Finished Seams

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!

Barrel, lantern, horseshoe, balloon--different names that refer essentially to the same style of jeans that are currently trending. The common denominator is a wide silhouette that tapers at the hem to give that unique shape. I became obsessed with it after seeing a pair of Sid jeans by Tibi early last year. Looking for a sewing pattern to replicate it was not that difficult. I just googled "barrel pants sewing pattern" and a number of choices came up. It was narrowing them down to one that proved time consuming.

So you may wonder how I eventually decided on the Style Arc Kew pattern. Here are the reasons:

Shape

The barrel silhouette in this pattern is a result of shaping not just along the sides. The back is made up of two center and two side pieces all of which are gently curved along the lengthwise edge. In above photo, 1 refers to the side back, 2 is center back and 3 is front piece.

A long dart on the center of the front near the bottom hem contributes to the tapered look.

Fit

It has a close fit around the waist and hips before gradually widening. Hence it is not shaped like a literal barrel. It is more subtle.

Waistband

It is flat and shaped with no elastic. Some barrel pants pattern achieve their shape because of the excess fabric from the elasticized waist.

Design Details

Gotta love the details that allow one to use jean style construction.

Diagonal front pockets with coin pocket on right side. Opportunity for applying metal rivets not just as accent but also as corner reinforcement.

Belt loops

Fly front

Zippered front opening

Opportunities for topstitching.

And more topstitching!

Construction Highlights:

I used a 100% cotton denim from Nick of Time Textiles. It weighs 10 oz but because it is stone-washed it is super soft. Bonus that it didn't leave any blue stain marks on my fingers at all!

For the pocket bag, I used some leftover upholstery canvas with my favorite design--calligraphy print.

Essential tools of the trade

Topstitching and all-purpose threads, appropriate sized needles, rubber mallet, awl, metal button, etc.
Notice the square piece of denim fabric. That was my handy dandy tool for easily sewing over thick humps. I could easily fold it to approximate the thickness of the seam I was sewing over. Better than any fancy tools!

Topstitching

For topstitching, I did not backstitch at the beginning and end. Backstitching usually creates a mess of threads on the wrong side (at least in my case) and the start/stop points can be pretty obvious when using thick thread. Instead, I pull the topstitching thread to the wrong side, knot together with the bobbin thread and hide them within the seam. I also apply Fray Check sparingly. In above example, I did not do the knot since the edges were serge-finished and sewn to the main pocket.

Here are samples of where I used topstitching.

Fly front

Front lower dart and hem.

Zipper edge, waistband, belt loops.

Center/Side back seams. This is a view of the wrong side. I serged the seams together, pressed them to the sides and used double topstitching on the right side.

The scariest part for me was attaching the rivets as I have never done it before. I was afraid of creating a big hole in the finished garment. I practiced several times and proceeded with extreme caution. After the first successful application, I thoroughly enjoyed the succeeding ones and was even looking for more projects to apply rivets to:)

For belt loops, I finished the raw edge with zigzag before turning under and sewing the loop over the waistband. I sewed them down first with straight stitches using the all purpose thread and then topstitched with zigzag using topstitching thread.

I eventually finished the exposed short raw edges of the belt loops with tiny zigzag stitches. Nothing worse than threads fraying after using belt on jeans.

Hard to see here but those are the tiny zigzag stitches.

I sewed the top of the belt loop with straight stitches first before doing final topstitching.

View of the finished belt loop.

Although I have already sewn the Kew pants many times before, I am really proud of how this latest one turned out. I love the finishing details that mimic a traditional five-pocket jean. And I love the toned down version of my barrel jeans! All that's missing is a proper jean label.

Here are some modeling shots:)