I needed a jacket for spring, so I made myself a Sewaholic Cordova.

Materials

• Stretch Plaid Suiting (polyester/rayon/spandex)
• "Silk" Lining (polyester)
• Interfacing
• Buttons
• Zipper
• "I (heart) Handmade" Ribbon

I did my best to match the plaid all the way across the jacket. It was hard, especially since the fabric is stretchy, but I think I got it close enough.

Pattern

Sewaholic Cordova

This is a nice stylish jacket with puffed sleeves. I made View B, with the single peplum. 




 Alterations

I made quite a few alterations. I raised the armohole seams about 1/4" for each shoulder. But, this still seems like not quite enough. The armhole line looks too far out. Most of the other Cordovas I have seen also appear to have this problem. It might be a bit of a style choice that works best for pear shaped ladies. On me, it just makes my shoulders look slightly droopy.

I did a small swayback adjustment. I made a muslin first, so I knew how much to take off.

I made a size 6 jacket (I'm somewhere near a size 8 according to the label, but I always find I'm closer to a six in Sewaholic patterns). However, I wanted to have this jacket have enough ease to fit over a cardigan. So, I increased around the waist by 1/2" on each side. I increased top of the peplum by 1/2" and decreased the bottom by 1"4. I also increased the sleeve width by 1/2" (for my bulging biceps, of course). Now, I think it looks a bit big on me without another layer under. What do you think?


I hate jackets with no pockets, so I added welt pockets with a button loop on each side. The pockets are curved to match the curve of the peplum. This was not easy, and I plan to make a follow up post with how I did it. Also, you might notice that I cut the peplums on the bias so that the plaid goes at an interesting angle.


I also added a ribbon as a jacket hanging loop. I was afraid a fabric loop would be too bulky and try to pop out of this collarless jacket. I really like how the ribbon turned out (thanks for the ribbon, sis!).


The lining is delicious! It's a polyester 'silk' lining in a pale green. I bagged the lining when I was assembling the jacket (good instructions on how to do that are on Grainline Studio's blog). Don't you think it looks good with my Alma blouse?


That's it. What do you think out there? Is it a hit or miss? So I go back and try to fix my sleeve poofs (I think they might be a bit flat)?