The Rambo Project - Burda 7018

Once I got past my resistance to cutting into the turban fabric, this Rambo project was a lot of fun!

To catch up on this project, read Seamstress Erin's blog.

I especially liked the stripes at each edge of the turban. The striping pattern was asymmetric, and I immediately knew that I wanted the stripes to go down each sleeve. This meant that the stretchy direction, for the sleeves, would go up and down the arms, rather than around, but I decided that it was a worthwhile tradeoff. I cut the rest of the jacket so that the stretch goes around the body.

I wanted a denim-style jacket, so I spent quite a bit of time looking at various pattern options. There really aren't that many denim-style jacket patterns that have all of the features that I like, but I finally settled on a Burda "youth" pattern, 7018. (If I'd had more time, I would have ordered the Style Arc Stacie jacket, which has all of the features I wanted.)

Because I had very limited yardage, especially in length, I had to make quite a few changes to the pattern, as well as my usual alterations:

• I had to eliminate the collar.
• I had to eliminate the bottom band.
• I omitted the pockets and pocket flaps in the front yoke seam or, as Margy called them, the "boob arrows".
• I had to shorten the front bands, so I shortened the jacket at the hem but I also lowered the neckline about an inch.
• I had to finish the neckline with a bias band, cut from a stretch plaid fabric with a Burberry feel to it.
• Because this is a very stretchy fabric in the long direction, I stabilized all horizontal seams with twill tape.
• I wanted to make a welt pocket using the stripe, but I didn't have enough stripe left for two welt pockets, so I made one pocket, which I drafted. I put the welt pocket on the perfect vertical, since that is the direction where the fabric is completely stable. I used the plaid fabric for the pocket bag.
• I did a princess seam FBA. (Of course.)
• I narrowed the shoulder by about 1/2". (Less than usual.)
• There is a lot of sleeve cap in this pattern, so I cut it down a bit.
• I had to piece the back yoke. When I cut it out, it slightly extended into a stripe, so I sewed the seam allowance so that the stripe is to the outside. (I love serendipitous details like these.)
• I cut the two-piece sleeves to be as long as possible, which is about 3/4 length. I left the sleeves unhemmed, using the fabric selvedge.
• I hemmed the jacket with a bias binding, also cut from the plaid. Because the fabric is so stretchy in the horizontal direction, I sewed the hem completely by hand, including attaching the binding.
• I finished all raw edges. Some I turned under and sewed by hand, and others I finished with bias binding.
• I wanted oversized, decorative buttons, which I purchased at Britex. I sewed them on using silk buttonhole twist from Japan (also from Britex). The jacket closes with a snap.
• I wanted to topstitch the seams with topstitching thread, but I couldn't find my stash of topstitching thread and JoAnn's was out of cream and white, so I used two regular threads through the needle.

Due to a lot of handwork, this jacket took a long time, but I really enjoyed the process. It's very comfy to wear and I expect get a lot of wear out of it this spring, and into summer.

Buttons and topstitching
Inside of front neck. You can see the bias neck finish, the pieced back yoke (with the striped seam on the outside), and the twill tape stabilizing the horizontal seams.
Inside out
I liked the selvedge of the plaid fabric, so I put it on the outside when I pieced the bias binding.
Welt pocket
Inside of welt pocket
All that remains of the turban.

Thanks so much, Erin, for inviting me to participate in this fun challenge!