In this lesson, we're gonna talk about selecting our fabric and gathering our
supplies. In the previous lesson, we talked about what we're gonna cover in
this class, or you can skip ahead and see how to choose a size.
Audrey features a classic denim jacket design, making denim a natural choice for
this project. Denim is a twill weave. Twills have a bit more flexibility and
strength than a plain weave fabric, making them perfect for jackets and
pants that'll get a lot of wear. If you're interested in going the classic
denim route, I'm gonna recommend something in the 8 to 10 ounce range. 8
ounce is gonna be something really great if you like something that little bit
more on the lightweight side, that's actually what I have right here, but if
you like a denim jacket that has a little bit more body, I recommend going
with a 10 ounce. Aside from all the classic indigo washes, you can also have
a lot of fun with color denim. If color and print are what you're after, you can
also search for medium to heavy weight fabric. Canvas is another choice that
offer a lot of colors and print variety, but keep in mind that canvas might tend
to hang a little more stiffly than denim or other twills.
One other option I'd like to talk about is corduroy. Corduroy is another
really classic choice that adds a bit of texture and flare to your Audrey jacket.
Just keep in mind that if you choose to work with corduroy, you'll want to take
extra precautions when pressing like using a needle board to preserve the nap.
We've rounded up a few our favorite Audrey's from the community, so let's get
inspired.
For our denim jacket, I decided to go with a lighter, kind of classic denim. We
chose an 8 ounce and I love this color because I think it just looks really
great with topstitching thread, which leads me to our next topic - notions. In
addition to selecting our main fabric, you're also going to have to select a
light to medium weight woven fabric. This is for the pocket lining. In the
instructions it recommends a muslin, but you can feel free to have some fun and
choose something like a quilting weight cotton, that's what I have here, or a
shirting would do the trick as well. You're also gonna want to gather all of
your other sewing supplies. You're going to need some all-purpose sewing thread,
a pack of denim needles, also be sure to grab a light to medium weight
interfacing. I recommend woven for this project, it's gonna be a lot more durable.
You'll also want to grab some tack buttons, also referred to as jean buttons.
The project calls for 12, but you might want to grab a few extra to practice
with. And then optionally you're gonna want some topstitching thread. You can
do your topstitching in your all-purpose thread, but topstitching
thread is really gonna pop. If you go to the topstitching thread route, just keep
in mind you're gonna have to rethread your machine for every topstitching
step. Some special tools that you're gonna want to have handy include a pair
of nice and sharp trimming scissors like I have here, a point turner so you can
get some nice sharp corners, you'll also want a water soluble marking tool, and
then for setting your tack buttons you're going to need an awl and a mallet.
Those are the materials and supplies you're going to need to get started on
your Audrey jacket. In the next lesson I'm going to be covering selecting a
size.