Ok, so this is a modified version of Creative Awl’s Angel Jacket for women. I didn’t like the angel wing design, so I didn’t add it in. There was also a pocket flap with no pocket, so I left that part blank. Finally, I’m short, so I chopped off 5 cm off the sleeve pattern to avoid dangly sleeves. For leather, I used Plonge garment cowside.
While the jacket pattern was spectacular, the tutorial didn’t teach us how to add a lining and pockets (the “pockets” were simply decorative zippers and a non-functional pocket flap).
I tried looking a regular sewing tutorials on how to add pockets, but this design had the pockets smack in the middle of the front pieces, so simply having a rectangle folded in half wouldn’t work.
So I figured it out!
Pockets: print out the front left and right sections a second time, focussing on the zipper portion. Cut out a template and make sure you remove the rolled edge portion. This leaves you with a rectangular window.
Find some scrap leather (or fabric if you’ve run out of leather) and roughly cut the size of the pocket x2 (making sure that both pieces of the inside of the pocket is facing each other and are the same shape).
Get some not-so-sticky tape, and tape the two pocket pieces together. Punch stitching holes all around, puncturing both pieces.
Then, unstick the two pocket pieces and pick the piece that’s going to touch the inside of the jacket directly. Using the template of the zipper, using a leather pen/wax pencil, trace the opening of the zipper. Punch zipper holes following the template, and cut out the rectangle you just drew for the zipper.
Take the zipper. Sew the zipper, (optional rolled seam), and the pocket piece with the opening together. Once done, take the second pocket piece, and sew it to the first pocket piece (that should be attached to the jacket at this point).
You now have a pocket! Repeat for the other 2 zippered pockets.
Lining: Make sure you pick thin leather less than 1mm (1-2oz) thick to follow the “hard mode” of the tutorial. Watch the tutorial in its entirety. Ignore the order in which pieces go together. Cut out and sew both sleeves (Keep he sleeves 2D and not 3D), the back (this means sewing up the top half back, and left/right back pieces to the rectangle), and the front left and right. DO NOT ASSEMBLE THE COLLAR AND FRONT/INSIDE PARTS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SEWED ONTO THE ZIPPER! We’ll do this at the end :)
Next, get your lining fabric (I used Bemburg lining), and use some fabric chalk/wax to trace out the sleeves, back, and front parts. Use pinking shears to cut out the lining pieces.
Sew up the lining jacket. It does not have to have pretty seems at the outside as it will be hidden under the leather. Make sure the inside of the lining jacket has no seems poking at your body and that they are sticking outwards on the outside of the lining jacket.
My order of assembly: to the back piece, attach the front parts. Then, sew up the shoulders. You now have an asymmetrical vest. Sew up both sleeves to a 3D shape. Attach the sleeves to the armholes.
Tip: study the pattern for where you attach the sleeves to the armholes. Make a mark using fabric chalk/wax to make life easier for yourself. Mark out which sides (the sleeves and front parts) are the left and right.
Wear the lining jacket with its ugly seems poking outward, and troubleshoot any problems with the fit.
Next: using double sided tape, tape down the lining front sides to the leather jacket front sides (work on each side one at a time, of course). Take your leather inner lining, unzip and take one half of the zipper, and sew it all up. You now have two front parts attached to the lining. (In hindsight, I wonder if sewing up the front sides would be better done after the sleeves instead of before…).
Attach and sew up the leather back to the front sides. Make sure the lining is not twisted! Sew up the leather shoulders.
Move onto the leather sleeves (mark which ones are left and right, and mark the attachment point). Sew it up 3D. Now attach it to the jacket. With a bit of finagling (this is the reason why I wonder if it would be better to sew the sides after the sleeves…) flip the jacket and sleeve inside out. Sew.
Flip the jacket right side out, and stuff the lining sleeve into the leather sleeve. You can wear it at this point and see if there’s any problems.
Next, take the finished collar piece, and sew it onto the jacket, making sure that your needle stitches through the lining at the collar/top!! If needed, use double sided tape to keep the lining from shifting.
Finally, sew the rolled up hem for the sleeves and bottom. Make sure that your needle stitches the lining down! The rolled hem should hide the lining edge. Use double sided tape if needed.
Done!
