Friday, August 2, 2013

Under the wire: The Victoria blazer

My Victoria blazer is done, and just in time for the end of the sew-along!



This jacket was a delight to make. Many of the details were new to me, including the French-seamed cuff with a slit, the way the lining is put in, and the dart that continues right into the neckline seam. Nothing was difficult to do, but it had plenty going on to keep it fun and interesting.


(I am slightly disturbed to see that in some of my photos, it looks as if I have nothing on underneath the jacket. But these are the photos we got, and now the light is gone, so you will just have to believe that I'm wearing a white tee shirt that pretty much matches my pale white skin. Have I not been outside at all this summer?)













I used a linen/rayon print for the shell and a light blue cotton lawn for the lining, both from Mood. The lawn was described online as sky blue, but I would call it something more like a grayed-down robin's egg blue. It was in fact exactly what I was hoping for. You can see some of it in this photo, but it looks much paler here than it really is; it too appears to match the white tee shirt!










This might be a good place to mention that my sweet husband took these photos on his iPhone, insisting that it takes better photos than my camera. The jury is out.




See, camera that was intended for picture taking is in my hand.












I first used my lining fabric for the pockets, but I wasn't happy with how it looked. Even though the pockets are inset a quarter inch past the seam, the contrast between the two fabrics was too much. So I took those pockets out and redid them with the outer fabric. A before photo:






And an after photo, where I can put my hand in my pocket without exposing a startling flash of pale:











This blazer does have a bit of a bubble or "O" shape, which you can see in the photo to the left. I think of this shape as a 1980s thing, and I wondered whether it's really right for my body type/age (you know, people who wore them the first time around . . . ) but I've decided I'm good with it as a casual cover-up.















Thank you, talented people at By Hand London!








8 comments:

  1. I have seen several versions of this pattern made. Each one is different and nicely done. I like the fabric you chose for this. I am curious did you order the pattern from Hand London or did you find a source in USA for this?

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Linda. I did order my copy of the pattern directly from By Hand London, and it didn't take overly long to get to me. But let's hope some retailer here in the U.S. picks it up so more people can get it easily.

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  2. Hi, I just found your blog via PR - love your Victoria blazer, it could just be the one that sells it to me! I too remember and wore the 80's and so had reservations about this pattern, but I guess a lot of it depends on fabric choice - yours is great.

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  3. I've liked every version of this pattern I've seen and your lovely floral blazer is no exception. Very nice!

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    1. Thank you, Carolyn! I'm delighted that you came by.

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  4. Such a cool looking blazer! Thank you for sharing.

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