I recently started a new career so have been assessing my wardrobe to ensure I have enough classic pieces for my job as a consultant. It’s good to have a mix of quirkier garments to mix with classics such as this black linen blazer.

I purchased two meters of this heavy washed linen from the Fabric Warehouse to make an unlined blazer a few years ago. Somehow it always slipped off my to-do list – I guess working from home has a lot to do with this!

I used Lekala patterns 2296 for this jacket. I have previously made a floral brocade version of the same pattern. I found the drafting to be great but the instructions terrible!

Good thing this isn’t the first jacket that I’ve made; I managed to figure out how it went together using my own intuition. If you are wanting to make this jacket, I recommend referring to the Morris Blazer sew-along which has a similar construction to this Lekala jacket.

If you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll be able to help!

Before sewing the jacket together, I bound all the edge seams with Liberty of London bias binding which I had purchased from The Fabric Store. I bound the seams before the pieces are sewn together into a garment. It is a little bit time consuming, but my method doesn’t involve using any pins so it is much faster than you might think! I have a video of my process under the tutorials tab of my Instagram.

The pattern sizing is true-to-size. Lekala patterns are custom drafted for your height and measurements or can be purchased as a standard size. You can choose to add seam allowances or leave them off your pattern – pretty neat!

The pattern is designed for knit fabrics but I added an extra 1cm to each of the side seams to give myself a bit more ease. I knew I’d never wear this jacket done up so didn’t want to make it any bigger. I still haven’t added a closure. I prefer the effortless look of an open jacket it gives my hourglass body better angles.

I have a number of garments planned for my ‘corporate career’ wardrobe so stay tuned!

Happy sewing.