Burda Style For people who sew
Description
So the story of this little number starts at an op shop (thrift store). I was digging through the big back room where people deliver their unwanted stuff and came across some fabric remnants – both synthetic stretch fabrics – one brown with a woollen look to it, one light turquoise and mildly ribbed. I’ve always loved brown and blue as a combination so the pairing of these two felt like an obvious choice.
I had the perfect 50’s swing jacket pattern at home, also recently purchased second hand. The pattern consists of only two pieces – one for the front and one for the back – with the option of creating either a faced or a lined (and reversible!) jacket. I went with lined.
The jacket itself was relatively simple to make, although more time consuming than initially anticipated as there was alot of hand sewing to do. I was working with remnants, and it was a bit of a squeeze getting the pattern pieces to fit, but (having to ignore grain lines!!!) I managed to make it work. Actually, I wasn’t worried too much about ignoring grain lines since there was no obvious grain on the right side of the fabric. Also the jacket is quite loose and roomy and, as such, would probably have been difficult to misshape :)
I made bound buttonholes (for the first time – I don’t know why I’d never tried these before, it was very simple) and used vintage fabric covered buttons given to me by a friend. This was also the first project where I had properly attempted to use stretch fabric, and found it surprisingly fun and hassle-free. Woo!
I’ve been wearing this non-stop since I made it a few weeks ago, it’s warm and works well with so many outfits!
Material Notes
second hand fabric, vintage buttons
Difficulty
Intermediate
Categories
22 Comments Sign in to add a post
Featured
-
Retro Pattern
Blouse and Pant Suit
Dive back into 1956 with this stylish two in one pant suit pattern!
-
Member Project of the Week
Strapless Bustier Dress
Get inspired by printed floral bustier dress with flounce! It is so summery.
-
Editors' Pick
Surfer Girl: 10 New Sewing Patterns
The style is cool and sporty beach wear that can be worn anywhere!
-
Pattern of the Week
Floral Pencil Skirt
This pencil skirt is perfect for everyday wear! We love it in floral.
-
Editors' Pick
Photo Bombshell: 8 New Plus Size Sewing Patterns
This collection will make you shine in front of the camera!
BurdaStyle - Footer
BurdaStyle is a DIY fashion and sewing community. Our aim is to bring the craft of sewing to a new generation of fashion designers, hobbyists, DIY'ers, and inspire fashion enthusiasts. We offer downloadable PDF sewing patterns, project ideas, tutorials and a community passionate about fashion. Press coverage on BurdaStyle can be found here.
Website Help
About BurdaStyle
© 2009 BurdaStyle. Inc. All rights reserved. Site by AREA 17
May 7, 2011, 03.09 AMby VintageFusion
love this wish i could find the pattern. Also it seems you buy all your fabric from op shops I am so jealous of your ability to do so the op shops here have nothing of the sort and are pretty over priced ontop of that… the fabric stores are also over priced and have little variation in what they have in stock haha. Maybe i should go on a sydney op shop trip :S
1 Reply
May 9, 2011, 11.11 AMby olystyrene
to be honest, my op shop hunts aren’t alway fruitful (is that a word?). sometimes i just find a stack of fabrics and they last me a little while.. other times, nada! and yes, the overpricedness (again, i think i’m making up vocab here..) is so annoying! and is occurring everywhere! one good thing tho, is that some of the fabrics i use were actually other items once upon a time, like old shorts or XL ladies’ clothing… maybe u could give that a try too?
Oct 16, 2010, 01.07 PMby infinite-plus-one
I love it (: I have to try this!
1 Reply
Oct 17, 2010, 10.20 PMby olystyrene
Please do! I can’t stop making them.. I’ve made 3 so far! It’s so addictive!!
Oct 16, 2010, 01.07 PMby infinite-plus-one
I love it (: I have to try this!
Jul 31, 2010, 12.22 AMby rifka
Very, very nice. The lining looks lovely with your eyes.
1 Reply
Aug 1, 2010, 11.38 PMby olystyrene
Thank you so very much!
Jul 28, 2010, 02.15 AMby nessys
This is lovely – coincidentally – I am about to start a very similar garment – so it’s good to see how good this looks – you’ve done a lovely job. I’m using “Vintage Vogue 2934” which I’ve been siting on for a while – waiting for the right fabric to appear! You have encouraged and inspired me!
2 Replies
Jul 28, 2010, 03.28 AMby olystyrene
Thank you, I’m so glad to hear it – and I can’t wait to see how yours turns out! You have to will the fabric to come to you! You never know, you might just be wondering through the markets on the weekend and something might just catch your eye… I’m just about to embark on another one of these puppies, what joy!
Jul 28, 2010, 03.39 AMby nessys
Can’t wait to see your next one Honey! xx
Jul 25, 2010, 12.26 PMby mischi
Wow. This is super cool! I’d love to find this pattern too!
1 Reply
Jul 25, 2010, 11.59 PMby olystyrene
Thanks! The pattern was an excellent find – good luck!
Jul 23, 2010, 01.18 PMby wendybirde
Wow! I would be wearing this every day too! The colors and construction are just stunning. I wonder if I have this pattern in my stash? Hm…
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.34 AMby olystyrene
Do have a look – it’s soooooo comfy to wear!!!
Jul 23, 2010, 12.31 PMby kokuryu
Perfect! I’m speechless.
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.35 AMby olystyrene
Thank you, that’s such a sweet comment!!!
Jul 23, 2010, 12.15 PMby vote1rachel
So gorgoues! That blue and brown work so very well together, a great outcome!!
11 Replies
Jul 24, 2010, 02.38 AMby olystyrene
Thank you – I recommend that colour combo to anyone!
Jul 24, 2010, 11.03 AMby vote1rachel
I’m tempted to make my own now with the cheap wool I found today!
Jul 24, 2010, 12.57 PMby olystyrene
You totally should! It’s gonna stay wintery and cold for at least another couple months, I reckon.. You’ll get plenty of wear out of it (especially being Melbourne!)
Jul 25, 2010, 10.53 PMby vote1rachel
Alas the skirt I’m making has taken up a large chunk of the fabric already :( Perhaps I’ll buy some more!
Jul 26, 2010, 12.00 AMby olystyrene
Do I hear “matching ensemble”? ;)
Jul 29, 2010, 09.38 PMby vote1rachel
Yes! You heard correctly ; ) I believe the cat will also have a matching vest!
Jul 30, 2010, 09.41 AMby olystyrene
Sweetbabycheeses!! This I must see!!! If only I could coerce my guinea pig into wearng tiny cute things. We’d have SO MANY matching outfits. Oh god I’m squealing at the idea…
Jul 31, 2010, 06.36 AMby vote1rachel
I know! And the other cat will have a matching neck tie too!
Aug 1, 2010, 11.39 PMby olystyrene
This is getting so insanely amazing! Taunt me no longer!! You must make this project and post post post asap!!
Aug 1, 2010, 11.53 PMby vote1rachel
Yes I will! And perhaps upload a pattern for the tie, if I can figure it out…
Aug 2, 2010, 12.10 AMby olystyrene
I have a feeling you’ll get alot of hits from ppl with adorable pets if you do!
Jul 23, 2010, 08.16 AMby in-stockholm
It looks smashing!
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.37 AMby olystyrene
Thank you!!!!
Jul 23, 2010, 07.08 AMby carolinesj
totally gorgeous style and colour. op shops are definitely the way to go, you find such great fabric and zips etc there. well done!
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.37 AMby olystyrene
Indeed – I can’t go back to ordinary shops for fabric – it just feels wrong!
Jul 23, 2010, 04.16 AMby Denise Angela
love the colour combo!
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.37 AMby olystyrene
Thank you – blue and brown is also a winner :)
Jul 23, 2010, 03.06 AMby skeeler
beautiful! the buttonholes look really cool — really they weren’t hard to do?
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.36 AMby olystyrene
Not at all! It’s amazing when you just don’t bother to try something because it seems too hard, and then when you finally do it, you realise how simple it is!
Jul 23, 2010, 01.43 AMby atomikmomma
looooove it!
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.38 AMby olystyrene
Thanks :)
Jul 23, 2010, 12.28 AMby ajtak7171
This is fabulous, I totally see why you’d be wearing it nonstop. I love everything about it!
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 02.38 AMby olystyrene
Thanks alot, it’s definitely my favourite garment!
Jul 22, 2010, 09.05 PMby carolinam
nice jacket, looks like one i am (was) working on. i stoped finishing it because it is too warm te wear it. but seeing yours makes me want to finish mine. (and then keep it away to wait for the colder days)
3 Replies
Jul 24, 2010, 10.42 AMby olystyrene
I hope you have the motivation to finish it off – best of luck, and I can’t wait to see it!
Jul 24, 2010, 03.50 PMby carolinam
thanks, i am going to work on it now (while the sun is burning). If i finish it i will post the photo’s.
Jul 26, 2010, 12.01 AMby olystyrene
That’s awesome – I’m sure it’ll look fantastic!
Jul 22, 2010, 07.21 PMby tamezdc
Lovely jacket. The turquoise definitely gives it the pop of color a pale brown needs. It looks great on you.
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 10.46 AMby olystyrene
Thank you! I’m quite pleased with the effect of the two colours together. It’s always great to accent things with vibrant colours :)
Jul 22, 2010, 05.59 PMby likejersey
I love this jacket and the knit material makes it a really nice hoodie alternative. Thank you for adding the pattern number – now I want one.
1 Reply
Jul 24, 2010, 10.47 AMby olystyrene
Thanks alot – good luck in your hunt :)
Jul 22, 2010, 03.34 PMby carolyn-s
this jacket is stunning! love it… and it looks beautiful on you!
1 Reply
Jul 22, 2010, 04.11 PMby olystyrene
Thank you, that’s very sweet!
Jul 22, 2010, 03.25 PMby nuiwida23
Oh wow, this is fantastic! The pattern looks similar to my goldilocks coat, only smaller.
1 Reply
Jul 22, 2010, 04.15 PMby olystyrene
Thank you! Just saw your coat – it certainly IS glamorous!
Jul 22, 2010, 01.59 PMby sandrasews
Great jacket! Good find on the fabric and fantastic pattern. I have troubles finding any fabric at my local op shops so I’m particularly impressed!
1 Reply
Jul 22, 2010, 03.10 PMby olystyrene
Thanks :) It can be difficult, I agree.. but so satisfying when it happens! I find that purchasing second hand fabric allows you to become a bit more flexible with dressmaking, fun times!
Jul 22, 2010, 01.56 PMby gillthecat
thats so sweet i but all my fabric from op shops, as a matter of principle and now i cant even think about paying full price,, im allergic to shops,, what was the pattern ,,ps well done on the lipstick not many can pull off that colour its lovely
1 Reply
Jul 22, 2010, 03.12 PMby olystyrene
Thank you! I’m with you on that (purchasing second hand on principle)! The pattern is a 50’s Simplicity pattern (#3451).