Vintage Pledge Lined Jacket

My final big challenge of the year ready for my final day of work yesterday. After the success of my vintage coat last year I wanted to immerse myself in another challenging sewing project. This year I wanted to make a jacket and pledged my wish on the 2017 Vintage pledge. This project has been on the go since the end of September. I bought this pattern in a charity shop and fell in love with the collar. It is from 1969. 

The fabric is a light wool suiting which is lined in cream paisley jacquard lining from Minerva. The cutting out was easy because there was not any pattern matching to contend with. 

The button loops were supposed to be bias binding rouleau loops but I saw this natty idea embedded in the Tilly and the Buttons tutorial. No words just look and the pictures and it tells the whole story.

 

Brilliant eh? As an aside to how easy it is to sew on hair bands and then cut them off, it is great when wearing the jacket because there is some ease across the bust; great for driving. This style front has a Beatles-Sergeant-Pepper-album-cover look about it. I find it hard to believe that a 50 year old pattern can still have such appeal today.

I took 1.5cm out of the body length on the shorten line to help it sit right on my hips but other than that it is sewn as instructed. It has spent many an hour on my mannequin Clara, waiting for the lining to be made - five weeks in fact.

  

I eventually finished it and wore it to work at the education centre where I work on my last day. This fabric would make any (lined) smart skirt or jacket. It wasn't hard to make, I just read each instruction and followed it through to the next one. Essentially, I did as I was told.

Make no mistake this jacket is olive green. I have a skirt cut out to make it a full suit which I will sew up soon. 

Thanks Minerva. This is a beautiful understated winter fabric.

This make also fulfills my personal Vintage Pledge this year to make a lined jacket from a Vintage pattern...just in time.

Thanks for looking

Jo xx