I have wanted to sew a new boyfriend blazer for some time. I wore them back in the 1980s and early 1990s and decided when the trend returned, I’d sew another. A boyfriend jacket is a slightly oversized blazer that you wear with a slim skirt and your favorite jeans. It’s relaxed, and lean, and looks like you nipped it from your boyfriend’s closet. You know, if your boyfriend had skinny shoulders and slender arms. MY man’s jackets swim on me; you could insert two of me in them in real life. But the boyfriend style, slightly oversized, long and lean, is chic and effortless looking without looking like you are wearing a jacket that fits a 6’2″ man who outweighs you by 60 lbs.
I chose the Christine Jonson Boyfriend Jacket and a cream ponte knit. The ponte is drapey and heavy, with just enough body for this blazer. The front facing and shawl collar are interfaced with interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply.
This is a really, really lovely jacket! I can’t say enough about how easy it was to sew. See this review at PatternReview.com for more details about this jacket.
The thing I loved is the facing construction. There’s a notch you sew on the back neck at shoulders on both the jacket and the facing. And this makes the facing lie FLAT against the jacket across the shoulders and back neck, so you can then topstitch the entire facing down. No floppy facings on the inside! Let’s face it, tacking the facings at the shoulder and center back is just not as nice as having the whole thing sewn down to the jacket. The seaming on the front from this topstitching adds a long design element too.
I added a fun hidden pocket in the facing on this jacket for my phone and credit card. Read the tutorial here.
The dark jeans are from CAbi, their Ruby style. But they don’t make this dark denim stretch anymore. You can find a similar style from Levi’s (midrise) for about $40. The top is an asymmetrical, boat neck top with ruched hem. I bought it in La Jolla at the Goodwill store (no kidding!) for $6. I get tons of compliments on it, and I will hack it back onto two other patterns to make another just like it.
Fabric choices
This jacket is for knit OR woven, including stretch wovens. Check the sleeve width in your size because they run skinny at the wrist, being that it’s designed first for knits, and if you go about 1/2″ wider at the hem and taper up the sleeve, that should be perfect. But measure the bicep for your size too. The L and XL sizes include a bust dart for shaping. This is an XS and it’s oversized so I continue to wear an S or XS in this blazer even though I typically sew a 12 in Christine Jonson patterns.
But sewing often has it’s challenges, and tonight, the piéce de resistance? I sewed the buttonhole on the guy’s side of the jacket (left side) and the button on the right. Sigh. At least it truly IS a boyfriend jacket!