I have become quite fixated with vest jackets and short sleeve jackets of late, so when the
Sydney Jacket was released by Tessuti, I immediately snapped it up. I dreamed of making it up in leather, a deep blue leather, but when I rang
the Fabric Store, it was suggested that I might need 4 hides, so in the interest of money and perhaps checking out the pattern first, I asked instead for a range of wool swatches to choose from.
The caramel won out over a camel as I have always loved this colour and lately
Chloe have been tempting me on instagram with clothes in rich colours from this palette which I find hard to resist. This wool is a really lovely soft wool with great drape and warmth that I ordered from the Fabric Store in Melbourne when they were having a 30% sale day.
I received the wool on Monday, cut it out on Tuesday, and sewed Wednesday and Thursday night for a short time each night. The pattern is not hemmed, so cutting, which has never been my strong suit is important. I recommend, and this is probably obvious, cutting a single layer at a time. I also neatened up some seams with my ruler and rotary cutter.
The pattern was fun to put together and I surprised myself by enjoying the method of construction which is to layer the fabric over each other to create the seams. It was in some ways like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. There were only a couple of spots in the instructions where I had to really think about how to attach pieces. I found marking the 3/8 seam and then laying the fabric on the marked line absolutely essential.
The instructions call for sewing in the middle of the 3/8 inch seam, but instead I sewed closer to 1/8 inch which leaves a slightly bigger seam of fabric on the inside, but the 1/8 suits my preference on the outside of the coat. The smaller seam makes it less obvious that the fabric is overlapped, which some people might like as a feature. I made up a petite, the smallest size with no alterations.
I am so happy with this coat. I thought that at first that it might not look modern and smart, but I think it looks really great with both these outfits photographed and I wore it on Friday night with my
jumpsuit and felt truly a million dollars.
This is already a very popular pattern popping up regularly on instagram. Every version seems to be great. Great work Tessuti and yes, I'm still keen on that leather version!
