I love jackets. I think it is because I love jacket weather. In Texas, this comes very late, but where I am from in Connecticut, it’s already jacket time. I made this jacket in 100% wool with a lovely pale pink cotton/poly lining. I plan on making at least several more…perhaps with slight modifications. I used this pattern and it was not only easy to use, but it was a quick project, taking me about 2-3 hours. The pattern has great modifications for the collar and it would be easy to shorten or lengthen the arms and bodice of this jacket. It calls for buttons down the front, but I chose to use one vintage button for the very top to allow the jacket to be open.

The wool was a total steal at $2 a yard. For 100% buttery soft wool? That’s a deal of a lifetime. I can’t wait to make a few more in red and yellow plaids……

Of course, I needed something lovely to wear underneath my jackets, and I thought it would suit perfectly to have a simply knit dress to showcase the jacket. I really like the look of the high-waisted, A-line skirt dresses that have been popular over the summer and chose this pattern:

It was only 99 cents and I love view A. It calls for only knits (which made me a little sad), and I chose some leftover black knit fabric I was using for making hoodies:

It is lightweight enough to make a lovely flowy dress, but also heavy enough to stay warm on any fall evening.

Prep and cutting work was a little under an hour, I always press my pattern pieces with a warm iron to ensure proper sizing.

I lined the dress bodice with the same fabric but I left the skirt unlined because I thought that lining it may weigh it down a bit too much for my taste. Sewing the entire dress took about 1 hour 15 minutes, and a little over 30 minutes to put the elastic in the waistline (the pattern was a bit confusing about this part, but I got it!)

After turning up the hem, the dress is finished (please ignore the one light spot on the bodice…that is the sun peeking through my window):

And a full length view:

All in all I like the dress, it fits well (action shots to come, I promise) and is quite comfortable. It needs a little dressing up, but that’s where my jacket comes in. I think I will use the pattern again, perhaps adding a zipper so I can use non-knit fabrics (this dress is pullover style).  It makes me glad that I have one outfit done for autumn, with more on the way.