A Second Jacket From Burda 02.2024 #114

This is a pattern for a jeans-type jacket. All the skinny panels involved in that style, especially when it has two-piece sleeves, make it a good candidate for using up scraps from another project. That's what happened here. I first made this pattern last year - here's the post. It fit really well and I always intended to make it again.

For this version, I eliminated the pockets, cuffs, and bottom band; and included the collar from view #113 in the same Burda issue.

The seams are all flat felled (except the armhole) and topstitched with a double strand of thread to make it stand out against the striped fabric.

That fabric is a black and white stripe cotton that was described as a "suiting". It reminded me quite a bit of a pin cord, but not quite as supple. This had a lot of crispness and body. That helped to keep the flat fell seams nice and straight, but easing the sleeves was a real chore! Now that it's complete, I hope it softens up a bit with washing. It might even get a coke soak to see if that will help.

I was just able to eke out the pieces left over from making a pair of pants. The under collar was cut from a scrap from yet another project, and I had to piece the back. The martingale insert in the center back panel helps make the piecing look intentional.

The inside is pretty because of the flat felled seams. I think I used every foot in my arsenal to keep my stitching straight. The bias binding on the armhole and around the hem is from the same scrap as the under collar. It's a pale grey, not white.

Finished it off with fancy metal buttons that came in a button grab bag from Califabrics. I had tons to choose from but liked these the best.

This project just dragged on and on and seemed like a lot of effort for leftover fabric! But it's a nice lightweight jacket that fits in with my liking for neutral colors. I've known for a long time that it's best for me to stick to grey, taupe / natural, black, white, and shades of indigo; but when fabric shopping, I often got sucked into pretty colors and prints. The trouble is, I hardly ever wear those pretty colors and prints. I don't feel like myself in them. I feel best in neutrals that have some textural interest to them, and really need to spend my money and time on fabrics that suit me. "Pretty" is fun to shop for and fun to sew, but I sew mostly to have things that fit and that I feel good about wearing.

The grey plaid dress in the background of the first two photos was my palate-cleanser project after this jacket was finally finished and I'll blog it soon.