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Birdy Bomber

September 20, 2021

Four years ago Rachel went to Japan and brought back some amazing fabric for me. It was mostly canvas and cotton/linen blends. I didn’t use much of it until now, not because I was saving it or am precious about my favorites, but the right project just didn’t seem to come along.

Rachel recently asked if she could commission me to make her a jacket with the Capybara fabric she got on her trip, and I gave her the option of a cropped Helen’s Closet Pona Jacket or a Papercut Rigel Bomber. She picked the bomber, so I figured I’d make one for myself as well! I picked the best bird fabric, which reminds me of MC Escher a bit. I’m still waiting on some supplies for her jacket, so I decided to make mine first as a test.

I ordered very dark (almost black) heavy ribbing from Mood, which I was concerned was a bit too dark, but it works perfectly. I couldn’t decide on a zipper tooth color so I ordered three options from Zipperstop and ended up using aluminum.

I don’t think Papercut sells this pattern anymore, but I bought it a few years ago. While a bomber jacket isn’t fitted, I still blended between a couple of sizes. Then I made a muslin. It looked pretty good except for my shoulders trying to bust out. Not only did it feel tight, but there were a ton of drag lines pointing right at my shoulder. I sliced across the shoulder and the sleeve immediately hung better:

OK, so now what? I did some research and saw that a lot of raglan coats/jackets seem to have two-piece sleeves, which would make for much easier adjustments. My first plan of attack was to just turn the sleeve into a two-piece. Then I saw that raglans sometimes have shoulder darts! This tutorial from Dream. Cut. Sew. was helpful. Of course, I needed a giant dart (I think the gap when I cut the shoulder was over 3″), so I cut my pattern piece with seam allowances instead of the huge flap to reduce bulk. It ended up looking like this:

I decided to add an underlining to the jacket for a little extra warmth (light pink cotton voile), as well as a lining (floral rayon). The underlining is easy – just cut out the main pattern pieces and baste them to the main fabric. As a bonus this served as my stay stitching.

For the lining, I found a few tutorials for adding one specifically for the Rigel. I followed this one for the pattern pieces and construction of the lining, but not for sewing the lining and outer together.

For that, I skipped the waistband insertion in the instructions and went straight to the facing attachment. Then with the jacket and lining right sides together, I sandwiched the waistband ribbing all the way around, with all the raw seams lined up, and sewed leaving about a 4″ gap on one end, and 1″ on the other end. Then I pulled everything through the 4″ hole, and hand sewed the ribbing to the ends of the front and stitched up the holes. It was pretty quick actually, but I also love hand sewing! Then I basted the ends of the sleeves to the lining, and sewed on the ribbed cuffs as normal and serged the seams. Those are the only exposed seams in the jacket.

I think it worked well and I’ll probably use this process again for Rachel’s jacket! I’m just waiting on her ribbing to come back in stock, since I ordered the wrong amount.

Welt pocket details:

I cannot wait until it’s cool enough to wear this! I bet it’ll be warm enough to see me through fall and mild winter days!

Filed Under: 2021 makes, jacket

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Here’s a @noodlehead531 #woolandwaxtote with som Here’s a @noodlehead531 #woolandwaxtote with some amazing canvas from Japan. Which cloud are you? I’m really feeling the angry lightning cloud.
Here’s my #closetcoreblanca dress in Merchant & Here’s my #closetcoreblanca dress in Merchant & Mills laundered linen from @stitchsewshop! I’ve been wanting to make a dress version of this pattern for two years. This fabric is very good. Also my plants are very good.
Here’s my second pieced quilt, made for my very Here’s my second pieced quilt, made for my very special bff @s.a.m.r.i.v! We met 40 years ago as tiny bebes in the park, and through the years we drifted apart several times but always found each other again at various dance recitals, school field trips, beach clubs, fabric stores, and summer jobs. The universe kept shoving us together til it stuck. This quilt is a hug from afar. I might not be able to get up to New Jersey frequently but this quilt will be there for cozy/comforting times as needed. 

I picked out my fabric, then used a quilt generator at savoreverystitch.com (the last slide), then imported it into Photoshop and colored over it (second to last slide), basically changing the whole thing, but it was an awesome starting place.
It’s our 9 year anniversary and 22 year friendiv It’s our 9 year anniversary and 22 year friendiversary so here’s a nice photo! 📸 @maggiewinters_
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I'm a graphic designer, small business owner, occasional knitter, and reluctant sewist. This is my sewing notebook. Read more

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