Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Pattern Review: Simplicity 4945 Jacket

It seems that most sewists had made at least one Chanel-esque jacket for themselves. I thrifted this piece of mystery tweed fabric from my local thrift store last year. So I thought I would try to make a Chanel-esque jacket for myself too. The fabric is a bit scratchy. I'm guessing that it is probably some cotton/poly mix tweed meant for home decor. I liked the colour mix regardless.

This jacket is based on Simplicity 4945. I made the short jacket but with a button front. I used a size 14 and made my usual short waist adjustment. I didn't look at the instructions because it looked straight forward enough.

The jacket only has bust darts and no front and back darts so it's quite loose-fitting and boxy. Usually this boxy style doesn't suit my stocky upper body. But with 2 young kids whom I have to 'wrestle' with all the time I thought a boxy style would work just fine. I also made a lined-to-edge lining because this mystery tweed is a bit scratchy to the skin. I made a self fabric fringe for the front opening. In hindsight I should have double up the fringe to make it look nicer/bushier. Right now the single layer fringe looks a bit sad and sparse. I put the buttonholes in the middle of the fringe and at places that would suit my shape better.

All in all I'm happy with this first try of a Chanel-esque jacket. The pattern is easy to sew but I want to tweak it a bit for my body. If I make it again, I will probably need to do an FBA for the front and reduce the ease at the back. I also want to lengthen the jacket a bit, probably about 3 cm.

I was worried that such a fabric and jacket style would make me look matronly. But with skinny pants and boots it could work. I'll wear it a few more times to see how I can 'funk' it up a bit. So do you think it's a bit too matronly for me?

2 comments:

  1. Not patronymic at all! You will be able to do so much with it. Love the colors.

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    1. Thanks! Unfortunately it got donated because I didn't do an FBA. It was too tight across the chest.

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