And it is done! Finally, I finished my Chanel style jacket. This was my first project that involved hand sewing so heavily. I first started working on it last year by making a toile (part 1). Then I abandoned it until this year when motivated by my lovely friend Gemma I made the necessary changes to my pattern and cracked on with making one. For more details of the construction so far please check the links for part 2 and part 3.

Just a quick reminder, to make my jacket I used the online class from Craftsy The Iconic Tweed Jacket , instructor being Lorna Knight and Claire B Schaeffer Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket book. The class includes the Vogue 7975 pattern for the jacket. The fabrics were purchased from my local Abakan Fabrics store.

In my last post, I got to the point when I needed to add the sleeves to the main body of the jacket. This was a moment I chickened out, which meant, it took me a while to pull myself together and do this final bit. I wanted to make sure that I won’t mess my project on its last leg, not after all that work I put into it already!

I struggled a little because some of my quilting stitches were going too high up the sleeve head. It was a bit of a pain to keep the lining fabric away from the main fabric while I set the sleeve in.

I am not too happy with the way the sleeve lining looks around the cap. It was a pain to sew and keep it clean. It felt to me that there was too much fabric that needed to be eased into the sleeve cap. The good part is that I will never see it unless I turn my jacket inside out.

And then, there was more hand sewing! The rest of the lining had to be finished off by hand. There would have been no way you could do that on a sewing machine unless one has a magical machine that puts stitches in the fabric from the distance. Ha, ha!

Since I finished my jacket I’ve been wearing it a lot. It’s a perfect layering option in winter. Also, I find it is quite versatile as it works with office wear.

However, my favourite way to wear mine is pay pairing it with jeans. It might have something to do with the fact that I work from home and I don’t go into the office very often.

All that work in taking care to match the pattern on the fabric paid off. I love how the finished jacket looks like it’s been made out of one piece of fabric.

And my spot of colour is perfect for my jacket. The lining is just perfect for this jacket. I love making my clothes!

In the end, I decided not to add any closures to my jacket. I love the simplicity of it and I will not use it to keep me warm and need to close it. Any buttons would feel too much for me and an open-ended zipper would not look right with it (it will no longer be a Chanel style jacket for me).

Now that this jacket is done, I have to say, although daunting and involving a lot of work, I enjoyed the process. Hand sewing and all!  In the future, I might consider making another one. How many Chanel style jackets does a girl need?