Fully Coutured: Prayin' and Slayin' - In this McCalls Bomber Jacket and Self Drafted Skirt

I am so excited about this bomber jacket I made. My very first one!

I didn’t care that the fabric was a bit “unusual”. It was part of a purchase from Knitpop. I purchased a couple of yards of various types of knits to learn more about how each feels, falls, and weighs. This particular fabric was called French terry. Too thick for me to lounge around the house in because I like to stay on the cooler side, but it was perfect for a lightweight bomber jacket!

So I went on the hunt for a bomber jacket pattern by searching google images for finished products posted from people who have made some of the available patterns.

Final decision???

McCalls 7100 (Cut on size 26)

Materials:

French Terry from Knitpop

Ribbed Knit from Joanns

Separating Zipper from Fine Fabrics

I did not add any inches to the pattern itself. Only a couple of inches to the sleeves.

Lesson Learned about the Raglan shirt type pattern:

Altering the sleeves affects the neckline! Because of the additional inches and the fact that the top of the sleeve is part of the neckline, I need to remember to adjust the front and back pattern pieces as such:

Next time I make this jacket I will not add inches to the sleeves. I believe the pattern allowed for enough room. Especially since I live in the south and will rarely wear a long sleeve shirt under a jacket. Also, I will want to make the cuffs around the wrists just a bit smaller.

I self drafted the pencil skirt using some cotton/poly blend from Fine Fabrics in Norcross, GA. The fabric is a bit too thin for my liking, so I made two layers. The inner layer being just a tad tighter to allow the outer layer to lay better against me. To start the skirt, I basically cut two rectangles.

"My hip measurement / 2" x "desired length"

I did not add a seam allowance since I wanted it to hug and I knew I would be taking it in as I sew the side seams.

After sewing the front and back together, I tapered in the seam starting from my hips to allow the skirt to get smaller towards my knees and calves. This is all based on how you want the skirt to fit. Keep sewing the seams to fit tighter in any areas you’d like. After you get the fit you want, add your waistband and your done. In this case, I used this skirt as a pattern for the second skirt, made the second skirt a tad bit smaller than the original (almost a built in spanx!), then added my waistband.

As for the t-shirt…this is just a plain white t-shirt purchased from Kohls. I added the “Prayin’ and Slayin’” using my Silhouette Cameo and some iron-on vinyl. I was inspired to add this message from a Facebook meme. I love the shirt and the message. I will continue to not only wear it, but I will make every attempt to portray that message.