Cropped Faux Leather Jacket

 I have been obsessed with cropped jackets lately as I discovered that they can be flattering to someone like me with a short stature and straight figure. They really go nicely with high waisted wide-legged pants which I have sewn a lot of lately. Shown below are my two recent makes of the Pattern Emporium Smitten jacket. 

Both had elasticized hem bands. One was done in denim and the other a combo of cotton twill and corduroy.

Shown here styled with my True Bias Lander pants in pink corduroy and brown moleskin.

Paired with my Style Arc Kew Pants in denim and twill.

I have posted a detailed review of the jacket pattern which is the PE Smitten jacket here at the Pattern Review website. 

This post is all about my third version made out of faux leather. Because of the fabric's unique characteristics, I decided to share some detailed construction notes that were dictated by my choice of fabric. But first a preview of the finished jacket. 

It is soft and supple!

FABRICS

I fell for this "Faux and Fabulous" brown synthetic leather from Sawyer Brook Distinctive Fabrics because of the color and beautiful drape as shown by the thumbnail photo on the website. The color is described as medium rose-brown which reminds me of the 2025 Pantone Color of the Year mocha mousse. 

The fabric has a 10% stretch and soft drape. It is perfect for garment sewing and depending on the style, one may skip lining because it is backed by a soft woven fabric. 

Because it is faux leather, just like any fabric it has a selvage.  The small stretch runs crosswise.

 

A close-up of the woven fabric backing. 

I used 100% Cupro Bemberg for the lining. 

    I used Woven Weft Fusible Interfacing for all the jacket pattern pieces. 

PATTERN

I chose a jean jacket style because it lends itself to a lot of topstitching details which I thought were perfect for a leather jacket or in this case a faux leather jacket. This time I chose the traditional hem band instead of the elasticized ones I used in the past two versions. And I went with the same cuffed sleeve style. 

Modifications:

1. Because the fabric was super soft and drapey, I decided to add a little bit of heft to it by interfacing all pattern pieces. 

2. I also lined the whole jacket and because the pattern did not include it, I drafted my own. 

Drafting the Lining:

1. The front of the jacket pattern was made of four pieces (yoke, center/middle/side front). For lining, I pinned all these pattern pieces together along the included seamline and traced a new one to come up with  a single front piece.

2. The back of the jacket consisted of yoke, center back and two side backs. I used the same pieces but made a new center back piece that had 4 cm added to the width along center fold to create an upper and lower pleat. 

3. I used same pattern piece for the sleeves but skipped the cuff. 

4. I did not need lining for collar because the jacket had an upper and under collar. 

5. I also did not need lining for the hem band. 

With those modifications in mind, here are the rest of the construction details.

CONSTRUCTION

Fabric Prep:

The care instructions for the faux leather specified dry clean only. I tested a square of it and washed with cold water without wringing and it came out okay. However I think I will have the jacket dry cleaned just to be on the safe side. 

The faux leather took to pressing beautifully. I tested first on a scrap piece. 

   *Used wool-silk setting on iron (which is two notches below linen and cotton).

   *Used silk organza press cloth. 

   *Pressed on the wrong side only. 

   *Used care when it came to amount of time and pressure applied. 

   *When fusing the interfacing, I used a Teflon sheet to protect the sole plate of the iron.

Layout and Cutting:

Faux leather:

   *I laid the pattern pieces right side up over the wrong side of the fabric. Before doing so, I checked the right side for any flaws. I have read others cut with right side of fabric up. I tried this at first but it was harder to cut because the fabric would bunch up under the rotary cutter. 

   *I used single fabric layout. This was a lot more work but is necessary for accuracy. 

   *Although pins tend to leave holes, I  used them sparingly by carefully placing them within the seam allowance. I also used pattern weights. 

   *I alternated between scissors and rotary cutter depending on the area being cut. For instance, I find it easier to maneuver around curves using scissors. 

Lining:

  *Because lining was slippery, I laid the fabric over sheets of tissue paper and clipped the edges to the cutting board. 

  *I also used single layout and because my fabric had directional print, I had to take note of that. 

Notions:   

         

Needles: 

*Stretch needle size 65/9 for the faux leather. 

 *Microtex size 70 for the lining. 

Thread:

 *Mettler Matrosen all purpose polyester thread in matching color. I used the thread matching service offered by Sawyer Brook. The thread was perfect for both construction and topstitching on faux leather. 

Misc:

*Teflon sewing foot

*Walking foot for topstitching used in conjunction with some tissue paper/plain paper on top of the faux leather. I found it easier to be accurate with this foot when sewing two lines of topstitching. 

Just showing here why it was easier to be accurate with walking foot. 

Improvised with paper to make it easier to sew over faux leather. 

*Pins and Clips

In some areas when I used the clips I had to protect the fabric with tissue paper. Those  clips could leave some unsightly marks. 

Machine Settings:

1. For seam sewing, I used medium length straight stitch (2.8).

2. For topstitching, I used 3. I did several tests first with scraps. 

Construction Highlights:

i.  After cutting all jacket pattern pieces, fuse interfacing to each piece using Teflon sheet protector underneath the iron. 

ii. Assemble main jacket per pattern instructions with the following exceptions:

   *Front piece--do not fold the center front (3/8") seam allowance. Instead it will be sewn to the center   front lining later.

  *Hold off on placket construction until lining is ready.

  *Hold off on collar and band attachment till lining is ready.

  *Construct sleeves according to pattern instructions. 

iii. Assemble lining.

   *Front piece--since it is one piece, no need to assemble anything here. 

  *Sew pleat on center  back. I used 2" long for upper and lower pleats. 

  *Assemble back pieces (side back to center, then to yoke).

  *Sew front to back along shoulder seams.

  *Sew sleeves minus cuff. 

iv. Join main jacket and lining. 

   *Sew the center front lining and jacket using the 3/8" seam allowance.

   *Follow instructions to complete the rest of the placket. 

   *Baste lining neckline to main jacket neckline. 

   *Sew collar on. 

 View of the center front of the jacket and lining sewn together. 

v. Hem band

   *Baste lining to jacket along hemline. 

   *Sew in band as instructed. 

vi. Sleeves

   *Slipstitch sleeve lining to jacket sleeves along the seamline that joins cuff to sleeves. 

vii. Closures

   *I tested some buttonhole stitches using my machine. They were fine but I did not want to risk it on the actual jacket because something always messes up when it's time to sew the real thing! So I just sewed some decorative button and then functional snaps underneath. 

So here are some photos of the finished jacket showing the outside and the lining. 

Too scared to sew buttonholes!

And finally here I am trying to be cool!

   

Style Arc Kew Pants --Step-by-Step Construction in Pictures

I have lost count of how many times I have sewn this pattern because I love the silhouette so much! There was a lot of head scratching the first time because of how confusing the instructions were even with the accompanying illustrations. But subsequent versions were a breeze as I had my notes to refer to. I decided to take pictures of each step as I was sewing my fifth version. Hopefully, this post will prove helpful not only to me but others who may be struggling trying to understand the instructions.

*My detailed review of the sewing pattern itself can be found HERE at the Pattern Review website. 

The order of construction is as follows:

I. Pockets

II. Fly/Front Zipper

III. Legs

IV. Waistband

I. Pockets

For the pocket construction, the detailed photo tutorial can be found in a separate blog post HERE under Sewing Techniques. 

Two front legs with completed pockets. 

II.  Fly/Front Zipper

I labeled my cut fabric pieces with masking tape. Kindly refer to the following legend:

R10--right (meaning fashion side, not wrong side) side, fly bearer

R9-- right side fly facing

Encircled R Front--right front leg as opposed to left

Encircled L Front--left front leg

This is the fly bearer. 

Fold in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. 

Sew the long raw edges together and the bottom short edge using 3/8" seam allowance. Finish edges as desired. 

After fusing interfacing to wrong side of fly facing, finish the curved raw edge as desired.  I chose to serge.

Before proceeding, best to finish (serge) raw edges of the center front. 

Lay the fly facing over the right front leg along the center matching raw edges along the top and center. Sew in place. 

Fly facing sewn in place. 

Understitch fly facing as shown. 

Baste a straight line along the 3/8" seam allowance on the top edge of both front leg pieces. This will serve as a guide for zipper stop placement. 

Align the zipper tape right side down along the raw edge of the left front center.  Make sure the zipper stop on top clears the 3/8" seam allowance.

                                                      

Baste in place. 

Lay the fly bearer over left front aligning the serged long edge with the raw edge of the center. sandwiching the zipper in the middle. 

This is what it should look like. 

Sew in place using zipper foot. 

View of the wrong side after sewing in place. 

View from the right side with fly bearer turned to the right side. 

Edgestitch on the right side, making sure the fly bearer is out of the way. 

Sew the right and left front leg pieces together along the crotch. But don't do it all the way to the edge like I did. I had to unpick so I could sew the front and back together along the inner legs. Just sew about an inch down from the bottom of the zipper. 

View from the right side after left and right were sewn along the crotch. 

Lay out the remaining zipper tape over the fly facing on the right front. Place the zipper tape about 3/4" away from the seamline. 

Zipper sewn in place. 

Fly facing folded to the inside. 

I used a Button-Fly guide template to help with topstitching a nice curve along the right front opening. 

I traced the template on tracing paper so I could pin it  as shown in the succeeding pictures below. 

Keep the fly bearer out of the way when topstitching up to the start of the curve only and then put the fly bearer back underneath so it could be stitched to the fly facing along the curve.

After topstitching. 

View from the inside. The fly bearer is caught in the topstitching along the curve only. 

Reinforce front crotch seam with straight stitches. 

III. Legs

  1. Assemble back.

Sew each side back piece to corresponding center back piece. 
Serge raw edges together. 

Press serged seam towards side (away from center).

Topstitch. 

  2.  Sew front and assembled back along inner leg. Serge seams together and press to front. Topstitch. 

  3. Sew crotch. Serge seams together and press to one side. Optional, topstitch. 

  4.  Sew front and back together along side seams. Serge seams together and press to back. 

  5.  Hem. I deviated a bit from the Style Arc instructions and applied a 3/4" wide bias tape to finish the curved edge of the front hem for a neater look.

Sew the bias strip right sides together with the curved edge. Start 1-1/4" above the edge  (assuming this is your hem allowance). This ensures that the area will not be bulky once hem is folded in. 

Press sewn bias out. Turn the hem allowance to the right side, pin in place and sew following the 3/8" seam allowance of the curved edge. 

Turn bias to the wrong side, fold once and stitch in place. 

View of the finished area after dart is sewn. 

IV. Waistband

    *Again  I deviated from the instructions which tell you to sew the belt loops to the top edge of one waistband. Instead this is what I did:

I basted the belt loops to the waistline, right sides together, within the 3/8" seam allowance.  
Since the notches for the belt loops are on the waistband pieces, I had to pin the waistband to the waistline first and transfer the notches. 

Sew the interfaced waistband to the waistline as shown above. 

View of the right side. 

Sew the remaining waistband to the interfaced one  along the top edge using 1/4" seam allowance.
Understitch and then press to the wrong side. 

To secure inner waistband in place, stitch in the ditch from the right side. 

View of the finished waistband after stitching in the ditch. 

Fold the remaining free edge of the belt loop about 3/8-5/8".

Pin in place. 

Sew using tiny zigzag stitches. 

Make buttonhole and sew in button.