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Friday 21 December 2018

Sewing for men: a bomber jacket



Sewing menswear is one of my favourite things to do. Finding interesting patterns is often the hardest part, so I was very happy to see a men's capsule wardrobe pop up in pattern magazine Knipmode last year.
The April 2017 issue had a pattern for a bomber jacket that I wanted to make straight away. Well, sort of. It only took me 18 months to actually start ;)


KM1704-23

The pattern is still available as pdf or printed pattern here in the Knipmode webshop

When I'm sewing for mr Foxgloves I always need to make length adjustments. He is 1.96 m tall and the pattern is drafted for 1.84 m. So before ordering the zippers I made flat pattern adjustments, followed by a muslin.






The muslin gave rise to mixed reactions. On IG someone mentioned it would make a nice garment for a 80-year old, while others (including mr F) liked it. Given the lack of plaid matching - amongst other flaws - I decided that no husband of mine would be seen out in public in this garment. I had to act fast and deconstruct it immediately, as mr Foxgloves had already declared this his perfect gardening jacket.

We had a little debate about the best length for a bomber jacket, which was settled when we saw the tv weather man sport two different bomber jackets on consecutive days. We agreed that one was obviously too long, while the other version was just right.




For the outer shell I used a navy cotton twill. The jacket is half lined and there was a request for a colourful paisley lining. I searched high and low but couldn't find it. We went for a flannel plaid in matching shades of blue from the stash, but there definitely needed to be more colour on the insides. Hong Kong seam finishing was the way to go!




When you go to the trouble of sewing over 9 meters of Hong Kong seams it's nice to see the recipient appreciates your efforts!


See?

The pattern has a few nice details, like padded and quilted shoulder yokes, large pockets and a smaller zipped pocket on the left sleeve.






Except for the length adjustments and adding a hanging loop I didn't change a thing.




The tiny pocket is perfect for a bank card or some coins and is used on Saturday morning's bike run for freshly baked buns.

What more is there to say? Perhaps you're wondering about arm movement?




Check!

The back?



Yeah. When your model starts frolicking around you know the session is over.

One last one, just because.




Mr Foxgloves is very happy with his jacket and I'm planning to sew for him more often. On weekdays he's always wearing serious business attire so it's nice to have casual garments with a fun and personalized twist.

Ehm, did I mention serious business attire??




Happy holidays!



14 comments:

  1. Love the jacket details. I haven’t sewn with knip mode before. I briefly checked out their site and was pleased to see they offer paper patterns. I need to view on my laptop to see if I can get a good translation. Are their patterns only in dutch?
    Your husband looked happy posing!
    Merry Christmas.

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    1. Merry Christmas to you, Kathy! Yes, Knipmode offers paper patterns as well. Sadly the instructions are in Dutch only. Google translate can help, or you could try the Sewing Translator app by Liesl + Co. And if that doesn't work, ask your Dutch friend ;)

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  2. wow that is perfection and suits your model perfectly :) I like the idea of the quilted shoulder yoke.

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    1. The quilted yoke is a nice detail but I just noticed it's hard to see in the pictures. My model is very happy with a bespoke bomber as you can imagine this style is always way too short on him in RTW!

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  3. GREAT jacket, Marianne! Goodness, it is impeccably constructed... So fun to read this entertaining post! Merry Christmas!

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    1. Merry Christmas to you, Karen! It was nice to be able to add some fun details. I've watched him flash the insides of his jacket more than once, which is a hilarious sign of how much he appreciates those Hong Kong seams!

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  4. Lovely jacket, Marianne. I have a similar pattern without the fun details that I made for my husband a couple of years ago. He wears it all winter, so it's probably time I made a new one. Merry Christmas.

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    1. Thank you. Isn't is nice when they're happy with what we make? I just got a request for a winter version. Probably next year!

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  5. Een prachtig gelukt bomberjacket, een vrolijk poserende echtgenoot en de goud glitterende bretels zijn geweldig!

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    1. Dank je! De bretels zaten verstopt onder een jasje tijdens zijn kersttoespraak. Jasje uit = feestmodus!

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  6. This is amazing! I’ve always wanted to sew a bomber jacket, yours looks great.

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  7. The jacket is fabulous! I love everything about it and would be very tempted to make one for David - except he has a jacket addiction and has soo many that I'm better served sewing for me!! He loves the jacket - I showed him the photos.

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    1. Thanks Anne and David. Men and their jackets, I know! I only make an exception for this style, which is always too short in RTW. I too have made sewing for myself a priority, out of necessity.

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