i’ll start off by saying that, for the most part, i followed the construction order and techniques outlined in Kenneth King’s “The Tailored Jacket.” supplementally, i utilized “Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket.” (i didn’t use it on this particular jacket, but i can also recommend the Palmer/Pletsch “Jackets for Real People.”) using Kenneth’s construction method, my first step was drafting specialized pieces for the lining, under collar, front facing, body interfacing and back stay:
which gives me my beautiful, piped lining…
and interior structure.
i padstitched the undercollar, roll line and lapels.
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in kenneth’s method, the upper collar and lapel facings are inserted as one unit, which has already been pre-shaped to accommodate turn-of-the-cloth.
once the jacket body is sewn up, the sleeves, sleeve heads and shoulder pads are inserted. these photos are from a different jacket made using the same method:
the jacket is hemmed, the facings stitched down, and the lining is inserted by hand, leading you to the finished product.
voila!
with a surprise in the back!
at first (about 14 or 15 months ago), i had a hard time finding links to “advanced” techniques such as padstitching and tailoring in general. but thanks to great resources like recent sew-alongs (such as the “Lady Grey” at the New Blog for Better Sewing), it’s gotten much easier!
- Padstitching at Ann’s Fashion Studio
- Padstitching and collar shaping in the Lady Gray Sew-Along at Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing
- Gigi uses a blind hemmer to do her padstitching by machine
- Padstitching video at the Made by Hand blog
- The Great Coat Sew-Along
- The Lady Gray Sew-Along
- The RTW Tailoring Sew-Along
- The Collected Coat Vlogs from Gertie again
- The New Vintage Lady makes a tailored jacket in one week
a few final thoughts. i love this blazer. i think it is super-chic. i waited almost a year for the energy and inspiration to finally sit and get it done, and i got it done quickly and, i think, well. in fact, in spite of several flaws, it may be the closest to “perfect” sewing i’ve gotten on a garment so far. sewing it was pretty much a joy, not a chore, and isn’t that how things should be?
p.s. speaking of Ralph Lauren, this post on his S/S 2012 collection made me gasp, smile and laugh.
Your finished blazer is impressive. I love it!
Great job!! looks very very similar to that one of Gossip Girl show. I want to do a jacket or coat using all tailoring stuff, but first of all I can’t find that fabric to pathstitch =(
Everything about your jacket looks FABulous! Love the surprise at the back – what a great job
Wow! All your work and detail paid off- very lovely!
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