N.103 // Blazer // How To Sew
How to read the Sewing Pattern
STEP 1
Transfer the notches, front/back center, and the placement of the buttons/buttonholes from the pattern to the fabric pieces.
Apply fusible interfacing on the front piece P1 and the back P6, as shown below, only if your bodice parts are not entirely interfaced; plus, apply Seam Stay Tape along the edges of all the pieces of the garment.
Instead of the Stay Tape, you can cut 2 cm wide strips of fusible interfacing.
STEP 2
Sew the pocket pouches to the sides of the front pieces P1.
Pin matching the notches one of the two parts of the pocket (the one cut in lining fabric), right sides facing, to the front P1. Stitch together the two layers at 1 cm from the raw edge, from one notch to another, as shown in the photos. Then, clip the seam allowance at the notches level, flip the pocket piece to the wrong side of the front P1, and press. Topstitch on the pocket side at 2/3 mm from the seam, the seam allowance between the notches - stitch with the right side of the piece facing up.
Next, pin the last piece of the pocket (the one cut in fashion fabric) to the already sewn one and sew, along their perimeter, at 1 cm from the raw edge. Once sewn, press the layers to flatten and machine-baste the pockets in place at the sides.
Note: You can also attach the pockets to the front panels by topstitching around their perimeter. Alternatively, they can subsequently be fixed to the facing at notch “A”.
STEP 3
Join the center back.
Pin, aligning the notches, the two back panels, with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. Sew using a regular sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge.
Once sewed, press the seam allowances open.
STEP 4
Join the shoulder seams.
Pin with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. Sew using a regular sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge.
Once sewed, press the seam allowances open.
Note: I used a scrap of fusible interfacing to secure the shoulder seam allowances, which will also help to shape the shoulder line, as this garment has no shoulder pads.
STEP 5
Join the side seams.
Pin the panels along the sides, aligning the notches, with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. Sew using a regular sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge.
Once sewed, press the seam allowances open.
STEP 6
Sew the facing.
Pin the shoulder seams of the back and front facings with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. Sew using a regular sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge.
Once sewed, press the seam allowances open.
Then, pin the facing along the neckline, with the right sides facing, matching the shoulder seams and the center front/back. Sew using a regular sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge.
After that, clip the seam allowance along the neckline, as shown in the photos.
Then, flip the piece to its right side and press to flatten. Use a Point Turner & Seam Creaser to push out the fabric along the seam.
STEP 7
Prepare the sleeves.
Take the two parts of the sleeve and join them together. Pin the pieces, making sure to align the notches, with the right sides of the fabric facing. Then, stitch at 1 cm from the edge. Once sewed, press the seam allowances open. After that, fold and press the hem of the sleeves at 4 cm from the raw edge.
Note: The seam between the M→N notches on sleeve piece P3 is about 1 cm longer than the corresponding part on P4, so you will need to spread the fabric evenly when pinning the two pieces. This difference is necessary to have more fabric in the elbow area.
STEP 8
Join the sleeves to the bodice.
Since the cap of the sleeve is larger than the corresponding part on the armhole, make a basting stitch using the sewing machine between the notches that delimit the cap of the sleeve, approximately at 8/9 mm from the raw edge - without stopping the seam at the beginning and neither at the end and leaving long tails of thread. I also recommend making an additional parallel basting stitch approximately 5mm away from the raw edge to achieve an even better outcome. Successively, you can proceed with pulling the threads to gather the fabric and create a sort of hollow in the area of the sleeve’s cap; once done, pin, matching the notches, the sleeves to the armholes. Or, you can simply pin the sleeves without gathering the sleeves’ caps and pull the threads to make it fit the armhole in a second moment, once pinned notch to notch. Before sewing with the sewing machine, I also recommend hand-basting the sleeves to check that they are symmetrical, well-positioned, and without wrinkles on the cap.
Finally, stitch using the sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge. I recommend making two turns of stitching. If you’re using a home sewing machine, place the sleeve’s side on the feed teeth while sewing - this will help you insert the excess fabric into the seam more efficiently.
Once sewn, press the seam allowances towards the sleeve side.
Note: To allow for more arm movement when wearing the garment, I suggest trimming the seam allowances at the underarm level by approximately 5mm.
STEP 9
Fold and press the garment’s hem at 4 cm from the raw edge, as shown in the photos.
Hem allowance - 4 cm.
STEP 10
Join the lining pieces together using the same steps as for the main fabric.
But pay attention to these two differences:
1. When joining the center back, view the pattern image below and the photos to understand how to get a pleat on the center back. In any case, you must proceed in this way: pin the back panels, right sides together, and sew at 1 cm from the raw edge; then make a stitch approximately 4 cm in length or up to the notch on the center back line. Once sewn, press the seam allowance to one side.
2. You’ll have to leave a section unstitched on one of the sleeves, see the pattern image below and the photos. You will close this hole once you finish attaching the lining to the garment.
All seam allowances - 1 cm.
STEP 11
Join the lining to the garment.
In this case, I recommend starting with the cuffs.
Tuck the lining’s sleeves into the jacket’s sleeves - pin the layers at the side seam at the cuff level and then slide the sleeves out to the wrong side between the lining and the garment. At this point, pin the raw edges of the sleeves to that of the lining and sew at 1 cm from the edge. Doing so will prevent the lining from being twisted into the sleeves.
Note: To secure the sleeves’ hem allowances in place, blind-stitch them using your sewing machine or by hand before proceeding.
Once sewed, press the seam allowances towards the lining.
Then pin, with the right sides matching and aligning the notches/center back/seams, the lining to the garment’s facing on the back. Sew at 1 cm from the raw edge.
Once done with the back facing, pin the lining to the garment’s facing on the front panels, with the right sides matching, aligning the notches. Sew at 1 cm from the raw edge, starting or finishing the stitch in notch ‘E’—this means leaving the lining at the bottom partly unstitched— about 4 cm including the seam allowance.
Once sewed, press the seam allowances towards the lining.
With the lining scraps, make two strips 2 cm wide and 5 cm long. Sew one side of the stripes to the armhole seam allowance on the wrong side of the lining at the underarm (armpit) level, and then sew the other side to the jacket to the same point.
Proceed to attach the bottom edge of the front facings to the jacket’s hem. Pin right sides together and sew at 1 cm from the edge, finishing the stitch at 1 cm from the facing’s perpendicular raw edge, see photos.
Cut the seam allowance of the facing, as shown in the photos. Press the edges open and then pin approximately 10 cm of the lining hem edge to the hem of the garment and sew at 1 cm from the edge. Sew only 10 cm per side. Then, turn everything right side out and press to flatten.
As you can see from the photos, you will only have a small part of the lining left to sew, but before closing, I recommend attaching the pockets to the facing if they have remained detached from the front panel. You can secure them by sewing the overlapping seam allowances together or, for larger sizes, simply cut a couple of strips from the lining and attach/link up them at the ‘P’ notch, as shown in the last photo on this page.
To attach the last piece of lining to the garment, slip your hand into the opening left in the lining sleeve, reach for the part of the hem still to be joined and pull it out through this opening, pin the layers right sides together and sew using a regular sewing machine at 1 cm from the raw edge. Once sewn, put everything back inside and close the opening in the lining sleeve by stitching the lining edges, as shown in the photos.
STEP 12
Finally, you can make buttonholes and sew the buttons onto the front, or you can leave the jacket buttonless like I did for a more casual look.
Your jacket is now all finished.
How to sew this garment unlined
For the unlined version, follow the same steps indicated for the version with the lining up to step 9. The only difference is that you will have to finish the raw edges as desired at each step.
I also recommend, in this case, fixing the pockets to the front panels by topstitching along their perimeter.
To finish the garment, after step 9, you will only need to attach the facing to the garment’s hem, as shown on page 24. Then, to secure the hems of the sleeves and the garment in general, you can topstitch them 3 cm from the edge.
Finally, to ensure the facing stays attached to the garment, you can either make a hidden stitch by hand or simply topstitch along the edge of the facing on both the front and back panels.