Green + Blue

I thought that being at home practically all the time now would mean I would have lots more time for sewing and blogging but it turns out that I don't! I am super busy with work at the moment, and most days I barely brush my hair (messy bun for the win) and only slap on tinted sunscreen so it's even harder to take photos than before.

Case in point is this green blazer I finished sewing two weeks ago - I only just found the energy to put on some make-up and real shoes to take these photos today!

I bought this beautiful vibrant kelly green wool boucle from Super Cheap Fabrics online and it turned out to be exactly the colour I hoped. I was inspired by this outfit worn by Peggy in episode 11 of the final season of Mad Men:

I used an old Burda pattern - 4/2014 #103 which isn't available on the Burda Style website but you can download from the Russian Burda website here (I often buy my patterns from the Russian website because they are far cheaper).

This pattern caught my eye because it has the notched lapel and trim like the inspiration photo, but I also really like the curved front hem and the princess seams that extend into the shoulder which make it easier to adjust the fit. I left off those patch pockets and also removed the vents at the back because I found that they stuck out awkwardly and they weren't needed for a close fit.

I did my usual fit adjustment of a 1.5cm forward shoulder adjustment and slightly narrowed the shoulder too. This fabric has enough loft and with interfacing in the shoulder area it didn't need a shoulder pad but still managed a neat fit through the shoulders.

I hand stitched the navy grosgrain ribbon on which was really tough on my fingers but I thought I'd have more control doing it that way. I tried to make the corners as neat as possible but they aren't 45 degree angles so it took a little fudging to make it work. It looks a bit messy in this photo below but we all know that people don't stand close enough to see this level of detail, especially now that we're all social distancing.

The buttons were also really difficult to resolve. I just couldn't find any that matched the colour of the grosgrain ribbon in my local stores, so I ended up making fabric covered buttons for the two front ones, and some smaller navy blue buttons that were already in my stash for the sleeve buttons.

I absolutely love this jacket and colour and I almost can't wait to be back in the office so I can wear it for real.

For these photos I've paired the jacket with a navy blue dress. Navy blue just seems natural to wear with this colour jacket especially since I used navy blue trim and buttons!

I made this dress maybe two years ago but haven't blogged it. It's made from a 1970s vintage Style pattern:

The fit is quite good but the fabric choice wasn't the best. The fabric is a thick herringbone cotton that doesn't drape so it has quite a pronounced a-line shape to the skirt and it is a magnet for every bit of fluff, lint or strand of hair in near proximity.

I don't actually wear this dress too often and have been considering refashioning it into a skirt instead because the fabric is really quite nice (except for the fluff factor). And I think this pattern made in a more drapey fabric like crepe would work a lot better too. I'll add it to my really long list!