Butterick 6862 Blazer

I’m so so pleased with this make. Beware, this is a long read!

I used all I had learnt from my previous SelfMade Patterns green blazer and learnt a whole lot more.

I had picked up this fabric from Fabworks during their summer linen release. It’s the Indigo Chambray style linen cotton mix at £12/m.

The pattern Is Butterick 6862

It’s a fairly new Butterick pattern. I choose it because it seemed very much like what is in the shops right now, slightly oversized, not too fitted.

I was also intrigued by the ‘Palmer Pletsch’ Tissue Fitting Method shown on the pattern.

For a pattern of the ‘Big Four’ the instructions were very detailed, especially the first couple of pages describing the fitting process.

In the end I didn’t actually follow the tissue fitting guide. I felt it was fairly impossible to do by myself and frankly I was impatient to crack on.

However I did take the advice to size down, if in between sizes.

My measurements are 35” bust, 31” waist, 37” hip.

I took a big gamble and went for the size 12! I did check the pieces against other older ready to wear blazers, both of which were now a little small and it seemed I still had plenty of seam allowance to play with.

I first took 3 inches off the arm length and 1.5 inches off the jacket length at the shortening/lengthening lines on the pattern.

I made it up as far the front with pocket and back and collar and then basted on the sleeve. It didn’t look great at this point, really wide across the back, with huge shoulders. But great across the front, hip and bust.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo at this point but I ended up taking 1.5cm of the width of the shoulders, and then continued taking 1cm from both seam allowances down the pink line on the image above. It was still a bit billowy in my mid back by the armscye so I took another cm in both seam allowances down the orange line.

I’m really pleased how it fits now, any further fitting would have taken it beyond the slightly oversized look, so my gamble paid off.

So new things I learnt was how to do these pockets.

And this lined vent.

One other change was changing the shape of the collar

I made up the collar as per the pattern but found the collar point a little too severe and impactful for a more casual jacket, so went back in and resewed it.

It’s lined with stripy lining from my stash

Interfacing wise I used a medium weight fusible to the front, sides, collar and facing pieces. And a lighter weight fusible interfacing for the back pieces, to reduce possible wrinkling.

I interfaced the top of the sleeve heads, and sewed in sleeve heads and shoulder pads, exactly like my green jacket

One change I would make is to narrow the sleeves a little next time

But I’m being really fussy!

I have 2 more blazers planned. A navy one in a ponte fabric for work, probably the comfy Itch to Stitch La Paz jacket for work and also a navy fitted one with brass buttons, possibly double breasted, but I’ve not found a pattern yet.

I also want to try the Closet Core Jasika Blazer!

So I’m not yet finished on my blazer journey. But, I might just make up a simple blouse first!!

Love, Lucie xx