Proposal Suit (research)

For being such a short scene, you actually get a lot of good views of her jacket.  The fabric looks to me like polyester Gabardine, but any mid-weight, wrinkle-resistant fabric would work fine.  The jacket has princess seams (front and back) and 6 fabric-covered buttons (I use 1-1/8").  The buttons can be faked with snaps  hidden under the row nearest the edge.  Which by the way, those buttons are very near the edge. The  middle row of buttons should be at or above the fullest part of the bust line or it might look droopy and sad.

The collar has that 70s look to it and you'll notice the buttons don't line up perfectly under it.   The collar is probably on straight, it's the overlap that doesn't go far enough over.

The jacket has a cropped, boxy look to it.  When her hands go up you can see an undershirt (probably for warmth on the cold day of shooting).  The "long" sleeves end before her wrists - though if you'll be wearing your pink dress underneath, you may choose to add enough length to hide the gingham cuffs.

There is a tuck at the top of each sleeve cap.  Normally when sleeves are set, they are eased into the armscye.  This actually makes the whole process easier and you can just make a pleat with the 'leftover' fabric that is always so hard to ease.

The skirt is a 6-panel A-line.  The zipper goes on the left side, but there are times when her skirt gets twisted  and looks like it's in the back.  The waistband is between 1" - 2".  If you're going to wear your pink dress under this do not wear the belt - it will show.

Janet's Proposal Suit (Pt. 2)

I have an earlier blog post that discusses the Proposal Suit in general terms, but this one will be more in-depth.  I use a polyester gabardine for the shell (outside fabric) and a thin poly lining.  Gabardine presses well, is easy to spot clean and generally wrinkle-resistant (though I wouldn't put anything past a Rocky performer!)

You can use any jacket pattern with princess seams - you'll probably need to crop the length and perhaps extend the front to overlap more.  And I definitely recommend lining it.  Lining will extend the wear of your garment, in addition to the aesthetic benefits and most importantly; no obvious hem lines.

Prep the sleeves and collar first.  Attach the sleeve shell and lining at the wrist with right sides together, then fold lengthwise and close the length of the arm.  Trim excess at the wrist seam, turn right side out and press.  Marking the front and back of your sleeves at the shoulder will make it easier to line them up.  Be careful that you don't end up with two of the same facing sleeves!   There is a difference - the back is cut to allow the arm to move forward and accommodate the back expansion (like when you hug someone and your shirt pulls tight across your back).

Next, assemble your garment shell (outside fabric) and lining separately, but do not close the side seams.  Attach the collar to shell, then attach the lining. At this point you can attach the lining all the way around - but leaving the side seams open.  That means you'll stitch across the front bottom, up the center front, around the collar, back down the center front and across the second front bottom.  And across the bottom of the back.


Clip and grade the curves in the collar, and clip all your other bulky intersections and corners.  Turn everything right side out and press.


Now you can close up your sides seams.  Treat the shell and lining as one.  If you have access to a serger you can run it along the edges, otherwise a zig-zag stitch would be fine.  Press.  Closing the side seams in this manner will make it easy to alter  if ever you need to.

Then finally set your sleeves in.  Sleeves are designed to be eased in. That means the sleeve itself is larger than the hole it's being fitted into.  Easing a sleeve gives the shoulder a little more room for movement.  However it looks like in this case, all the extra  ease was just pinched into a pleat at the top of the shoulder.   So when you pin your sleeve in place, lining up the underarm and side seams, just work the excess to the top of the sleeve.

You can serge (or zig-zag) the inside of your armscye, but definitely trim it down and remove some of the bulk


My aforementioned blog entry also  details the button placements, and putting snaps under them will make it easy for the quick-change.  I use 1-1/8" covered button kits from the local fabric store.

Proposal Suit

I made this proposal suit by modifying Simplicity Threads Pattern #4146 (Out of print, but not hard to find). The front darts were converted into princess seams - remember to add seam allowance if you do this). I also reshaped the collar using the pattern as a base. The jacket and skirt have to be shortened - and I'd make the jacket side seams a little straighter/boxier. The skirt also needs a waistband added.  I placed the middle row of buttons first - because they really need to be across or above the bustline - but not below (sad boobies). Also, when you inset the sleeves you you can just pinch the excess into the top instead of easing it so it matches the film.  Lining is preferable and it extends the length of the garment and reduces stress on the outside seams.