Brown + Hot Pink Double-Breasted Jacket

The only thing good about cold weather is cute outerwear.

I say this every year because I really don't like winter but I really do like coats. They make it bearable, and I have a number of them. You can never have too much outerwear IMO. Yes I live in south Texas. Having a nice wardrobe means being prepared for any occasion and that includes weather.

The pattern is Vogue 1467, an Anne Klein designer pattern that came out last year. The McCall's blog did a sew along for it last year, and I totally meant to participate, but something must have come up. I just love this design, especially the standing collar. I picked a long time stash resident for the body fabric - a brown wool blend (I think!) with hot pink pin dots. I think I bought it locally. I loved it so much that I saved it and saved it for just the right project.

I used a knit interfacing for the fronts and side fronts, and a woven interfacing for the facings, belt, outer collar stand and upper collar. The topstitching was done with my triple stitch setting and regular thread. The buttons I purchased locally.

I cut out the muslin last year, and for some reason I cut the size 10 and I cannot remember why. I'm always a 12 for fitted woven patterns. When I stitched it up, the front fit just fine but the back was really tight. To solve this I added 1/2 inch to each center back. I had to add two small darts to the back neckline in order to cinch it up to meet the collar. They pretty much disappear into the fabric.

I really like the inset V at the top of the back and the half belt. I used the same style brown buttons in a smaller size for it. I cut the fabric out in a single layer to insure that my dots were on grain, and by the time I got to the under sleeves I was on fabric fumes. Those I cut on the cross grain, but you can't tell on the finished jacket. Whew!

I really love the fit of this design. It's big enough to layer over other clothing but not too boxy to obliterate my shape. The key to making this pattern successfully is the fabric choice. Because it's on the fitted side, you need a light to medium weight coating. The fabric suggestions on the envelope are wool flannel, crepe or gabardine. Anything thicker will give you a stuffed sausage look. 

Because of fabric shortage, I had to use a different fabric for the under collar. I went to the store and scoured the shelves for a matching brown and this is as close as I could find. It's some sort of home-dec fabric that was thin and somewhat stiff. I left off the interfacing in order to reduce bulk in this area. My one big fear while making this was that the collar wouldn't lay nicely like the envelope example. 

I stitched in one large snap on the under layer instead of the buttons called for. Snaps are easier for me to do up and I have a thing for these really big ones. The functioning buttons I sewed on with thread shanks.

Here you can just see the angled darts I added to the neckline to bring it in after adding an inch to the back seam. That back V is such a cute detail. 

The pattern has a half lining and back seams covered with bias binding. I substituted a full lining instead, and used a hot pink silk charmeuse from Mood that I had in my stash. How fun is it to have a pop of color on the inside of a lined garment?!

Dress form pictures (overexposed to see details):

I decided to move all the buttons up from the the pattern's placement in order to use my pockets without interference. It's hard to sew on that last functioning button and not catch the pocket at the same time.

It's been about two years since I've made a fitted jacket, but they are always so rewarding. My favorite part is when the lining is being sewn to the body. It looks like a mess until all the seams are trimmed and it's turned to the outside and it suddenly becomes a beautiful garment. The process reminds me of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.