My blazer is finished! I really thought this project would take me all year, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how quickly and easily it has sewn together, and look, it's all done, my first handmade blazer.
The pattern is the Jasika blazer from Closet Core Patterns. I made a size 12 with a few adjustments. I took out nearly all the depth in the front dart, so that the whole front is basically flat and so as to not emphasise chest or curves. I removed a lot of the curves in the side seams at the waist, to give it a boxier look. I narrowed and straightened the lapels, and added two buttons rather than one. And I shortened the sleeves by two inches and the length by one inch (I'm a wee 5'4").
I think the fit turned out well, although I will make adjustments next time (and there will definitely be a next time!). Depending on what style blazer I go for, I might go down to a size 10, and possibly take another inch off the length and sleeves.
Fabric is a deadstock wool from Craft and Thrift. Working with this heavy weight fabric had its pros and cons; it was very forgiving if I made mistakes and hangs really nicely. But it made for bulky seams and needed a lot of pressing. Topstitching helped it behave
immensely.
Over the last year or so I've been mostly sewing easier, quicker makes as the thought of anything more complicated seemed intimidating. But I’ve tried to look at this longer project in a different way - making sure it was less about producing the final garment and more about enjoying the time I spent sewing it. I've definitely felt in the past I've got to be constantly productive for life to be worthwhile so I rush through things and then get stressed. But I think I'm starting to change my mindset there.
This has taken me around 12 weeks, working on it maybe 1-2 hours a week, with a few weeks off here and there. I think at least half that time was spent just cutting out all the pieces. But it is amazing what you can achieve working slowly and steadily. I was familar with a lot of the techniques (welt pockets, collars, lapels) but some were new (shoulder pads, back vent). Those parts took me a bit longer. And I quite often put it aside if I got a bit weary of it, to work on other things. But I always found I wanted to come back to it eventually.
I now have to decide whether to make a matching waistcoat and trousers. I already have enough of this fabric to do that, but I'm wondering whether this blazer is more of a casual warm jacket style blazer rather than part of a tailored 3-piece suit. I will ponder it some more.
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