Some trends never die, and the blazer is definitely one of them. Dress it up or dress it down, the blazer has remained the ultimate preppy fashion statement since the 1950’s. No matter where we go, we seem to run into them! This tailored trend inspired us to design our own, but with a twist— Over-sized doubled patch pockets. Keep reading to see how we made this basic wardrobe staple, not so basic.
Project Specs
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We recently visited Atex Designer Fabrics in Gastown. They are our go-to for quality wool. If you’re in town, say hello to the Dave the shop owner! This is one of many wool fabrics we picked up.
Design Elements
This blazer was drafted when Sheila taught a reverse pattern drafting workshop at Maiwa School of Textiles on Granville Island. Sheila has offered this workshop for 5 years in a row, among others. This one always sells out. In fact, this year’s March workshop is already sold out!
Drafting Tip: A super hack for those who pattern draft their own designs, is to use what you have. There is no need to draft from scratch for every design. Look at your past drafting and see if you can modify a design to create a whole new look or a variation of an already drafted design. For blazers, try experimenting with different types of lapels, pockets, and lengths. In this case, we modified the pocket to create the over-sized double patch pocket.
Drafting Tip: A super hack for those who pattern draft their own designs, is to use what you have. There is no need to draft from scratch for every design. Look at your past drafting and see if you can modify a design to create a whole new look or a variation of an already drafted design. For blazers, try experimenting with different types of lapels, pockets, and lengths. In this case, we modified the pocket to create the over-sized double patch pocket.
Fully Lined
Anytime we design with wool, we think its best to line the garment fully. Who wants to scratch all day? Certainly not us, so silk charmeuse only made sense! Pink silk charmeuse lining was purchased from Fabricana.
Pairing natural fibers together will lend to the garment aging in a similar fashion. Pictured below are the MAIN and LINING pieces before "2 become 1"- Spice Girls.
Pairing natural fibers together will lend to the garment aging in a similar fashion. Pictured below are the MAIN and LINING pieces before "2 become 1"- Spice Girls.
Notched Lapel
Used in women's and menswear, a notched lapel is commonly used on single breasted jackets and blazers. A notched lapel is sewn to the collar at an angle, creating a triangle or step effect between the two.
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The size of the notch can vary - when it is very small, it is referred to as a “fishmouth”. We personally think it looks more like a bird with their mouth open.
Over-Sized Double Patch Pocket
“Pocket-ception”— a pocket within a pocket. On her last trip to Tokyo, Sheila noticed that over-sized double patch pockets were all the rage. It was double trouble on every turn! This inspired us to experiment with the drape of this visual element. Our blazer design features an over-sized double patch pocket on both side seams. The second larger pocket hangs past the hem.
Not all pockets are supposed to be functional. Although, we did test it out and YES, you can fit a tablet in the larger pocket.
This is our second time experimenting with over-sized double patch pockets. Check out our Military Culottes to see this element applied to pants.
Sewing Tip
When pressing, to ensure fibers bend the way you want them to, hold them as they're cooling. Its during the cooling process that sets the fibers in place. Think of styled hair... when you curl it, you typically hold the curl in place before setting it with hairspray.
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Final Design
Voila! Blazer finito. We could even say this design is... blazing hot!?! We plan on making another wool blazer to match our plaid wool skirt, sans the over-sized double pockets. Stay tuned.
Tailoring techniques involve attention to detail at every step from marking the fabric to pressing. Contact us to book lessons in tailoring techniques.
Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed and written by Sheila Wong Studios.
Designed, photographed and written by Sheila Wong Studios.
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