Time to shine! Refashion sequins bomber jacket
As a magpie, I am often drawn to sequin items in the thrift store. This was also the case with this cool sweater with sequin sleeves. The sweater was pretty great as it was, but a bit tight for me. Still worth taking home. Especially with the Time to shine! capsule wardrobe in prospect.
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Pattern and inspiration
The gorgeous sleeves of the sweater are used as raglan sleeves in a bomber jacket pattern that I made before. It’s a pattern by MyImage winter 2017/2018. I combined this pattern with elements of the blouson Gina from Inspiration 71, namely the waistband and box pleat at the back.
First I imagined the sequins with the beautiful silver embroidered Chinese brocade that was in my fabric pile. Unfortunately, this piece was not big enough to create the panels of the bomber jacket. The embroidery of the fabric gave me the idea to apply this in the bomber jacket. But would it also work with the fabric I had in mind, satin? Fortunately, I’ve gained some confidence while embroidering the Megan blouse. The whole embroidery pattern was first tried out on a piece of similar fabric, see the result of this trial in this Instagram post and then I decided to go for it.
Reusable
With the seam ripper at hand, I set out to discover what I could reuse of the sweater. Of course the sequins sleeves for this project, but also the sweater fabric for a future project.
I removed the waistband and the star on the back., then I discovered the sleeves are lined. The first fun brain teaser, because the sleeves had to be widened
Upsizing sleeves
I put a strip of waistband in the seam of the sleeves to enlarge them. On the outside (sequins side) I cut this strip longer than the sleeve, so that the end when folded was as wide as the cuff. On the inside I put a strip of stretch lining.
Embellishments
The next step is to attach the sleeves to the front and back pieces. Before I did that, I sewed the star onto the back, above the box pleat. Use blind seam foot 5 or narrow edge foot 10 for this.
As an embellishment, but also to create a buffer between the delicate satin and the sometimes sharp sequin fabric, I added faux leather piping in the seam.
I cut the cord from the first and last 3 cm piping. This way you get a nice transition to the seam at the top and bottom. The piping was first pinned to the satin, then stitched with a large stitch to secure it. For stitching I used Zigzag foot with non-stick sole # 52 c. Then the front & back pattern pieces and sleeves can be attached to each other. From what was left of the original waistband I cut the neckband and put it on. Finally, the piping is topstitched on the satin.
Embroidery
I chose to embroider the front panels of the bomber jacket just now. In this phase it is important to ensure that nothing is stitched together. Caution is therefore advised. You can of course choose to embroider the panels before they are attached.
I bought the embroidery patterns (flying crane, flower with leaves, flower small) via embroiderydesigns.com. In my BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition I have inserted the different patterns as layers in the menu. I attached the fabric to the embroidery hoop with spray adhesive on a tear away embroidery stabilizer. I worked with a nice selection of Mettler embroidery threads. When one side is done you can mirror the assembled pattern as a whole and you can embroider the other side.
First remove the basting thread and then cut off part of the embroidery stabilizer. Then you can tear away the rest. I did this very carefully and where I didn’t dare I cut it away.
Zipper
I also found the zipper in the thrift store. It’s a fairly robust metal zipper, nice contrast with the delicate satin and chic sequins. The zipper is too long and had to be made to measure. With a large stitch I baste the zipper to the front, then I determined the size and removed the stoppers at the top. You can reuse these later (if you keep them intact….). Then you can remove the teeth. I use pliers or even pincers for this (if more force is needed). Then the stoppers can be put back on or you can create a stopper with a simple zigzag stitch.
Remove stopper
Waistband and lining
When the zipper is customised, the waistband can be attached. I copied the description from the blouson pattern from Inspiration 71. Instead of Velcro I added two metal snaps.
At the top of the lining I always insert a facing with nice label and a handy loop. The latter is made from a piece of piping that is stitched with gold metallic thread.
The lining and facing are first attached to the lining sleeves and then stitched all around. With the cuffs already stitched, it was a puzzle how to tackle this. I left a turning hole through which the bomber jacket was ‘born’. Always such a great moment. Check out my Instagram to see a video of this. Just top stitch alongside the zipper and neckband and then this project is ready to shine!
Love,
Marlies
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