Mens Linen Blazer: The Farewell Tour

Readers, this is it: my final linen blazer post.   So much to say.  Where to begin?

I did indeed wear my linen blazer out to dinner last night.  We had a major thunderstorm yesterday that cooled things off considerably, and by evening there was a refreshing breeze that continues this morning.

Here's what I wore: the pink shirt is the one I made a few weeks ago, the old white linen pants are from H&M.



Here are the buttons on the jacket.  Yes, they are plastic, but I think they're perfect.  And unlike wood, you don't have to dust them.





Did you know that I made an inside double-welt breast pocket?  It's my first inside pocket and while it's not perfect, it's decent, and works perfectly.



I made it the usual way: tracing the stitch lines, stitching (with pocketing on top of fashion fabric), cutting through the layers, pulling the pocketing through the slit, stitching up the bag, and topstitching along the welts from the right side.  (I marked with either white chalk or colored pencil, depending on the location.)













The jacket lining was painstaking to insert around those vents, but overall it went in easily and hangs well.  It's the perfect weight: a Bemberg rayon-type lining I picked up at Paron's on 39th St.





If there's one area I need to fiddle with, it's to press/steam the collar so that it folds more crisply.  Perhaps I should have used a lighter interfacing on the overcollar, or none at all.  It's ever so slightly thick at the fold.  A sewing friend advised me to steam/press it around a ham (using a press cloth) and let it sit overnight.  If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

The collar fold is a bit bulky.

One last thing! To make the jacket, I used Simplicity 8368, a vintage pattern from 1969.  Other than narrowing the side and center back seams roughly 1/4" to give myself a little more chest room (This was a 34" chest and I normally wear a 36"), I made no cosmetic changes to the pattern whatsoever.  Of course, it's much closer to the earlier "ivy style" patterns of the Sixties than to the groovier wide-lapel patterns that would soon appear.



If you're interested in making a men's blazer, Simplicity 8368 is a good choice, and it includes separate front pattern pieces for the two or three-button version (I made the two-button).

Readers, I have nearly 240 construction photos posted on Picasa, so if things are boring at work or you're just interested in reviewing how I put this garment together (or both) you can view them all here.   Of course, the short photo shoot can be seen here.

Thank you so much for accompanying me on this blazer-making journey.  If you have any questions about what I did or how I did it, just ask.

Have a great day, everybody!