Black Denim Blazer

I finally finished my first ever blazer this summer. It spent over a year in my unfinished projects bin, and I would work on it here and there. But I was determined to finish it this summer.

It is super-comfy, with sleeves that actually fit. One of my biggest problems with RTW jackets is that they all seem to be made for women with skinny arms. I have muscular arms... a legacy from my climbing years, kept up lately by carrying around Bug, who has to be almost 30 lbs now! It is also comfortable to button, while most of the other jackets I own look terrible buttoned for one reason or another.

The jacket fabric is black stretch denim. My feeling was that it was a cheap fabric so I could have lots of extra in case of mistakes (and I did have to remake one of the collar pieces). At the same time, it is a durable and comfy fabric suitable for many occasions-- the black is dressy enough for most any event I'm likely to have to attend, but also goes great with jeans.

I also despise those polyester-acetate linings that are everywhere in RTW, so this one has a luxurious hot pink stretch silk charmeuse lining, with an interior pocket! I never understood why men get those, and women's jackets almost never have them. I also did a bound buttonhole and double-welt pockets.

It was definitely a learning process. I had to re-cut some of the collar pieces, and I unpicked and resewed the lapels several times. I tried my best to emulate fine tailoring- the lapels are pad-stitched hair canvas with cotton twill hand sewn on to define the roll-line. The sleeve headers are wool felt, and the shoulder pads are handmade from wool felt.

For next time, I'm thinking about narrowing the shoulders a bit... it feels just a bit wide on me. But I think I'll wear it around awhile to see.

If you are interested, the pattern is Simplicity 2446.