This month I sewed for my partner, Michael (that’s him above). I hadn’t made him something in a long time — as he sometimes reminded me!
Last month at Mood Fabrics in NYC I found this bold, tri-color hibiscus print in a lightly coated cotton canvas and, without a particular project in mind, snatched up two and a half yards. Back home, I draped it on Michael.
It was too heavy for shirting, however, and too stiff for pants, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. My blog readers — a jovial lot — were leaning toward beach umbrella (!). I decided to make a blazer out of it. (A medium-to-heavy cotton print would be ideal for a jacket like this. You can find some beautiful print sateens at Mood here and twills here.)
I had recently bought Vogue 9445, an Ivy-style blazer pattern from 1958, on eBay. I thought the bold print would work well as a conservatively cut, slightly vintage-y jacket.
I made version A, which has a single-welt breast pocket and two double-welt pockets with pocket flaps (which are lined with cotton gingham from my stash.)
The jacket itself is lined in a cream-colored satin (a half lining, actually).
The buttons are vintage plastic ones from my stash. I made all the buttonholes with my vintage Singer buttonholer.
The only alteration I made to the original pattern was to shorten the length by two inches. There was a lot of hand sewing involved — mainly to attach the lining — but the blazer went together easily.
The result is a one-of-a-kind garment perfect for sultry summer nights in the City. Michael’s wearing it with a creamy yellow shirt and white linen pants, both Mood Sewing Network projects from April 2013.
I’m open to styling ideas: black Bermuda shorts and white shirt? Red gingham shirt and khakis?
I love sewing basics but sometimes it’s fun to create something more playful. Michael loves the blazer and looks forward to turning a few heads in it this summer.
Thanks for reading!
(Color-coordinated hopscotch, anyone?)
