Anorak Muslin + Another Sewing Machine Sold!

Yesterday I made a muslin of my anorak.

You may recall that I'm using a Green Pepper pattern, the first I've ever worked with. The fit is good (I cut the 36" chest), except the sleeves are at least three and a half inches too long -- not even close.

Today I purchased all my notions plus nylon mesh for lining. I wasn't going to line this but decided another layer of something would give it more heft.

This is the sort of thing I'm envisioning: essentially a shell.

The white of my mesh is brighter than the white of my fashion fabric, but I don't think you're going to see much of it except in the hood, where the wrong side of the fabric tones the white down a bit.

I also picked up a yard of something akin to white nylon taffeta. It's a better match and I could use it for the hood, or elsewhere.

I'm thinking of adding pit zips and a back vent for better ventilation (in case I'm bike riding or hiking in the anorak) since you can't zip it open all the way like a regular jacket.

Here are the pit zips on an old North Face rain jacket I have. They're covered by a wide welt.

And here's a back vent in a running jacket I have. I'll sew mesh to the top part of the back piece and then cover it with a flap made from my fashion fabric, leaving the flap's bottom edge open (with some velcro to keep it closed when I don't want the extra air). The mesh won't be exposed like in the vent below.

More like this:

I hope to get started with my anorak tomorrow.

In other news, I parted with another sewing machine today, the Kenmore that belonged to Michael's mother. I had no place for it and it weighed close to 40 lbs -- easily the heaviest sewing machine I've ever encountered. A model 158.330, it can sew through just about anything. The man who bought it seemed very excited about it.

And that's it. Still one sewing machine to go in "Phase 1." (I still have more more than ten machines, in case you're wondering.)

Have a great day, everybody!