Lekala #5062 Boyfriend Blazer for Zara

Zara asked me to sew her a Boyfriend blazer.

No worries, I thought, how hard could it be?
After all I have sewed many coats before.
Famous last words.
She sent me some inspirations pictures...

Images from Pinterest

We chose a pattern...

A custom fit Lekala #5062 blazer
And then the fabric.

This Seller massdestash  has some gorgeous fabrics for sale and she is a seriously nice person too.

I used a lush, stretch, bridal satin for the lining.

Although the back is quite shaped I added a vent, for ease.

It worked!

I topstitched the lining to reinforce the seams.
To be honest, this fabric was over kill as a lining, it is blouse or dress fabric but I hope Zara will wear this for years to come so I wanted it to be truly luxurious.

One thing I didn't take into account was pattern matching.

There was an awful lot of seams to match and as Zara's waist is so small the pattern was quite an odd shape.

 I did my best but it is certainly not perfect.

The welt pockets were very, very fiddly as the fabric wanted to fray when manipulated.
This video tutorial  was a huge help.

That said, once on, you really can't see all my mistakes.

I think it looks amazing on her.

I feel like she has an X-Files Scully vibe going on.

Image from Google

I like the mannish over size look with the nipped in waist.

In lieu of traditional shoulder pads I used old false boobs from crop tops that have died.
These have a good curve and are easier to get a nice shape. Zara is like me and has one wonky shoulder, I can position these and then hand sew in place for the perfect finish. 

I made self cover buttons, two for the front and three for each sleeve.

~Zara's Verdict~
This blazer is absolutely insane.
I told Mum what I wanted and she delivered, once again.
The material is incredible, the print is amazing and don't even get me started of the lining, INSANE. So, so, so silky and pearly white.

I can't wait to style this blazer in so many different ways; perhaps a cropped T and denim shorts? 
Or as a dress with a belt and heels.

~My Verdict~
This was a big sew, a very big sew.
The pattern was perfect, I didn't adjust the fit at all
*I do wish Zara had been home when I sewed in the sleeves as I definitely could've taken some ease from the sleeves cap*

The instructions supplied were definitely scarce. I have made a few coats now so I worked it out but I had to unpick the collar once.

The under collar is sewn to the main and the upper collar to the lining and then they are sewn together.
But then, you sew the front facings and up to the bottom of the collar, each side and the sew the collar down to the facing. Then there is lots of clipping and pressing and I had a tiny wee gap to hand sew closed once I had finished and turned the garment out.
Straight forward it was not!
The lining is bagged and then the blazer is put on and the collar sort of rolled in place until it sits nicely.
I use safety pins to hold the position, steam press it, let it cool and then catch the lining and main together in several places.

Zara didn't want any topstitching so I hand-tacked a lot of the seams together. The garment is beautiful but I want it to be very sturdy and handle a lot of wear and laundering.

A very satisfying sew but I would like a wee break before I make another one.
Thank you for reading... xx N