Butterick 5223 Jacket

I've got a bit of a thing about short jackets at the moment and this one, Butterick 5223, caught my eye.

I like the pleated neck detail and the wide collar - almost a 50's feel to it.

For the hot Australian summer these jackets are a dressier option while still being cool. I know they're not on the list of 'best' shapes for my rectangular figure but I sometimes get a little sick of making the same styles over again.

Whenever I finish a garment I like to add a label from my collection, usually to the back facing but occassionally somewhere on the right side of the fabric.

With this label I stitched all the way around using my edge-stitching foot, surely the most useful foot on the machine!

This is how I like to take up a hem, no matter how wide or narrow it is.  First of all I sew a line of basting stitches where the hem fold will be.  I usually do this with contrast thread and find quicker, easier and more accurate than the traditional measure and pin method.  For deep hems I place a piece of tape on the machine bed the required distance from the needle and use this as a guide for the line of basting stitches.

I then iron the hem up along the basting line, give it a good press then remove the basting stitches. From there it's just a matter of hemming it in place on the sewing machine.