Victoria, Victoria

My first jacket! I may not look too happy about it here but I really love it! This is the Victoria blazer by By Hand London. I cut the fabric out almost 2 years ago so this blazer has been a long time coming!

In order to finally get this made I took a day's annual leave from work and spent the whole day sewing - and it was bliss! The fit on this is great, I've got room under the arms (something I often struggle with when sewing up tops and sleeved dresses) and I like the width of it.  However when I finished this I really wasn't too sure how much wear I'd get out a cropped blazer. I'm pleased to say I've surprised myself by how often I've worn this. I think it goes with jeans & skirts & I chucked it on yesterday as an extra layer in case the sun disappeared so it's going to be quite handy for autumn.

The outer fabric is from The Shop on Cheshire street, London - a brilliant shop full of vintage fabric. I'm not sure what the fabric is but it pressed beautifully & is very soft, though it frayed terribly! The lining is Liberty, the print is called Dr Tulloch, and I picked up a metre of it in the remnants bin during a Liberty sale. This was my first time working with Liberty lawn and my goodness I can see the appeal, it was really easy to press & sew. I do wish I'd made this full-length now rather than cropped but that'll be my next one.

I'd written up a whole load of notes about this - problems I had, things to do differently next time etc, however I managed to drop my phone in the swimming pool on holiday and there went my notes. Of course now I'm wearing my blazer I can't remember any of the problems I had - does anyone else find that? I really need to start writing a blog post, or write my notes on paper, to have a record of the sewing process.

Has anyone else sewed this up? Did it start you on an outwear mission? I already have plans for the Republique du Chiffon Gerard coat and a vintage jacket pattern I have but first up, another Victoria. I have the fabric already, a gorgeous wine coloured wool blend, and just need to get my lining fabric. I'm going to extend the sleeves to full length and line them. I'd also make the outer fabric slightly longer than the lining as on this one you can see the lining peeking out at the bottom sometimes. In these fabrics I've not had a problem with the lining peeking out on the lapels as a lot of people seem to, probably because both fabrics pressed so well. My next fabric is a wool blend so as it'll be thicker I think I'll play it safe and understitch the lapels. I can't wait to get started on my next one! Thanks By Hand London for such a lovely pattern!

A few close-up shots