A Tremont Jacket

I try not to get too invested in a project, especially one that is an impulse make. That way, I won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. I’m making garments to learn techniques and to work with different fabrics. The Tremont Jacket, though, is one I will make again. I absolutely love the way this turned out:

It looks good on me, the fabric is soft and cozy, the fit is close to perfect (could be longer), and it went together easily even in this fussy fabric. My only quibble with the pattern is that it doesn’t specify a vertical or a horizontal buttonhole. Help a girl out! I split the difference and went with one at an angle. And I found the perfect fabric-covered button in my vintage button stash:

This goes to the store today. The pattern goes into the tried-and-true pile, although the next time I make it, I will make a couple of changes: I will lengthen it (of course), and I might make two long fronts instead of one long and one short front. A reviewer on the Sewing Pattern Review website did that to make a version that was more of a coat than a jacket.

[On Monday, the other Janet and I were looking around the store for fabric for her Tamarack Jacket. The other Janet makes many of her own clothes and is not afraid of bold prints, but not in retina-burning colors. I’ve decided that I am not the right person to help people choose fabric for their garments—unless they have the same coloring as me and aren’t afraid to dress like a parrot—because I was pulling some really riotous fabrics. 🤪 I like the combination she chose.]

I did not make the cuffed sleeves on this version because the sleeves would have ended near my elbow and I wanted longer ones. I’d have to lengthen the sleeves if I want to cuff them. I also thought the fabric was too soft to hold a cuff well.

The rest of yesterday was spent on paperwork. The husband has done residential work for most of the last 30 years. Working for commercial contractors is another ball of wax. Even if the job is less than $1000 (which many of the concrete cutting jobs are), they want a mountain of documentation—some of it notarized—and invoices have to be submitted in specific ways. One company wanted a specific kind of documentation from Montana State Fund, which administers our work comp policy, and even our insurance agent was unfamiliar with what they were requesting. I’ve learned a lot, but all this paper shuffling takes time.

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Western Washington is getting hammered by these atmospheric rivers. Some areas are experiencing 10,000-year flooding. A section of I-90 eastbound east of Seattle is closed because of a landslide that took out three vehicles yesterday. Traffic is being diverted around the closure. Our kids are not affected, but I can’t imagine what some residents are having to go through right now.

The arctic air dropping down into the northern plains will not make it to our side of the Continental Divide, so we’re still getting rain. I’ve been making lots of soups for dinner.