Lekala #5877 - a spot of contemporary sewing.

Hello everyone!

After my trip to Denmark, where I wore mostly me-made outfits, I realized that I am lacking cover-ups. Not that I was running around half naked, but I was constantly missing that little throw-over garment for sipping drinks on a chilly deck overlooking the sea- sort of thing. Or just something over my shoulders, when out to dinner in a sleeveless dress.

To date, I haven't made a single piece of outer wear, or jacket of any sort and it was time to remedy that. Since jackets tend to be a bit more structured, I figured I best be starting small. Just by coincidence I stumbled upon the Lekala website, which specialises in customized pdf-patterns, and I was intrigued. Could I really get a pattern that was drafted especially for me, in just a matter of minutes? Turns out, I could. And for a  very reasonable price too!

And here it is! My version of the Lekala #5877.
It is a cropped, cap sleeved jacket or bolero, with ruched detailing on the sleeves and a rounded collar. One button closing in the front. It is also fully lined.

I made it up in some leftover blue linen, which I used for my RAF swing trousers. This jacket was great for using smaller bits, as the pattern pieces are not very large. I guess one could also do a color blocking with this too! The design lines kind of begs for it ;)

The construction was very straight forward, and it all went swimmingly right up to the collar bit. I think my brain was on holiday that day, and I basically did everything backwards and upside down. By the time I figured out the right way, I had trimmed off nearly all the seam allowance on the collar, and was just able to eek it on. But I did it!

The written instructions are what I would call minimalistic. There are no illustrations, but all you need to know is in there, you just have to read it all through, and use your noggin'. I suspect a complete beginner would struggle a bit, but nothing you can't overcome.

I got myself into a knot (literally) when attaching the lining. I read the instructions, but didn't quite pay attention, and did it like I thought was right. I then proceeded to turning the jacket to right side again, and ended up with a twisted pretzel. I could not for the life of me turn it back to where I started, and in the end I had to get the ripper out and unpick the lining on both sleeves. Just as well, it was all wrong! I admit, there was a few tears when my lining pieces threatened to fray beyond recognition, but I was very happy when the jacket was once again untangled. The whole spectacle was a You-tube moment for sure....

For the lining I used some sparkly viscose type of fabric, that's been in my stash since before it really was a stash. I think it was the perfect thing for the jacket, a pop of color and sparkles in all that mellow blue linen. Makes me happy to look at it :)

I guess you could say that this jacket was a roaring success! I love it, and it's the perfect summer throw over. I think I could stand making more of these :) I also think it's versatile, it goes with tanks and jeans just as well as dresses or skirts. Depending on fabric, you could make it casual, or dressy.

So what do you think? Have you ever tried Lekala patterns? I am tempted to make some more of their designs. Not having to make any adjustments was kind of sweet ;)

Happy sewing!