1940's Blazer in Progress

I spoke about this project in my last blog post, but I'll do a quick recap: this blazer (along with a matching skirt) was cut out by the mother of a family friend in the 80's, and was very kindly given to me to finish. They gave the the cut out pieces (which were in my size, excitingly enough), the pattern, the shoulder pads and other finishing items, and the lining. I ended up choosing to use a different lining for this project, but other than that every piece that I am using is from the pack that I was given!

The back panels of the blazer. The other right front panel had not been attached yet when I took these photos

The center back seam with the interfacing already applied

This project is so special and different compared to the other projects that I have worked on, since it has a history behind it! You can learn so much about a person from the choice of fabric and the way that the pattern pieces were cut out. The woman who cut out this blazer was absolutely impeccable--the notches were cut out perfectly, something that I am terrible for using shortcuts for.

So far I have almost entirely assembled both the blazer and the skirt, and all that is left is the lining and the finishing! This project has forced me to remember and practice all of the skills that I learnt last year at fashion college.

Just before sewing the front panel to the back. Sewing the welt into the side seam makes it so much easier!

The jacket just needs another iron, I promise the welt fits really nicely

At first I wanted to not add in the welt pockets, but I very quickly realized that the way that the front pieces were cut meant that I couldn't get away with that. Surprisingly enough, I had such a fun time doing the picky work of inserting welt pockets, and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out (not perfectly, but nothing a good ironing couldn't fix). The front pattern pieces were really ingenious, and after a bit of research I found that this method was actually very common in 1940's coats and blazers. Sandwiching the welt in between the side seam and the dart makes it so much easier to insert, and looks so smart!

The inside of the front panel. The entire outer edge has interfacing to give it a nicer shape, and the square of lining is where the welt pocket is. This will all be hidden in the lining once I'm done.

The lining that I am using for this project is left over from the projects that I made in school last year. I was so happy that I had enough for this project, since it feels so fantastic on the skin and goes really well with the wool suiting that was chosen for the suit.

Just like all of the other projects that I have been working on since Christmas, this will be sewn using my hand crank sewing machine. For those of you who didn't read my last blog, I was gifted this stunning hand crank sewing machine from the 1910's at Christmas. It is in perfect working condition and came equipped with two bobbins, so I haven't used a modern, plug in sewing machine since then! In the photos above, I am working on the side seams for the skirt. I realized while writing this post that I don't have many progress photos of the skirt. It is a simple straight skirt with four back darts and a faux-wrap front. The bottom of the faux-wrap is left open as a vent for walking, and it has a side zipper. Only the front two panels of the skirt were cut out in the 80's, but luckily there was lots of wool left over for me to cut out the waistband and back panel. There is a pattern for a lining for the skirt, but I have opted to leave it unlined.

I have also been filming the process for this skirt suit, so I will most likely post a video as well as photos once it is done.

~K