Jade Jacket

It all started with a couple of pieces of op shop wool suiting that I bought in this fabric haul.  It was always destined to become a blazer from the moment I set eyes on it.  The problem was, to find a suitable pattern.  I know this type of jacket are all through the shops at the moment and in all sorts of jewel like colours so I knew I was right on trend with this one.  Unfortunately, the pattern companies had not seemed to have caught on and finding a pattern in the right cut was proving elusive.  I knew I didn't want a contrived cut that would be more at home in a board room and as such lacked the comfort factor but also knew that my early 1990's pattern with it's over sized shoulder pads, which would have the comfort factor,  was not going to cut the mustard either.

I had high hopes for New Look 6035 because although there doesn't seem to be a great deal of reviews on this pattern, the photo on the front of the envelope looked good.  They say, don't judge a book by it's cover, but in this instance the contents do live up to the picture.  I also liked the look of the skirt, pants and top in the pattern, so figured this pattern to be good value for money.

The one change, I made to the pattern, was to add lining.  In the process, my jacket ended up being a little shorter than the original pattern but being short, I quite like it this way.  The lining I chose was some white and blue spot taffeta that I found in the bargain bin at Lincraft.  I ended up buying 4m of it which pushed the cost of my op shop jacket up quite a bit but I knew that this fabric would come in handy for future projects.

The spotty lining, I feel, adds a fun element to the jacket which is exactly what I was hoping to achieve.  The fact that it doesn't have any shoulder pads at all, I found a little surprising and was dubious about, but now the jacket is finished, I realise that actually they are unnecessary and I am pleased I left them out.

I am really pleased with the final results and know that this jacket will be a very practical addition to my spring wardrobe for those cooler days to pop over a shirt or dress for those occasions when I need something a little tidier than a cardigan or just to glam up a pair of jeans.