Coming to the end of Nancy’s jacket, I thought I would add a few details that are not in the pattern’s instruction sheet.
When you have front bands that include the lining as well, the only thing holding them together is the very front edge seam. The second seam that attaches them to the lining and rest of the jacket front is not attached to anything and it can droop and shift and bunch up.
So, by first hand basting those two seams together, the bands will act as one unit. Machine stitching will follow.

Then there is understitching, this keeps the seam flat and lying in the one direction you want it to remain. The front band that you see has been understitched to the back/under band for stabilization. Once that is done, and steam pressed flat, the top stitching can be used for decorative purposes before the big snaps are sewn on.
The male snaps on the overlap band are only sewn to the facing and not through to the front of the jacket. The female snaps have been sewn all the way through to the back side of the band for strength.

On the back neck facing the label is sewn on and centered.

I think the mark of a well sewn garment is the sleeve cap. So I use loosely woven wool for rug making cut into bias strips to pad out the very top of the sleeve cap. Normally I cut 2.5 inch strips on bias and then fold over 1 inch to be placed next to the sleeve itself while the longer side is used to be the top cover over the short side. Here are some samples of a supplier:
https://greenmountainhookedrugs.com/collections/bolt-wool?page=3 and another Etsy supplier
Some folks use the strips for easing in the cap before attaching to the armhole while basting, I use mine to attach by hand after the sleeves are already eased unto the bodice. For this sleeve, I narrowed the strip to 1.5 inches as the fabric is crisp and didn’t need the full width to puff up the cap.

The result is a smooth cap with just enough “puff”.
With this pattern, we have a back waist seam that can flip up or down and knowing that eventually a dry cleaner will have their way with pressing, I decided to top stitch the seam flat and up. I changed thread colors to blend in with the lighter and darker fabrics. The hem has been serged and folded up and top stitched one inch from the bottom hemline.
Shoulder pads have been covered and curved and snaps applied to make them removeable when dry cleaning.
I make a tuck on the underside (red circle) and take in enough fabric by hand to mimic the necessary curve of the shoulder.
Just before the final stitching of the sleeves by hand, I noticed that after pinning the sleeve to the armhole after already hemming the lining to the sleeve hem…something was not hanging right. Can you see the drag lines and red arrows? What’s wrong?

I blame it on the iHop House of Pancakes.
Obviously after consuming strawberry crepes, I was on a sugar high and didn’t notice that each sleeve lining was attached to the wrong sleeve. Now what?
Yes, I had to remove the lining at the sleeve hem edge and transfer the correct lining to the other sleeves(s). Now the right ones are pinned on and that is the last thing to do before I hand it over to Nancy.
Here are the correct linings hanging down nicely and curving the correct direction…jeez! With the lining sewn quite near the hem edge, Nancy can roll her sleeve up to reveal the lining for added pizazz!


So what’s next? Well, now that Nancy’s jacket is done, I can return to the Chanel jacket for myself but there is also the Community Sew projects for the local ASG. We will be making kid’s blankets for Foster Parents program.
There is always a need to keep our seniors warm and cosy so we make fleece wraps and here are more 12 kits waiting to be sewn.
Spring has turned out to be a real disappointment as snow is still falling and the main interstate highway is closed today. Notice no vehicles in any direction!!!
Stay warm and safe and happy sewing everyone!