I really like jackets! Jackets are so easy to throw on and look put together. You can wear them with almost anything, from skirts and dress pants to jeans and shorts. It is such a versatile garment. Yet, a well fitting jacket is almost impossible for me to find. I have broad shoulders, long arms and smaller waist. All together that makes for a fitting disaster and it is very rare that an RTW jacket will fit to be just “good enough” to wear. Making my own seems to be the best solution I can find and thankfully I know how to do it!
I also have an unreasonable phobia of very classic tailored type jackets. The button up kind, with collar and lapels and long sleeves. I love them! But I shy away from them at the moment because I feel like I would look too frumpy. It really is all inside my head. Somehow my brain thinks that as soon as I put one on I would dry out and become boring and no one would want to be friends with me. Silly, right? So I am attracted to jackets that are classic yet have some kind of unusual quality to them, be it drape, funky collar or no collar at all. Oh and have I mentioned that I would prefer it all to have clean lines and be simple and elegant? At least I know what I want, even if it may be too much…
Three’s a Charm Jacket has all those qualities I am looking for in a jacket. I have never heard of Decades of Style patterns before I stumbled on Three’s a Charm Jacket somewhere on Instagram. It was love at first sight! I promptly bought the pattern and left it sitting in my sewing room for months. I always do that, go figure.
By the time spring rolled around I realized that I do not have a proper little jacket I can throw on when the weather is a little chilly, so jackets all of the sudden resurfaced on my sewing to-do list and eventually jumped the sewing queue. Right around the same time, Caroline brought into her shop this gorgeous marble tweed. I love everything gray and white and textured, of course I had to have the tweed! It was perfect for this jacket!
The pattern is very straight forward. No collar means there are no complicated steps to it at all. Originally it is finished with facings and has no lining, so it is an easy project. I knew I wanted to line the jacket though, so I drafted separate lining pieces and followed Grainline tutorial for bagging a jacket lining to finish my jacket. It is the best tutorial for bagging a jacket! And my jacket looks to good on the inside too.
I put together a muslin prior to cutting the jacket out of my prized tweed. The muslin looked great right off the start, but I made very minor modifications to it:
- I rotated the bust dart a little bit to be at my bust apex (it was a little low)
- I slimmed down the sleeves a little (~3/8″ on each side)
- I rounded the front panel a bit to take out the pointed-ness where the button is supposed to be
- I skipped the buttons and my jacket doesn’t close
- I lengthened and deepened my back darts a little bit to accommodate for my sway back
- I lengthened the jacket a little bit (~2″) since I am 5’10”
The fabric frayed quite a bit so I finished all the raw edges prior to construction. Other than that the construction was very straight forward and I didn’t run into any issues at all. Everything went really smooth!
One thing I do to all my jackets and coats is I add very thin shoulder pads. I think that they provide for a nicer finish for the shoulder of the jacket and the sleeve hangs a quite a bit better. But then most of my friends are very much against the shoulder pads… I think a thin shoulder pad is not reminiscent of 80s and 90s at all, even on my very broad shoulders. What is your opinion on shoulder pads? Do you use them in jackets and coats? Am I the only one who is still stuck in 20s century?
I am very happy with this jacket! It has a very timeless look to it in my opinion and I will definitely be using the pattern again. I am already thinking of a black jacket. One in a cool flower print would also look really nice!
Love,
Anya
Anya, I love love love this! The fabric is so BEAUTIFUL. I’m also crushing on your fabulous necklace.
Thank you so much, Abbey! I still have some fabric left and it will be a hard decision what to make out of it – skirt or dress 🙂 Thank you! It is actually my second necklace. I wore the first identical one out till it rusted and turned dark, and loved it so much so I went back to the store to get it again. And it was on sale this time!
What a gorgeous jacket! I’m going to have to check out that pattern! Love the styling too!
Thank you very much!! It is a great pattern, I definitely recommend it 🙂
This is lovely. Like you, I have a need for a work appropriate summer jacket, but I cannot find something that I like. Again, like you, a “proper” suit style blazer feels a bit off and not very me. I like a blazer with jeans but it starts to feel too formal with dresses and trousers. My workplace isn’t overly formal. Anyway, I think this jacket might just tick all my boxes. It has the casual but smart vibe I think I’m looking for. Not sure I’ll actually ever get round to making one, but it’s nice to have the idea in my head. Thank you!
I agree! I love the look of blazer with jeans. I am also really drawn to the look of a blazer with destructed baggy jeans (even though I don’t even own a pair of those), but as soon as I pair a structured blazer with pants… it’s over, I feel stuffy and boring. And my workplace is not very formal either, so it sounds like we are in the same boat. You are welcome! I love collecting ideas myself as well. You never know when the inspiration strikes.
This jacket looks amazing on you!! I want the exact same one stat! I feel much the same as you, it’s really hard to find a jacket/blazer that fits, and that doesn’t swallow you up. I’m excited to try this pattern, and I agree Jen’s bagged lining tutorial is the best.
I would have never thought it on my own, but I think the thin shoulder pads in this look perfect. I think they give the jacket just a little bit more structure which really works.
Thank you!! It is so true, it is so hard to find a jacket that fits everywhere. With me it is my shoulders. If it fits in my shoulders, I look like I am wearing Shaun’s jacket and not in a good way. As for my arms, everything is always short as I have long monkey arms lol
I feel very weird making any jacket without shoulder pads. I don’t know why I have this strange obsession! Next time I make a jacket I will take a photo of it without shoulder pads and with. I really think a really thin one is all that’s needed to provide some structure. 🙂
Obviously we suffer from the same classic jacket phobia… I like them on others a lot but the never fit me like I wish they would. Well, luckily we are able to help ourselfs. 🙂 Your jacket is wonderful and I love the fabric. Interesting to see a garment with shoulder pads as they are nearly extinct these days. Looking at your jacket I don’t know why, they really seem to improve the fit. Well done! 🙂
I am so glad I am not alone! Judging from comments, there are a few of us!
Thank you very much! Yes! Shoulder pads are nearly extinct, and as much as I don’t want to bring 80’s back, I agree they do seem to provide the needed structure. As long as they are thin. 🙂 Thank you very much!
What a perfect jacket! I love this length of jacket or blazer, perfect for throwing over any top to look super chic, while still maintaining a nice silhouette. Great job on the finishing, everything looks perfect!
Thank you! I agree, it is the perfect length. And guess what, it will work really well with Winslow Culottes! 😉 Thank you very much!
This is gorgeous! I love the classic look, and that fabric is perfect. I do like the look of blazers but every time I put one on I think it makes me look old! Oh, and a thin shoulder pad is a good call–makes the shoulder line fall so much nicer!
Thank you very much Lisa! I am so happy with this fabric. It was so easy to work with, once I finished the seams haha I agree! I feel old too when I put blazers on. But I love the look of a blazer, it just needs to be right. Thank you!
Great job making a jacket to suit your style! And for what it’s worth, I’m on team shoulder pad. A small one really does help the sleeve/shoulder hand nicely. I made a jacket without a few years ago, and it never looked right!
Thank you!! Yay! I am so glad I am not alone on the shoulder pad team 🙂 I agree, without a little bit of a structure they just don’t hang nicely.
Really nice !
Thank you very much!
So chic! It looks gorgeous and so easy to wear. Lovely pattern, must remember it!
Thank you very much! It is so easy and comfy to wear 🙂 Definitely recommend the pattern.
Gorgeous jacket!!! If only you’d knew for how long I’ve been dreaming to sew a jacket/blazer 🙂 In spring I started one with following a Craftsy class (it’s a tailored jacket with lapels and lots of handstitches) and everything went great, but at a point I realized it doesn’t fit… I mean, I made a muslin, but I’m still quite a beginner and I just didn’t like the way it was on me. So it will be a forever UFO. And it was a cotton fabric, not expensive tweed. But last week I bought a Lekala pattern which is hopefully will fit me well, and I think I’ll try to sew one for the fall. Yours look really chic and simple, and business casual and stuff 🙂 And the colour of the fabric is perfect!
BTW I love your blog!!
Thank you! Oh yes, a tailored jacket is a dream! That’s so good that you took the class. I bet you learnt a lot! Even if you did end up with an UFO, it’s still an invaluable learning experience. I find all UFOs and all the “failures” still teach so much. I hope Lekala pattern works out for you! I tried a couple of their patterns and have a few more that I haven’t tried yet.
Thank you so much!!!