StyleArc Marni Ponte Jacket

You all know how much I love sewing jackets and how I have this huge crush on StyleArc patterns, right?  Well, I was looking through my ridiculously large stash and found this gray techno knit/ponte and I knew the Marni Jacket would be perfect for it.


That little peplum is just too cute and the pleat that forms the peplum, is genius!

I made a size 12 in StyleArc with almost no modifications--that is probably why I love using their patterns so much!

Here is a description from the StyleArc site:
Great easy versatile jacket featuring a soft peplum with tucks falling from the princess line. The ¾ sleeve has a slit cuff that can be worn up or down. Wear it with or without a waisted belt – or dress it up with an interesting stud closure.

If you've sewn with StyleArc before, you know the directions are minimal, but I found a critical step missing.  Tsk-tsk!  Not a huge deal as it is intuitive, but let's proof read people!

No where does it tell you to sew the side seams before attaching the sleeves and the sleeves are not sewn in flat.  

Another gripe/personal opinion I have with StyleArc and some of the big 4 is the way in which you attach collars that require a pivoting seam.  In the good ol' days, you'd be instructed to stay stitch the pivot points, clip, and then stitch.  Now I see that instructions have you skip the staystitching and clipping before hand and have you stitch to the pivot point, leave your needle down, get your scissors jockeyed in there under the presser foot, clip, and continue sewing.  Maybe this isn't difficult for anyone but me, but I can't get my scissors in there very well and I just end up with a messy looking pivot point.  I like creating this point the old fashioned way.  

I left off the stud closure and made just a couple of modifications because of the softness of my fabric.  I used a decorative stitch on the front princess lines and the peplum to dress it up a bit and I ended up topstitching my collar and cuffs just to give the fabric more of a tailored look.    

Isn't hindsight always 20-20? I should have used a ponte with more stiffness.  This one is a tad soft, but I still love it and will wear it gobs!  

I love my new jacket!

Sue