogue pattern by Sandra Betzina, 7022, which is a princess-seamed cardigan jacket.  I had made it several times by the time I made this long version.

This iteration was made nearly 7 years ago and was part of my (step)MOB outfit.  The matching dress no longer fits; it is too small through the bust and too large through the hips and thighs.  The coat, however, is not bad.  It is actually a little too big, probably the only reason it does not pull through the bust, and if I were wearing it buttoned over a simple and thin sheath dress the sizing would be obvious.  But it works worn as a duster with pants or jeans and it will get me through part if not most of this season.

The fabric is really interesting in this coat.  It has a woven raffia like appearance on the surface, but this is just a surface effect of a knit fabric.  The fabric was from Cadena of Spain and I purchased it after seeing the same or similar fabric used in a collection of suits by the Italian house Mila Schön around 2001 or 2002.  The fabric grew with excess manipulation, although it steamed into shape beautifully, it shed little bits of fiber everywhere, and it snags easily. But it is beautiful.

 Here is the pattern picture. 

The question is whether I would use this again.  I don't need jackets for work, but this is a basic, if boring, shape. I really think I feel better and therefore look better with a bit of tailoring in my garments and this gives me the feel of a cardigan with a little extra structure.  But whether it works or is dowdy will all be up to the fabric and the fit.  I think it can be pulled off.  The pattern will need some alterations for my new shape, and it desperately needs to lose the shoulder pads.  It may work best for me in the longer length, but I will need to play with the muslin to be sure, and for me, it will all depend on the fabric.

What I am uncertain about right now is whether I am looking at this pattern realistically, or if my judgement is clouded by the jacket I am wearing and my love for it.

As for my needs list, this outfit, for all that I feel right at home in it, the following notes were added to my file:

New white shirts that fit: (muslin was in works — finish and make shirts)

New Jeans.  These are getting too baggy to wear but for the most casual of days.  They will make good jeans for yard work after a replacement pair has been procured.

Replace the coat.  I like the feel and structure of this more than a long cardigan.  Look for soft, interesting fabric, that lend a more casual feel to this tailored jacket. Check fabric collection for a suitable replacement in a shade more appropriate for current coloring.  Check patterns for dusters and long jackets. No rush, this one will get me through most of the spring.