So let’s take a look at the tailored jacket that I spent a large chunk of March making. This jacket was the main reason I bought the August 2017 issue, I’ve been searching for ages for a jacket like this, both as a sewing pattern an in RTW. So it was like Burda had gotten into my head and scanned my mind.
Also, I thought the pattern would be a great introduction into the world of more deliberate tailoring techniques for me. The construction is easy enough – no collars, lapels or complicated pockets, so the risk of me messing up completely also felt relatively low. Plus this pattern comes with fully illustrated step-by-step instructions, which is a rarity for being Burdastyle magazine.
I bought the wonderful blue spreckled wool tweed from Croft Mill, and in every light, it looks slightly different.
And the brown starburst/bird lining is also from Croft Mill. But beware that the print disappears if the iron is too hot, that happened to me on a few spots. The lowest setting is the only way to go apparently!
The yoke. What I love in particular about the jacket design is the yoke and how the second row of buttons are placed in the seam. On the other rows, I did bound buttonholes using this bound buttonhole method. As you can see I also made too many buttonholes, i.e. the second column should not have working buttonholes on a double-breasted jacket. But apparently, that information has slipped me by!
The sleeves. The sleeves are intriguing, basically a combination of raglan and set-in sleeves. The sleeve head has a dart just like raglan sleeves and the patterns call for raglan shoulder pads that go all the way to where the darts end. I had some problem getting the sleeve head looking the way I wanted but then I saw that the version in the magazine looked no better than mine, so I decided to settle!
The collar. It has a separate stand piece and then is basically a flat collar. I don’t know the name of this collar in English, but it judging from my RTW jackets, this construction method is pretty much standard for flat collars on the jacket. Burda doesn’t provide a separate smaller under-collar pattern, which is a shame. I drafted my own using my under-collar drafting tutorial, but in hindsight, I should have done the under-collar even smaller. Having a smaller under-piece prevents the seam from showing from the outside and is a nice detail.
The pockets. These patch pockets are usually called bluff pockets as there is no visible stitching to keep them in place. The pockets are another favourite thing with this jacket. I attached mine by hand, but you can check out this machine stitched bluff pocket tutorial for another option. I also did a tutorial on how to sew flawless patch pockets using a lining pieced that is smaller.
Piping. Looks impressive, but I just used ready-made piping and sandwiched it between the lining and facing and then stitched it in place using the zipper presser foot.
The back. Love the back waist piece. Reminds me of a vintage hunting jacket!
So here it is, the finished jacket in all its glory! I was super hard on my self during the process and just saw a lot of flaws, but now I love the jacket and is proud how well I managed to execute it without having much experience when it comes to tailoring.
