I had quite a surprise a week or so ago when I was scrolling through my feed reader on the tram and discovered that fellow Australian Suzy had just made Lekala 4163!  I had the same pattern already cut out, just waiting to be sewn together.  I haven’t seen this jacket on other other blogs, so it was surely serendipity.  I was straight into sewing it that night once I got home.

As with my Lekala dress, I had ordered this pattern with seam allowances included. It didn’t take terribly long to tape together, and once again the pattern pieces looked as though they would take my height and waistlessness into account.

The fabric is a checked ponte, medium weight and quite soft and drapey. If my memory serves me right I bought it as an end of roll at Spotlight last year, but I have noticed the same fabric being sold at Darn Cheap. Because it was a check, it took me a considerable amount of time to lay out the pattern pieces. I used a single layer to cut it out, with more of an emphasis on matching the stripes horizontally than vertically. The sleeves are two piece, and the back has a centre back seam as well as side back princess seams. The ties insert into the side seams, and the front pieces are one large piece. The back neck and front are faced – I decided not to use interfacing on those pieces, despite the instructions suggesting that I should.

For a first try, I think that the fit isn’t too bad! The pattern was certainly petite-ed enough for me, and the back neck seemed to fit where it should. Why didn’t my husband tell me that the white tag of the top I was wearing underneath was sticking out in every one of these photos?

I was quite happy with my check matching, actually. I didn’t have to worry about it at the front, because it’s mostly on the bias, but I did get it right across the shoulders, the back seams and the two-piece sleeves. Not perfect, but good enough for what was intended to be a wearable muslin. I did have to re-cut one of the under sleeve pieces when I realised that I had cut it out on completely the wrong part of the check. Luckily I had enough scraps!

There was also enough fabric to make a StyleARC Fay skirt to match. I really like this outfit for work – because it’s ponte and the jacket is unlined it is comfortable to wear sitting at a desk all day, but I also feel that it is rather smart without being a traditional suit. I am not a traditional suit person any more. Which reminds me – Anna had a terrific post the other day about finding your style. I’ve been ruminating on her thoughts ever since, and think that I am better at knowing what my style is not than what my style is! I’ll see if I can come up with a similar blog post at some stage.

So, my Lekala verdict after my second make? I think that I still need to include more ease through my waist – those rolls are really showing in the photos of my back – but otherwise, I think that I am a convert! I also like that many of the styles are a bit different to what is found elsewhere. And wouldn’t you know it, I already have another four of their patterns in my possession. Which shall I make next?