Purple Rain

I finally stopped looking at the purple silk water-repellant top and just finished it.  Here I am celebrating:
I am pretty happy with the way it turned out with a few qualifications.  I like it better worn open than closed still.  I still don’t like the way it hangs on me closed.  Partly this is due the the way the front closure hangs.  The center front line doesn’t hang straight at the center front, if I measure and check it.  To make that happen I would have to reshape the pieces.  I think this is due to my own particular architecture not the pattern.  I also don’t like the drop shoulders, the way they bunch under the arms.  It might be better with a stiffer fabric as this one tends to cling to the body; although there is lots of room the garment looks closer fitting that in actually is. The drop shoulders would also be something that I might want to fiddle with on the pattern.  I do like the basic shape and the basic idea.  I will hold on to the pattern for now and see if I fiddle with it and explore the options.  I always want to do this — some perverse determination to make everything work if at all possible — but the pressures of time and always shifting interests often keep me from accomplishing these goals.

I had originally thought I would line the top to hide the white underside of the fabric and the seams, but then thought it was too much work.  I think it would have just made the garment heavier and more hot.  One of its main advantages is that it is incredibly light and not particularly hot to wear, even on muggy humid summer days.  The lining would have just been more work and my own conflicting emotions about this piece would have made the lining process that much more of a burden.  As it was I did not always take as much care as usual.  Unfortunately, I am no perfectionist.

Below is a basic flat shot of the garment, very shiny in the light.  I decided to ditch the button and use hidden hooks and thread loops to close the jacket, closing the buttonholes and moving the closure over just a little, ending up in a compromise position between center front and the larger overlap shown earlier.   Both pictures will enlarge if you click on them.