Rya Shirt Jacket weather!

I love the annual cool-down! Here in Orlando a Fibre-Mood Rya shirt jacket (aka shacket) is perfect.

After two previous Rya’s (here and here), I’m back for a third. Actually, I kept the plaid fleece but not the saffron Mammoth plaid, the colorway of the latter just was not flattering.

Onward, this time in Kaufman speckled navy Shetland flannel. Beautiful fabric! To revisit the pattern:

My previous posts have sewing notes, but here is a recap:

• The sleeve was very short on me, perhaps due to my square and broad shoulders, so I added 2” to my tissue.

• I used a 2″ wide facing for the pocket. It, and the flap facing, are done in poly/cotton Symphony broadcloth from JoAnn.

• I shortened the shirttails by 5” and the torso by 2 1/2” for an at-the-knee length. Do not mistake me – I love the longer length, to me it says olive drab or khaki duster in any port-side town. Very chic. In any event, my changes:

• I drafted back and front neckline facings at 3.25″ wide to have a finished inside and to support the large collar.

• I also drafted hem facings at 1.5” wide.

• And I used Pellon SF101 woven fusible interfacing for this version. BTW, on the fleece version I used Pellon PF45 non-woven sew-in interfacing. Fusing to fleece is just not a workable idea.

A comment on the pattern’s reliance on bias binding to finish the inside of the collar band and collar seam, the top of the pocket, and the hem. I just don’t get it! IMHO, it’s a recipe for a bulky mess that distorts important lines. Ergo my hem facings, pocket facing, neckline facings…

On the other hand, I love the demi-band collar. It has the perfect pitch to keep the collar against the neck in the back and close at the perfect spot in front. I’ve sewn a couple other coats with ‘Peter Pan’/flat collars that use the same approach.

Something new! Rather than struggle with in-seam pockets in a soft, loosely-woven fabric, I drafted patch pockets for the fronts. These are the same width as the upper pocket and are attached in line with it. Mine finished at 7 1/4″ wide and 8 1/4″ long.

Just pics!

Great jacket and super fun project. Ciao! Coco