I have an astonishing amount of fake fur right now. I’m talking 4 bins and one bolt of fur! Why do I have so much? Where did it all come from? I don’t know, sometimes these things just happen. But here’s the perfect project to use up that fur stash! I’m going to show you how to take an ordinary pattern like Simplicity 8741, add a few style lines, a fun combination of furs, and turn it into a unique striped jacket! Watch the video below or continue past that to read all about it.
We’ll start with Simplicity pattern 8741, a basic jacket pattern. It says “easy to sew” – well…not for long! I like to put my own twist on things, that’s one of the reasons that I started sewing. We are going to add some style lines to this pattern to make it more unique and fun.
Let’s use view C, it has a lot of ease that’s perfect for fur. Use the measurement guide on the back of the pattern to select your size.
First I like to trace the pattern onto more substantial paper. This way the pattern will be easier to work with once we start cutting it into smaller pieces, and the original will remain intact so I can use it again. I’m using this dotted paper because I can see through it enough to trace the pattern.
I’m lining up the dotted paper to the grain line and tracing the lines and pattern markings. Here I’m marking the entire grain line of the sleeve. I find it easier to line up on the fabric grain when it’s the whole length of the pattern piece.
Okay now our simple pattern is traced, front, back and sleeve, and it has 5/8” seam allowance which I have a personal grievance with so I’m trimming it all down to a more sane seam allowance of 1/2”. I’m trimming an eighth of an inch off of all edges except the sleeve hem and body hem. The center back is on a fold, so don’t trim anything there either.
My table is covered in a cutting mat, so I’m using an x-acto knife to cut out the pattern pieces. Once the pieces are cut we’ll do the last little bit of markings on them. I’m going to notch them and drill the holes (see my post about tools to learn a bit about the notcher and drill punch)
Now we want to cut and sew a fit sample. This is a super simple, throw it together thing just to see how it fits and to mark out our style lines. I’m using some muslin that I used to drape a pattern a few years ago, so please excuse the weird marks all over it. Lay out your pattern pieces, making sure they’re straight along the grain of the fabric. I’m placing them up-side-down so they don’t roll up while I’m cutting, and I have the muslin folded in half so I only have to cut once.
I’m also using a Frixion pen to mark the drill-holes on both layers of fabric. These are heat-sensitive so the pen mark disappears when you iron it! I have been using these for a few years and they still make me so happy every time.
When you use a rotary blade to cut fabrics, sometimes the fabric will bubble up in front of the blade, so I back up slightly to let the fabric relax again and then continue cutting. I’m also using the rotary cutter to cut my notches.
Okay cool, now we can almost start sewing! Pin the sleeve inseams together with the drill-hole marks on the outside. Then make sure that you have them pinned so you will have a left and right sleeve when they’re sewn. One of my biggest beginner mistakes was sewing two of the same sleeves.
Now lay the back piece down and place the front pieces on top. Pin the sides and shoulder seams. I like to sew the shoulders starting at the neck, so I pin them with that in mind. Think about what side will be fed into the machine so your pins are on top of what you’re sewing. Here I can see the back shoulder is slightly larger than the front. That’s okay, in fact it’s common. I’m going to meet the edges at the stitch line, and ease that little bit into the front.
Now hop on your machine and start stitching! Don’t forget to back-tack at the start and end of your seams. Also try not to sew over the pins. It’s not a big deal, but sometimes the needle will catch the pin and scratch it, then it catches on your fabrics and you have to throw it out, it’s a whole stupid thing.
Okay, sleeves, shoulders, and side seams are sewn. Now let’s press the seams open so they look nice. This is a sleeve board, I’m using it so I don’t press a crease in the middle of my sleeve while I’m pressing the seam. You could also use a dish towel rolled up like a sausage.
Now the fun part – pinning the sleeves in the armhole, or armscye. We want the body of the jacket to be inside-out, and the sleeves to be right-side-out. So flip the sleeves right-side out. Then check the notches on the sleeves. Two notches always indicates a back piece, so I can see which side to put the sleeve in.
There’s almost no ease in the sleeve cap, so I’m not going to do an easing stitch. I’m going to match the underarm seams, match the notches, and match the drill holes. The center drill hole on the sleeve cap marks where the shoulder seam goes. And I’m going to pin a few more places to ease the cap into the armscye. Notice I’m pinning on the body-side, not the sleeve side.
The feed dogs on your sewing machine are going to slightly ease the bottom fabric into the top fabric automatically, it’s their nature. So they’re doing the hard work for me, making sure the sleeve goes into the slightly smaller armscye of the body. I’m feeling the fabric as I sew to feel for folds in the fabric underneath. I reach inside the jacket and smooth the wrinkles. Check the seam after it’s sewn for any creases. If it’s a small crease you can ease it in with your fingernail. If the crease is stitched in place, you’ll have to undo a few stitches and re-sew the seam.
Now let’s do some quick finishing to make fitting easier. Sew along the neck line at 1/2”. Snip along the curved edge so you can fold it back for a clean-ish neckline. Now fold that under and top stitch so you can see where the neckline sits in the fitting.
Fold over 1/2” at the center front and stitch it back.
Press the center front edges and neckline to clean them up, and then it will be ready to try on!
We’ll do that in the next tutorial.
What weird thing do you have too much of? Right now I have too much fake fur (still) and real animal bones. But a few years ago I had too many sewing machines. I was up to 7! I gave away a few to get down to 5…but then I bought a few new ones and now I’m up to 8. Oops!
Share what you have an excess of in the comments – the weirder the better!
