Oh wow, I think I finished the jacket. Attached the bodice lining to the sleeve lining and... That was it, I think. There's nothing left but pressing the ever living heck out of it and maybe documenting it somehow, but... Jacket done?

Have been doing little slow tasks about the #1890sCheckJacket and have just now realised I want to do them differently, and need to undo almost everything I've done today. Ah well, should be a tiny bit easier to do again since I already know what works, I guess?

The second sleeve? It just pretty much went on without a hassle! All the hassles were expended on the other sleeve I guess.
Now I'm just going to ponder them for a bit, probably trim the cuffs (after pondering them also, they're just safety pinned into length here) and see if they behave differently after pressing. And if it's still all good, I'll have to properly sew them on and see about the lining! (Fitting gif.)

Meanwhile in #1890sCheckJacket - I've speculatively gazed at the one sleeve I machine sewed on (my trusty old Husqvarna apparently chewing through all that wool without issue) and determined that it might sit better if I made it narrower along the bicep and elbow bit in a very specific way, so I guess now I'm taking the sleeve off, making that adjustment and putting it back on again! Ah heck.

I can't believe it wasn't more of a struggle getting the sleeve on there. Honestly more of an ordeal to get it under the sewing machine than situating it, it's just basted and pinned on here. The lower sleeve I can just properly attach, the upper sleeve I need to shift the gathers a bit to rotate it. But it's on there and it's big! (Fitting gif, sans little dance.)

On stay-stitching and flat-lining when sewing: When you're joining very different shape pieces, it's nicer to pin them together when you can feel the exact line where the seam needs to go. It will also prevent them from stretching when handled, and unravelling when grading seams.
And when you use a flat-lining in a different colour, you can also see what the heck you're doing even when using thread that blends with the fashion fabric!

Took sleeve measurements to ponder them. I have some 63cm of upper sleeve to fit onto a 21cm of shoulder, and roughly the same amounts of lower sleeve and lower arm's eye respectively. Keen observers will note that there's about three times more sleeve than shoulder, which is generally what you'd get with both plain box pleats and knife pleats. So in theory I wouldn't need to do rolled box pleats, which is nice, but I am worried about the thickness of the seam... Cartridge pleating should also be possible, probably, and would be easier to sew on by hand. But do I want to try cartridge pleating and then discover it doesn't work? Probably.

Yesterday in the #1890sCheckJacket - finished three buttonholes and while they're not perfect these ones I can live with. I slept a bit badly so I'll be pleased if I can do the fourth and final one today, and maybe get the buttons on, but I'm not holding myself to it.

Progress on the #1890sCheckJacket is mostly me finally having done the hem and side seams of the lining. I can't even imagine how thick everything would have been if I'd gone the bag lining route, as it's quite hefty even with every single seam allowance graded and/or staggered. The lining continues being very nice to look at. Next, regrettably, the sleeves.

Yesterday in sewing I procrastinated doing a fitting after putting the side seams together (the jacket looks like jacket now) so I started on assembling the sleeves instead. The upper back sleeve seam matches to a satisfying extent. The side seam of the bodice does not!

This is just to say that the brocade I got years ago and cut to make the lining of the jacket... Is very sparkly and shiny. Nothing matches and I did not endeavour towards it, but... Shiny! So shiny! Pressed the seams open in directional lamp light and oh it's maybe even prettier like that.

In tailoring brain worms and the #1890sCheckJacket... What I'd really like would be to have a nice thin wool wadding to pad out the hollow on the lapel left over from the thickness of the wool seam allowances at the edges only. I don't have it, only a thick kind and who knows where, but I sure do wish I had it. It's such a small area where I'd like it, too, so I'll have to see if I have anything that would do the same job.

The urge to fuss with the pattern matching is great... The pattern is for a coat I've already made once so it fits almost perfectly, but the amount I'd have to shift the seam isn't huge. I could sacrifice a tiny bit of fit for significantly more satisfaction, probably. The seam is so curved, too!
And sure yeah, this is the seam that I'll have to fiddle with if the fit with this specific fabric isn't perfect, as different fabrics behave differently. And yet. And yet!

I don't think I did all too bad with the two front darts. One of them I managed to shift to straight of grain without messing with the fit, the other is slightly off grain.
Now of course, the other side isn't quite as nice, so I'm going to do some unpicking.