So since I’m already on a path to making this EASY pattern more DIFFICULT than it needs to be … lets talk about how to make these leather scraps work if the pattern pieces don’t fit them …

It’s pretty obvious at this point that my sleeves will need to be pieced, so I joined the lower halves of the sleeves together, and cut them from the upper portions slightly above the elbow.  The upper raglan 2-pieces would need to be cut separately.  Which was fine and dandy, except I forgot to mirror one of them, and I had no more leather left!  That is how one sleeve wound up with a stripe.  I found some white leather scrap, and had to piece what I could to selvedge the sleeve, while leaving enough scrap for my pocket welts.  UGH, I lost a whole evening on this goof up …

Now that I was all-in and committed with this white stripe, I started the assembly of the sleeves using a flat-felled seam technique I learned in Janet Pray’s “Advanced Industry Techniques” class on Craftsy.  I started by trimming the extra ¼” away from the seam that would underlap, and placed the pieces, wrong sides facing and offset by ¼” using my ¼” quilting foot plus seam guide set at 5/8” (see photo).  Once that seam was sewn, I then flattened the seam and wrapped the longer seam allowance around the shorter one and stitched, using my edge stitch foot with the needle set at two notches to the left.

I used the tailor’s clapper, a silk organza cloth, and my Rowenta set between 2 & 3 (dry heat) to press the lapped seams flat.  The remaining sleeve seams were finished in a single seam.  Except the under-arm seam, they were all finished with top-stitching.  I used my ¼” quilting foot with built in seam guide as an edge-stitch foot.  For the underarm seam, I used rubber cement after I pressed the seam out.

The next step (slightly out of order from the instructions) was to construct the welt pockets. Burda’s instructions (with pictures!) were extremely good. This Burda Style Special is targeted towards the beginner/novice crowd, with great pictures and detail. One of the advantages with it is that many of the same pattern pieces are reused to achieve different styles. I took some photos, but the instructions were really great and I found no major flaws.

In case you are looking for welt pocket instructions, I will write them here:

Following the welts, I followed Burda’s instructions to assemble the body. I substituted flat felled seams at the sides, and tapered the neck ribbing in (the instructions had this as a square finish). I omitted the neck draw-string, and only attached one of the two edges of the ribbing to the lower hem. This was the first step in the installation of the lining.

I applied the zipper to the fold line of the ribbing to the neck, after trimming down to the desired size. In my photos, you can see how I measured the length, and then pulled the teeth and relocated the stoppers a smidgen short of the marked length. I used needle-nose pliers with a wire-cutter built in. I used the wire cutter to clip the plastic teeth off (easier this way), and the needle nose to pull out fragments.

For the remaining assembly, I needed to attach a lining. I put the lining together in the same fashion as the outer body, except all in single seams and pressed out. Once the lining was complete, I started by attaching the lining to the other side of the ribbing. I turned the jacket so that the right sides were facing, and pinned the remaining edges all around, and sewed the seam in one pass. I did switch to a zipper foot for the zipper section. Once the outer edge was sewn, I matched up the seam allowances on each side of the ribbing and sewed a continuous seam, starting about 2” from the zipper and stopping about 2” inches from the other zipper.

Now, the jacket has to be turned back out and finished up. I opened a seam in the lining and pulled the entire jacket through, placing the sleeves in their finished orientation, before pressing out any edges (note of warning, careful with plastic zippers! They can melt!). I placed the ribbing, right sides facing, on the end of the sleeve, carefully pinning inside the seam allowance, and similarly pinned the sleeve lining to the cuff, just to prevent twisting in the next step.

The very next to last step of this construction is to sew the sleeve lining to the outer sleeve/cuff. You’re going to pull the sleeve through the opening in the lining, carefully pinning the lining around the end of the sleeve. This is definitely the trickiest part of the whole project. Now, sew the end of the sleeve through all thicknesses, and turn out.

The very last step is to close up your opening! Now, if I had used a reversible zipper, I would have a reversible jacket! But … I wouldn’t want to wear leather inside out, so maybe this is a future undertaking for a lightweight cotton or silk jacket J