Two Months to Sew a Denim Blazer!

I started a denim  blazer back in early June thinking that my sewing schedule would return to normal after two years of graduate studies.  Just before the graduation ceremony I decided to take four extra classes over the summer so my sewing was again delayed. 
Well, the four classes are completed and I finished the blazer.  

There is no interfacing in this jacket; I relied solely upon the fabric weight for structure.

Flat Fell Seams are synonymous with denim.

The top three buttonholes are functional.

Here are a few construction details.

1. I used an evaporating marking pen to mark the exact placement of the collar panel at the neck/shoulder seam.  See the "X" below.  It is very easy to be inaccurate sewing this area and the appearance of the collar and laps is greatly affected.

Neckline of Jacket Back

Here are the collar panels joined at center back.  I fused interfacing at the corners, marked the exact stitching lines with the evaporating ink marking pen, and stay stitched the corners.  These steps are not difficult nor time-consuming but they ensure I will stitch the seam just once.  By the way, the jacket is completely non-interfaced but for these two small squares.  My thinking was that the jacket is a mid-weight stable denim and should not hang too firmly.  I haven't made a jacket without interfacing in at least two decades!  A leap of faith.

Clip to the stitching lines which are reinforced with interfacing and stay stitching.  I  marked the stitching lines so I could see exactly where to stitch.

Here is the shoulder/back neckline seam.  Note the two sharp corners on either side of the neck.  All the marking/stay-stitching/interfacing paid off!

View of shoulder and neck seam from inside.  Note the seam allowance wides towards the sleeve because I am using a thinner shoulder pad than the pattern expects.

2. Armhole looks good with the thin shoulder pad.

3. I used a cool floral lining for the jacket.  I wanted a print that related to the vintage theme but added color just the same.  The lining is polyester.  I usually line in silk rather than polyester but for no particular reason I felt silk was a mismatch with the faded denim.

4. To build roll into the collar, I pinned the neck edges of the garment and facing at the back neck edge.  The two seams will be hand stitched together soon but for now they are just pinned.

I roll the collar back in place keeping the under and top collars aligned.

See how the under collar extends beyond the top collar in the photo below?  This happens when the under and top collar patterns are the same.  I removed the excess fabric so the collar rolls nicely.

Below is a photo that shows the garment and facing stitched right sides together.  You can see 1/2" of under collar fabric sticking out along the back.  This is trimmed away.

I have so many projects planned and my flower garden is gorgeous.  A great summer!

 

Happy to graduate!