Pati Palmer Sweatshirt

Pattern: McCall's Misses' Lined Jackets in 3 Lengths #M6172 (with that model who I swear was in Project Runway)
Fabric: sweatshirt material
Cost: $40


According to the envelop, Pati Palmer made her first pattern ever for McCall's in 1980--the 8-hour blazer. That same year, John Malloy wrote Dress for Success in which he stated that women, in order to succeed in the workplace, must wear business suits like men. This drove Ms. Palmer's pattern to record-high sales. Now, Pati Palmer has released her latest 8-hour blazer, a classic piece. If you make it in quality fabric and have a custom fit, she says, you can compare it to a $1,500 designer jacket.

My work wardrobe is a delicate balance. I work in a middle school, which out on the west coast is a rather casual place. Teachers generally wear jeans and sweatshirts, or a more stylish version of the aforementioned. But I am the youngest member on staff, and so if I dress too casual I might get confused with one of our college-aged volunteers or, worse yet, a middle school student (you think I'm kidding--I'm not). So, I need a professional wardrobe that is still comfortable enough to run around the school in and casual enough to not appear over-dressed. The solution? The Pati Palmer Sweatshirt! A designer jacket cut from sweatshirt material.

I wanted an unlined jacket (I always seem to be lining things I shouldn't and not lining the things that I should). My original intention was to finish the seams with a beautiful hong kong finish, and I did. It was just short of beautiful. But when I tried the jacket on it was heavy and sagged--not at all what you want for a casual and sleek blazer. So after two weeks of carefully finishing every raw edge with over 10 yards of bias tape, the other night I sat down and took it all out.

This was actually a big relief, as the jacket instantly felt lighter and fit better. It also allowed me to make some much-needed alterations: I took the sleeves in 1/2" at each seam, and tapered the two side seam that lead in to the arm hole so that they were 1/2" smaller at the arm hole. This solved three problems all in one: made the sleeves fit better, made the bust area and body fit better, and made it so that the sleeves fit in to the armhole. To make up for the loss of my beautiful hong kong seams, I finished the edges in lavender thread with my serger.


Read my review of this pattern at PatternReviews.com.
And check it out at BurdaStyle!

I am now officially on a blazer addiction, having seen some more pics for inspiration as I made my own blazer. Today I bought some Echino fabric in their gold Glasses print to give it a shot.

2 comments:

  1. what a great idea! I tried a blazer a long time ago before I really knew what I was doing, and got so discouraged. This sounds like a perfect second chance :)

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  2. It's definitely a fun idea! It was still a little tricky for me (I would definitely interface the collar and lapel), but good luck! I'ld love to see it when you finish...

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