When I visited Melbourne in December 2016 I met up with a bunch of lovely sewing ladies for cocktails. During the evening Blogless Anna – one of the kindest people I’ve ever met – invited me fabric shopping. During our outing, she took Paul and me to her home. This is where I spotted her Falda Jacket on the back of a chair. I was amazed by its construction. She let me try it on and I loved it! Since then I’ve been thinking about making a Falda Jacket of my own.

Last Christmas instead of buying lots of presents for each other we decided to each choose something for ourselves. I purchased a number of fabrics for specific sewing projects. I came across the perfect fabric at The Fabric Store here in Wellington. Its a yarn dyed polyester blended fabric. It feels like a lightweight scuba which beautifully holds it’s shape. It’s the perfect fabric for this pattern which requires fabric with body.

The pattern was fun to construct! The pattern pieces are incredible shapes. As I had tried on Anna’s jacket and I liked the fit I made the same size 8 and made zero changes to the pattern. For reference my measurements are 38 bust, 40 hip and my height is 165cm.

The construction went really smoothly. As its a fairly oversized garment I knew I didn’t have to factor in alterations. I overlocked all the seams and finished the centre back with a Hong Kong seam.

I was originally going to add patch pockets, as per one of the pattern options. but then decided the jacket already had a lot going on. This leaves the attention to the sleeves where all the drama is. I hand sewed the facings, sleeve facings and hem. I use to hate hand stitching. Now I normally do a little bit with each project. It’s so satisfying to leave the surface free of machine stitches.

I love my finished jacket. It won’t get as much wear as a trenchcoat or blazer but I don’t care. Not everything needs to be super practical. I have enjoyed wearing my jacket with jeans and simple dresses. I thought this garment would be man-repelling however Paul appreciates how sculptural the jacket is.