Green + Blue

Wednesday 15 July 2020
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!





20 comments:

  1. I love this jacket - the blue trim is super smart. Do you end up wearing smart clothes to work from home still? I hope you get to wear this :)

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    1. I only wear a nice top or shirt if I’m having video meetings with external clients - otherwise my daily video meetings with my team are just my comfy sweaters at the moment!

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  2. I love the jacket. I'd really like to see it styled with dark jeans and a white tshirt!

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    1. Funnily enough I took a test photo while setting up my tripod in dark jeans and a white tshirt with this jacket. I should have posted it too - it turned out much clearer than these photos did for some reason

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  3. I like both the jacket and the dress.

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  4. The dress comes across as perfect in the photos. And the jacket is just lovely. Thanks for the tip on the Russian site.

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    1. Thanks Vicki. My husband worries about using my credit card on the Russian site but so far no problems and during their last sale the patterns were only about $1.50 each

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  5. Well done on the grosgrain trim it really takes the jacket up notch. Love the look with dress but if the drape isn’t working then a skirt sounds like a great solution.

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    1. Thanks Sharon. I do like the look of the trim but what a fiddly job! I was going to machine stitch but I still remember the look on Susan K’s face when I suggested that her in her class for my black and white French jacket 🤣

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  6. For the record, though the dress isn't what you intended from the pattern, it looks great anyway. Just different to what you intended.

    Love the jacket. Hand stitching the grosgrain was a great solution! I'm going to check out the Russian Burda now!

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    1. Thanks! Perhaps I should give the dress another opportunity to shine before cutting it up....

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  7. I've had my eye on this jacket since it came out. Yours looks great. I first turned to the Russian Burda site when searching the new English site was so hard. I just downloaded 5 patterns on sale from burda.ru for about $6 total.
    For those who might be interested, you can upload the instruction file to link below, and it will translate while retaining formatting. The pattern file doesn't need translating.
    https://www.onlinedoctranslator.com/?fbclid=IwAR0fkHY8L4pwdBZUiPLzjb2mmf1qvBtejZadTCrT-8OZT-fzwRDXAnuneF8

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    1. Thanks Karey - I’ll definitely be using that link. So far I’ve just been making things without any instructions which honestly is sometimes easier than being confused by Burda’s instructions!

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  8. Love your jacket and dress; really smart! Oh, and your kitchen - to DIE for!!!

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    1. Thank you on all counts! The kitchen bench was unusually clear of junk so I took advantage of that rare occurrence to take a photo of it!

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  9. This is gorgeous! I remember that that blazer pattern was drafted for both woven and knits - did you make your standard size, or was the draft different?

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    1. So I just typed in a seperate comment rather than a reply d’oh! Anyway I made my usual size in Burda, not even noticing at the time that the pattern could be made from both woven or knit fabrics

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  10. I didn’t even realise it was designed for both knits and wovens until your comment. I made my usual size and it fitted fine, I guess if it were made in a firm knit like ponte the size would be ok too

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