Firstly, thanks to all those who commented on my mask-making blog post.  I’m glad that you’ve found it useful – remember, any fabric mask is better than no mask!  Wearing a mask is more about preventing you from inadvertently giving covid-19 to others than it is about stopping you from catching it yourself (although it will definitely help with that too).  Let’s all work together and do this for the good of our communities.

I first sewed the Style Arc Besharl jacket in September 2017.  Some patterns get a second use almost immediately after the first; this one has waited almost three years!

The fabric is from The Cloth Shop Ivanhoe; it was the end of the bolt, so I didn’t have much of it. It’s a woven, three different coloured threads woven together, but reads as grey overall. I don’t fully remember the composition but think that it has some viscose in it. It wasn’t bought with a particular pattern in mind, but I do feel that this one has been the perfect match for it.

Let’s look a bit closer! The original pattern has a curved back hemline; for this jacket I straightened that out.  I also decided to sew the pocket bags to the front of the jacket to stop them from flapping around.  Having the pockets located as high as they are in the side seams means that they’re not terribly useful or comfortable for hands, but they’re still good for keys or a phone.

From the pattern website: This style is the perfect solution to dress up outer wear whether you are off to a sporting event or out to dinner. Slightly cocooned shaped and dropped back hemline gives this shawl collared jacket a fashionable robe-style look. A must have jacket for your wardrobe. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Cashmere, merino wool or boiled wool, Ponte, sweater knit or any fabric with drape.

There are actually plenty of examples of this jacket on sewing blogs and on Instagram – it’s been quite popular. It seems to work well in a variety of fabrics. I do think that it looks best in something with drape, as suggested, but it doesn’t have to be a knit fabric. Mie of Sewing Like Mad has a terrific blog post on this jacket that includes some tips and tricks – it’s definitely worth a read.

I have discovered that I quite like jackets with elbow length sleeves. Maybe it’s my perimenopausal age! This is a straightforward jacket to sew, with most construction on the overlocker. I sewed size 12. I also topstitched a number of the seam allowances down, both for stability and to add detail. The collar is a wide straight strip of fabric that turns back on itself around the neck. This type of collar never sits perfectly on me at the back neck – it’s that high rounded upper back / forward head thing again – but in this soft woven it’s actually pretty good. This jacket counts as a definite success and welcome wardrobe addition.

The rest of my outfit is Style Arc Misty jeans in black stretch denim (I’ve been sewing the Misty jeans since 2015; they’re my favourite Style Arc jeans pattern), Cashmerette Concord tee, and in the first photo a colour-blocked boiled wool scarf from this tutorial.