Style Arc - Loren and the Lizards Jacket

 A double jacket situation... I made a toile! Who am I?!

This is the Style Arc Loren Jacket. It's a pretty casual boxy jacket blazer thing that felt right to make when the weather was cooling off. 

 

It being a jacket I had a little freak out and decided to make a 'wearable toile' to see if the back fit properly as sometimes tops can be too tight across it. 

Good ol' Style Arc won again and it fit just fine!

I went for my usual size 16 in Style Arc patterns that fit my top and waist. The hip measurement wasn't too relevant this time as the jacket is very over-sized and doesn't close so no need to stretch too much over the hips. 

The 'practice jacket' was actually made from some chevron Ponte Roma I had in my stash for a while (originally Minerva - bought not gifted!) It was quite a soft fabric and therefore it drapes more like a cardigan with a bit of a wiggly hem!

I did not line this one either but chose to add a pop of neon to the seams!


 My 'real' jacket was made with non-stretch tweed suiting (again from Minerva). I'm not really a tweed kind of gal however this has neon pink and colours weaved into it which I thought was a great twist on a classic.

 The pattern is very straight forward in terms of pattern pieces. Front, back, sleeves and facing. I found it a little tricky to attach the facing as a shawl collar, but that's only because I wasn't used to it and largely ignored the instructions.

I also decided to line this jacket and so drafted the lining using the Helen's Closet Pona method.

'Linings should always be jazzy' being a life mantra, meant a great excuse to crack out the Fabworks 'Galapagos Dream' Ted Baker lining. (Still in stock by the way! - Just saying...)

The lack of crest makes me think this might be a Lava Lizard however do correct me if wrong.

The lining feels silky satin soft and adds that extra layer of insulation. I am glad I tried adding it as it worked out fine, although definitely far from perfect at the hem!

I have actually worn this coat out a few times now, great for grabbing when a winter coat is too much yet a jumper just won't cut it. Have yet to wear the wearable toile but I shall try...

Me and my new coat went to see the last Dippy the Dinosaur exhibition at Norwich Cathedral and so the jumper felt appropriate... (Although the man at the door pointed out I was about 14 million years too late.)


Worshiping at the church of dinosaur here...

In conclusion, nice to get out of my stretch comfort zone and try something different - however I think I rushed them a bit and in hindsight a jacket needed a bit more care and attention than I gave it. 

Since writing this I also made a little optional belt to wrap around like a trench coat for windy days!

A la proxima vez x

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