Burda 102 2/09 Jacket

Here it is with the belt, And here it is without the belt.

Pattern Description: The sand color, epaulets, bellows pockets and buttoned belt carriers are the safari-style details. Nevertheless, this jacket with voluminous raglan sleeves, notched collar and princess seams exudes lots of urban modernity. I concur: it does look modern and I even used the same color. It was in my stash.

Pattern Sizing: 36-44 I cut a 42 in the shoulders, did an fba, and added to the hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? A bit different, as I left of the buttoned belt carriers, but essentially the same.

Were the instructions easy to follow? This is Burda. I always read the instructions to see if there is something I need to really think about and they aren't bad, but if you don't have experience making jackets, I certainly wouldn't sew from these instructions; I'd use outside sources.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I loved the lines of this and thought it would be flattering on my figure. I didn't like the small pockets. The buttons are on the jacket, under the pocket with a button hole in the pocket and the belt loop, essentially making the pockets purely decorative. I wanted to use the pockets and I didn't want to always have to wear a belt with the jacket. The pockets were also too small to use in the size drafted. The fit on this jacket and the drafting are very good. I know that I make a lot of fitting changes, but they were my typical alterations and it just went together very well. Other than the pockets, I didn't have to redraft this to make it work. The sleeves on this jacket make it a bit different and the raglan sleeve is easy to wear and comfortable.
Fabric Used:Linen from Michaels Fabrics at one of their half price sales. I used a silk charmeuse from the Fabric Club for the lining. I had originally cut out a gold colored silk jacquard for lining, but when I went to put it together I realized that I had neglected to cut out the back sleeves and there was no more. I had been so proud to squezze the pattern in. This is when having a decent stash pays off. I foraged around and came up with this coral colored silk charmeuse that is very luxurious, especially if I wear it without a blouse.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
As I mentioned earlier, I left off the belt loops. I enlarged the pockets in width, but I should have also made them a little higher too. I made my usual litany of fit changes:
Narrow shoulders
forward shoulders
lowered bust point
low shoulder
fba
larger in the hips
added shoulder pads
Raised the center front.
Sigrid had mentioned that it was too low to wear alone as drafted. I added about an inch.
For both the narrow and forward shoulder I used a different method this time. I was unhappy with the raglan sleeve alterations shown in FFRP. I made a raglan sleeve coat a few years ago and was not thrilled with the shape of the shoulder after I altered it. This time I used Fitting & Pattern Alteration, A Multi-Method Approach. (Cidell just reviewed this on her blog). It's quite a different method, having you remove from the body of the pattern, instead of from the shoulder for the forward shoulder. The shoulder fit was good without any added fiddling.
I don't like the way Burda and a lot of the patterns have you sew in a lining so I do it differently. I prefer to sew the collar and facing to the jacket alone. I feel that I have more control of both the collar and the lapel than attaching the upper collar and facing to the lining and sewing them toghether as one unit.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?I wouldn't sew it again; one is enough, but I'd certainly recommend it. I might make the dress version though.

Conclusion: It's a great summer jacket, which I may even wear before the summer is over. I never seem to sew things far enough in advance of the season, but hey, Burda has safari stuff every year, so it will probably be fine next year.

The pants are Vogue 2948 and the top is Hot Patterns Weekender Sunshine top. I'll get to those tomorrow.