The Jacket Is Done

First, let me say that this is the best fitting jacket I've ever owned. Ever! There is enough ease for me to wear a sweater underneath, yet it doesn't feel too big with only a simple knit top underneath. No drag lines anywhere, the sleeves are the perfect length, I love the color, and it's really, really warm. Remember what the original jacket looked like?


While mine looks nothing like the original, I still think it looks pretty darn good. The changes I made include: changing the sleeves to a two piece long sleeve taken from Simplicity 3672, size 20 and with the petite-able alterations. I changed the front dart to an armhole princess seam. I removed the front side under bust seam. I added a pocket to the front side panel. Then I added lots of contrast running stitches to make the design details obvious using pearl cotton thread.

While not as feminine as the original, it did turn out like I wanted it to. I was looking for a sport coat I could wear on the plane and kicking around NY City in March.


Because this pattern started out as a petite half-size pattern, I did very few alterations. That's very rare for me. No FBA, no petite alterations, no rounded back alterations. It did take me 3-1/2 muslins, but now I have the perfect fitting jacket pattern. Be still my heart.


The back fit looks just as good as the front fit does. While it doesn't look like it, the sleeve seam and the back princess seam do indeed line up. Just look at that smooth fit over my rounded hips, will you? I'm sure the shoulder pads are helping a bit here.

If you know anything about me, than you probably know that I hate hand stitching. For this garment, I had to "just get over it." And I did. I love the way the stitches make the seams and collar pop. My buttons match nicely and I'm pretty pleased with the sleeves too.


After my last muslin, I saw that the sleeve cap needed just a tiny bit of height. I then removed the height for the sleeve lining, which turned out to be the perfect thing to do. Except that then the sleeve wound up with these really ugly gathers on the back.

I had convinced myself that I could live with them since I plan on not being able to wear this jacket more than one season because I'm trying to lose weight. So off to bed I went. I must have been dreaming about those sleeves all night, because in the morning I had decided that off they must go to be fixed. It wasn't easy either, as I already had the lining sewn in and the sleeve hem sewn to the lining. I had to remove most of the shoulder pad and the sleeve header, but it was worth it as the gathers are much better. Not completely gone, but much better.

What I learned from sewing this jacket:

1. I must sew up any Burda Plus half size pattern I can get my hands on.
2. It's not me that has to have things perfect, it's my subconscious. I can't be held accountable, can I?
3. Always check to make sure the hem hangs evenly after every alteration. The front tilts up some because of the fabric I had to remove from under the bust.
4. I now know why the front facing should be narrower than the center front panel. The hem was very bulky at the princess seam since there was so many layers of interfaced fabric that met at that intersection, including the pocket. If I had traced out the facing and used that piece instead of making the front facing the full princess panel width, it wouldn't have been so bulky.
4. It is a good idea to cut the under collar on the bias. I got that one right, yea!
5. I need more practice on notched collars. The points are very flat and bulk free, however, the inside notch has more bulk than I care for.
6. I need to make more jackets!