Crafting A Rainbow

Fall came quickly this year, and we are already getting frost at night sometimes! Luckily I remembered the Muna and Broad Mallee Jacket which was released a month or two back. It’s a winner!

I made two in one weekend, which tells you how quickly it comes together. The purple on is boiled wool, and the burgundy is double gauze. Both are new favourites!

I made size D with slightly shortened sleeves. I like a bit of wrist to balance out a boxy jacket! I love the length of this jacket and the high collar, which is my favourite shape and also practical for cold days. This version took 2m of double gauze, and it’s a perfect light layer for early fall.

I love the crinkly edges of washed double gauze, so I used the selvedge for the top of the pockets and the bottom of the sleeve.

I used some unwashed Nani Iro double gauze from my deep stash (ten years old at least) for the facings, both to add a pop of colour and some stability. Washed double gauze has quite a lot of give because of the crinkles, so this helped avoid the seams stretching out. I haven’t washed it yet, but with such a forgiving silhouette it should be fine once the facings crinkle too.

My second version is made in a heavy poly/wool blend felted knit from Fabricland last year. It is called boiled wool, but it is thicker and coarser than the viscose-blend boiled wools that cost 3 times as much. It also STINKS! It smells so bad it was hard to sew with, and it gets smellier when ironed. I washed it several times last year but the sell lingered, so this year I doused the finished jacket in enzyme spray (the kind for cat pee) and let it dry over several days. At least now it smells like enzyme spry and not like sheep funk!

I remember not knowing which colour to buy, and settling on a baby blue. I got home and realised I never wear that colour, so it sat ina smelly unloved pile in my stash! This year I dug it out and dyed it with maroon dye, which ended up with this lilac colour. You can see the baby blue polyester knit base peeing through on the inside of the jacket.

Take a moment to check out the pockets – it’s such a fun design that takes advantage of the fact that boiled wool doesn’t fray! Of course, mine are very crooked and quickly sewn, but who will notice besides us?

This wool blend is so chunky that I skipped facings altogether, and just topstitched an inch from the edge all the way around. I figure that will add some stability and a bit of detail, but no bulk. I may add buttons in the future if I find the perfect ones.

I want to quickly mention the t-shirt, too! It is from a “Wear Your Support” line recently launched at Reitmans featuring designs by diverse artists raising money for charities. I bought two – this one raising money for LGBTQ+ folks and another by an Indigenous artist. If you are Canadian, maybe you want to check them out, on sale for $21 right now!