Creative articles about sewing

Time to shine! Refashion sequins bomber jacket

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.

Pattern 1: Bomber jacket with raglan sleeves (My Image winter 2017/2018)

Pattern 2: Elements of Blouson from Inspiration 71 Summer 2018

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.

Options

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

Reusable details

Lined sleevers

Bomber jacket brick stones

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.

Waistband used to upsize the sleeves

A strip of waistband

Sewn on both sides of the opened seam of the sequins sleeve

Stretch lining on the inside

Outer strip folded to create the cuff on the inside

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.

Edge stitching

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.

Image of Zigzag Foot with Non-Stick Sole #52.

Zigzag Foot with Non-Stick Sole #52

For all utility and decorative stitches ✓  Non-stick coating on the sole ensures it slides smoothly ✓  For plastic, vinyl, leather, etc. ✓  For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓ 

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Cut away some of the cord

Pin piping

Baste

Top stitch

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.

Image of BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition.

BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition

It’s your time to shine! Experience the beauty of the B 590 Crystal Edition. With an incredible inspiration kit including dazzling Swarovski® crystals, extra feet and exclusive embroidery designs, this limited edition will let your artistic side shine. The handy trolley set and embroidery module make this Crystal Edition complete!

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Blank canvas

Design mix

Crane

Cut away threads

Mirrored and done

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.

Remove basting thread

Cut away partly

Tear away carrefully

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.

Zipper pinned

Baste

Remove stopper

Cut to size

New stoppers

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!

 

Inside

Top stitch

Pocket detail

Match with red

Love,

 

Marlies

@madebyLIESL

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