"DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS" Heirloom Women's blouse  

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My Little Navy Dress and Coat

Brown Asymmetrical Jacket with Draped Collar

serenawashington, member

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To make the collar and front trim, I draped and pinned the brown knit to the shell, and then slip stitched it onto the jacket all on the dress form. 

I love contrasted lapels, especially here, because the jacket is fully reversible. The lining is a mottled red flannel with slight grey tones, giving the jacket extra warmth to cope with the long Chicago winter. 

The reverse side of the jacket, showing the pocket, angled for better reach without having to open the jacket in order to reach a transit card or cell phone while outside. 

This Dior jacket was the inspiration. What I found most striking about this jacket was the collar and the asymmetrical front, which is what I tried to emulate, despite the difference in fabric choice, color, and sleeve length. 

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When looking at Dior's Fall '09 collection, I felt truly inspired. That is when I knew what I needed to do with the crazy brown and white checked fabric I had in my stash. And I can always use something extra to keep me warm in the long Chicago winter. 

  I began with Vogue pattern 7975, a nice basic jacket pattern. I made a muslin, and then took the front pieces (which in the pattern have fitting seams, using two pieces each for the front left and front right of the jacket) and traced the left and right, extending one side to come across the center far onto the opposite side, to make sure there was plenty of seam allowance. I put the muslin together with machine basting to fit it on the dress form, and then took it all apart, using the muslin pattern pieces to cut out my fashion fabric (and lining). I found that once the shell was made and pressed, I had to over-stitch all of the construction seams, as the fabric was very bulky, and the uneven weave (the brown squares are made by brown threads all going horizontal, while the white squares are the white thread going vertical, and the squares which look almost grey are the two threads in a plain weave) made pressing little help. The red flannel lining (which can be worn on the outside) was not over-stitched, it took pressing very well, and I simply overcast the edges of the inside of the seams to prevent unraveling inside the jacket. 

  The collar and cuffs were draped and hand sewn (slip-stitched) onto the jacket while on the dress form to ensure the it came out right. There is a lot of fabric in the collar, which can act like a scarf in the cold, and can be draped as shown, or pulled up to cover more of the neck for extra warmth. 

  I also chose to emulate the pattern of four buttons on top, a space, and then four buttons on the bottom from the Dior jacket. The loops for the buttons are made from the same fabric as the collar and cuffs, so they can be used with the gold buttons on the brown side of the jacket, or the brown flat buttons on the red side of the jacket ensuring the reversibility of the jacket. 

    Thanks for looking! I had a great time making this jacket, and I hope you all can enjoy seeing it too!

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