Hello Cali Blog readers!

My name is Brenda and I am super excited to be sharing my first post here on the blog! A little intro since I am new: I am a NE Ohio small town gal who is an illustrator and fabric designer. I have been sewing since I was a young girl: All types of projects but mostly decor… Any garments were usually costumes, alterations or doll clothes! I had always aspired to sew clothing and even had a stash of patterns (which I couldn’t understand) but it wasn’t until I started designing fabric that I finally dove into the world of apparel. And I was quickly hooked! Super thankful for indie patterns and the online sewing community for the vast wealth of knowledge and help. I’d love for you to follow along with my design and sewing adventures on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/brendazapotosky

Today I am sharing with you a perfect transitional weather piece: A stretch denim Morris Blazer. I love the pairing of a more casual fabric with a dressier silhouette because it creates a piece that can fit a wide variety of occasions. Plus this blazer is simpler than a traditional denim jacket so less time consuming and labor intensive but you can still have all the fun of denim top-stitching details.

This was my fourth time making this blazer. I have made it in both stable knits and stretch wovens. This is my first in stretch denim and I absolutely love the jacket in this fabric. It was one of those “ah ha” moments when I came up with this pairing. I actually own a RTW denim blazer that I rarely wear because while I love the concept of the blazer the fit is not great and I don’t really like heavier, non stretch denim for a jacket. Now I have a blazer that is size ME (One of the great joys of sewing right?) in the perfect weight fabric!

The Details

FABRIC

I used a 9oz stretch denim that is no longer in the shop. But this would be very similar and has a cool subtle herringbone pattern: https://califabrics.com/dark-blue-designer-9oz-textured-stretch-denim

This fabric could be fun too, especially if you let the print show when the collar was turned out: https://califabrics.com/mottled-blue-and-solid-navy-reversible-designer-stretch-denim

PATTERN

Morris Blazer by Grainline Studio

MODIFICATIONS and SEWING NOTES

I hope I remembered all of them, since this was my fourth time making the pattern many of these changes were already part of my pattern pieces

1. Size: Mostly a 6, with grading out to an 8 in the back only.
2. Body Lengthened 1” and I straightened the hem curve in the front.
3. 5” added to sleeves to make them full length and finished with sleeve with a custom faux cuff instead of a facing. (Basically I reversed the facing so it folded to the outside with the right side of the fabric showing).
4. Moved the shoulder seams in 1/4” and “softened” the curve of the sleeve cap by taking 1/4” off the top.
5. Added pockets. The finished dimensions are: 4.5” wide by 5” tall.
6. Alternate seam finishes and much more top stitching.

I decided to go all out with the finishing of this blazer. I am a slow sewist in general, but I was a SUPER slow sewist this time. It was worth all the extra time (and a bit of brain puzzling). I finished the edge of all the facings in bias tape. I already purchased 1/2” bias for this project so I went with it, but if I used it again I’d choose a narrower tape. Otherwise I love it! And with some careful planning I was able to avoid stitching over it except in a few small spots!

For the back center seam, I folded each side of the seam under to create a nice clean finish. I top stitched the seam allowances down on the back and sides and added a lot of decorative top stitching (which is also functional as it keeps the facing in place). I decided to attach the pocket last so it could overlap the neck/front facing. I

intended for the tag to be completely unseen from the outside by attaching it within the collar top stitching, but I stopped the back seam finish too short (to avoid the bulk of the fold under) and decided to stitch the tag down to enclose that exposed edge added one single line of visible stitching below the collar. You can see it slightly in this photo.

Here is a look at a few of the details:

This dressier casual blazer can pair with so many different pieces! I love it paired with this dress sewn with fabric I also got from Cali Fabrics. Last fall they brought in a bunch of AGF knits at a fantastic price and this particular print just happened to be on my wish list for a long time. SCORE! It is no longer in the shop but you can still find a few other prints by typing in Art Gallery Knits into the search.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and are perhaps inspired to make your own “not a jean jacket” Jean Jacket! Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments!

I’ll leave you with one final look which I have captioned:

“If you want to look super cool: Pop the Collar!”

Bonus Game: My husband was an unintentional photo bomber! Can you spot him in any of the photos? Ha ha!