Time Traveller's Blazer - Simplicity 1248 Jacket

I bought some rather funky Ankara print cotton fabric to make a skirt for my mum, and I’ve got to admit I was quite happy that there was enough left over to make something for myself. 

African wax print skirt

I’d been wanting to make something out of African wax print for a while, and since it lends itself to more structural pieces, I decided to try and make a blazer. I’ve always thought African wax print jackets look pretty damn cool, so I was quite excited to finally make my own! (There are some examples on my Ankara Jackets Pinterest Board if you’re interested)

This was actually my first ever attempt at making a blazer (and the only other type of tailoring I’d ever tried was a now-probably-out-of-print Vogue Patterns V1211 coat several years ago that I gave up on half way through and have never looked at again) but despite this, I couldn’t be bothered with a toile – I probably would have if I’d bought the fabric specially, but since it was just left over stuff, I figured I’d risk it.

Abandoned Vogue V1211 coat sewing pattern

The pattern I used was Simplicity 1248 – the corset of which had been used as a base for my Cocktailed Dress.

I really love the design of the jacket, and I had originally thought I’d use it to make an epic steampunk jacket (maybe I still will) but I figured it would also work really well with my wax print.

The pattern was pretty straightforward to follow, and I had my outer shell sewn up relatively quickly. When I tried it on however, there was a reasonably big issue in terms of fit. As this jacket was meant to go over their corset, it was clearly designed for a corseted shape, meaning the bust was several inches higher up on the jacket than mine are actually located. And since I wasn’t intending to wear this jacket over a corset, this kind of needed to be changed if I didn’t want to have weird lumps above my boobs. (Apologies – I forgot to take photos of this, so you’ll just have to imagine it.)

It took a fair bit of pinning and reworking to finally get it into a shape that fitted over my natural bust height, and there was still definitely room for improvement, but there was only so long I wanted to spend accidentally stabbing myself with pins, so I decided to move on.

The only other problem I encountered, which was again because I wasn’t pairing it with the corset, was that it only reached partway across the bust.

Looking at the pattern photo, this is clearly because it’s meant to be buttoned onto the corset, but it looked a bit odd as a freestanding jacket, which you’d expect to at least be able to go over the bust, if not button up. I made the seam allowances as narrow as possible on the front of the jacket, to try and make the front panels that bit wider, but it still stopped in a slightly awkward position. If I were to make this jacket again, I’d probably add on another inch or so to the front panel before cutting.

I also managed to be incredibly stupid with the pockets, and rather than create a lining for my pockets, I accidentally made separate pockets – so my jacket now has 2 pockets on each side – one in the outer fabric, and one in the lining. Woops…

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…here is the finished jacket!!

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with this jacket. In spite of the bust issue, it ended up fitting very well and being quite flattering, which is always good. I really love the exaggerated collar, cuffs and shoulders, and I like how the brightly coloured fabric transformed this Victorian-style pattern into what looks more like an over the top 80’s blazer. It’s not often that I feel completely happy with my sewing creations, but this was one of those times!