Designer Inspired Jacket
A hip-length, fully lined women's jacket with a collarless round neckline, a single-breasted button front and four buttoned flaps: two on the lower welt pockets and two smaller ones at the chest. Two-piece sleeves with a buttoned vent.
When To Wear
- With trousers or a straight skirt for the office.
- Over a blouse or a fine knit in spring and autumn, worn closed or open.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Straight, close to the body, shaped with darts on the fronts and the back.
Length: Hip length.
Neckline: Round and collarless, finished with the front facings and a back neckline facing.
Closure: Single-breasted, buttonholes on the right front for large buttons.
Pockets: Lower welt pockets with flaps, the opening finished with a bias facing strip. The small upper flaps are stitched on along marked lines at the chest. Each flap has a buttonhole and closes with a small button sewn to the front.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves with eased caps and a vent at the hem with a cut-on facing and underlap, held with small buttons; a wadding strip about 4 cm wide in the sleeve head.
Back: One piece cut on the fold, with darts pressed towards the side seams.
Finishing: Front edges, neckline and lower front edges stitched to the facings in one seam; hand-stitched hem; shoulder pads.
Lining: Full lining with darts, an ease pleat at the centre back and ease folds at the jacket and sleeve hems.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Welt pockets with flaps, sleeve vents, a full lining sewn to the facings.
Fabric Recommendations
Woven fabrics with some body that hold a straight shape: boucle, tweed, wool crepe, medium-weight wool suiting.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing (centre front facings, back neckline facing, pocket flaps)
- Large buttons for the front
- Small buttons for the 4 flaps and the sleeve vents
- Wadding strips about 4 cm wide for the sleeve heads
- Shoulder pads
Cutter's Must
- Main fabric:
- Front – 2 pieces
- Back – 1 piece (cut on fold)
- Back Neckline Facing – 1 piece
- Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Upper Pocket Flap – 4 pieces
- Lower Pocket Flap – 4 pieces
- Additional:
- 2 bias pocket facing strips, 18 cm long and 3 cm wide each, including seam allowances
- Fusible interfacing:
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 1 piece
- Upper Pocket Flap – 2 pieces
- Lower Pocket Flap – 2 pieces
- Lining:
- Front – 2 pieces
- Back – 1 piece (cut on fold)
- Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Upper Pocket Bag – 4 pieces
- Lower Pocket Bag – 4 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Stitch all darts. Press the front darts open; press the back darts towards the side seams.
- Place the Upper Pocket Flap pieces and the Lower Pocket Flap pieces right sides together in pairs, stitch along the sides and lower edge, turn and press. Make a buttonhole for a small button on each flap.
- Make the lower welt pockets with flaps on the Fronts. Place the Lower Pocket Flap and the bias facing strip of each pocket on the Front, right sides together, and stitch along the markings. Cut the Front between the stitching lines, clipping diagonally into the ends. Take care not to cut the flap and facing strip!
- Press the facing attachment seam allowances open. Turn the facing strip through the opening to the wrong side, wrapping it around the seam allowance, and from the right side stitch in the ditch of the facing seam. Press the flap downwards.
- From the wrong side of the jacket, stitch the lining pocket bag to the facing seam allowances, and the other pocket bag to the flap seam allowances. Fold the small triangles at the ends of the opening to the wrong side and stitch them to the pocket bag exactly from the end of one stitching line to the end of the other. Trim the pocket bags even and stitch them together.
- Stitch the small Upper Pocket Flaps to the Fronts along the marked seam lines and press them downwards.
- Stitch the Back Neckline Facing to the Center Front Facings. Place the facings on the jacket, right sides together, pin, and stitch along the lower edges of the Fronts, the front edges and the neckline. Turn and press the edges.
- Press the jacket hem allowance to the wrong side and hand stitch. Stitch the Center Front Facings to the hem allowance.
- Two-piece sleeves: stitch the sleeve seams. Hem the sleeves. Press the vent edges. On the wrong side of the sleeve, stitch the long and upper short edges of the cut-on vent facing and the vent underlap together. Stitch small buttons according to markings, catching the vent allowance.
- Set in the sleeves, easing the sleeve caps. Sew a strip of wadding about 4 cm wide to the armhole seam allowances along the sleeve cap. Sew in the shoulder pads.
- Lining: baste an ease pleat in the lining Back and press it to one side.
- On the lining pattern pieces, stitch darts and sew seams. Place the lining on the jacket right sides together, pin, and stitch it to the inner edges of the Center Front Facings and Back Neckline Facing, leaving sections approximately 10 cm long open at the bottom.
- Fold the lining with the jacket wrong sides together. Turn up the lining, pull it slightly upwards for ease, and stitch. Close the remaining open sections of the lining seams (at the Center Front Facings).
- Stitch the lining sleeves to the jacket sleeve hem allowances, leaving an ease fold as above.
- Make buttonholes for the large buttons on the right Front; sew the large buttons onto the left Front. Sew small buttons onto the Fronts to match the flap buttonholes.
