Jean's Jacket

Yes, I made myself a Jean Jacket (how appropriate seeing that my name is Jean).

 Not just any old Jean Jacket...this is the Stacie Jean Jacket from Style Arc.

STACIE JEAN JACKET: Great Jean Jacket sitting on the high hip with flattering shaping through the body. The sleeve features a deep hem so can be worn turned up for a casual look.

I cut a straight size 12 with no alterations (based on my measurements and Style Arc's sizing chart). Fabric used was a medium weight denim 97% cotton and 3% spandex, so it had a little bit of stretch. It was an unusual purple colour on one side and a navy blue on the reverse side. I purchased this fabric from my local Bargain Box Fabrics.

Front buttoned up

Back view

I love the flattering shape of this Jean Jacket. It is not square and boxy at all, like a lot of Jean Jackets are.

The pattern instructions are fairly minimal and a beginner sewist may struggle with them. They are more like a list of construction steps. They do include a detailed diagram for all the top stitching...and there is a lot of top stitching on this jacket. The pattern is very well drafted and all the pieces go together perfectly.

Front pocket flap

I just used normal Gutermann 100% polyester thread in a hot pink, for the top stitching which I sewed with a twin needle. This contrasted nicely with the purple fabric. I spent an awful lot of time changing thread and needles on my machine during construction...alternating between top stitching and normal stitching. This was quite a labourious process and certainly added a lot of time to the sewing of this jacket. In hind sight, I could have saved a lot of time if I had set up my other machine as well, and used one for top stitching and one for regular stitching (however, I had recently purchased my new Bernina B 350 and the novelty had not worn off yet, so I wanted to use it for everything). 

More top stitching - waistband and centre back seam detail.

Collar Detail

I'm not sure if I joined the collar correctly to the neckline. I thought the front edge of the collar should have started about half way across the front band. I wondered if maybe I had stretched the neckline during construction, because the collar did not seam long enough. Then I studied the line drawing of the jacket and it appears that I have joined the collar as intended. However the point between the front band and where the collar joins, seams to be a weak spot so I did add a few tiny hand stitches to join the collar to the front band for a bit of added strength. 

The pattern does not call for the use of interfacing, at all which I thought was a bit strange. I followed the pattern directions, and did not interface the collar or the front bands and waist bands. The jacket feels fine without being interfaced, probably because the fabric I used was quite sturdy.

Sleeve and cuff.

The sleeve cuff is created easily. The hem of the sleeve is quite deep so this can be turned up to form a cuff.

Although the size 12 fitted me quite well without any pattern alterations, I will make a couple of changes for the next one. The sleeves were barely long enough for me (I must have monkey arms). This is actually a problem I have with buying RTW shirts...the sleeves are always too short on me. So I will be adding probably another 5 cm to the sleeve length. Also, the length of the jacket was much shorter on me compared to the line drawing, so I may add some length here next time too...and yes there will definitely be a next time. I would love one of these jackets in every colour of the rainbow.

I have already worn my Style Arc Stacie Jean Jacket several times and I can see it is going to be a favourite item in my wardrobe.

Just before I finish I thought I would share a photo of my loyal little sewing buddy who is never far from my side when I am sewing and who was a keen observer during my photo shoot this morning.

Ollie

Happy Sewing