Tailored Blazer PART 2 - Welt and Flap Pockets + Sleeves with Mitred Vents

Hi sewing friends!

I'm currently working on my hand tailored, double breasted blazer and I'm documenting the work as I go!

If you missed the first two posts you can catch up here:

1. Tailoring Resources for a hand sewn bespoke blazer - how I learnt what I know so far through books and blogs.
2. Part 1 - Muslin fit, collar and canvas prep

The Sleeves

This sleeve has mitred corners and functional sleeve vents because if you're going to take the time to sew a tailored garment you may as well level all the way up.

I extended the sleeve vents to 11.5cm from the hem, to allow room for four buttons and buttonholes.

I interfaced the sleeve hem and vents with cotton pocketing fabric. Previously I've used hair canvas, but the softness of the cotton appealed to me for a strong but less rigid finish. I permanently basted the interfacing along the top and bottom edges using silk thread and being careful that the stitches didn't show through to the right side.

Cotton pocketing fabric hand sewn along the sleeve vent and cuff, falling 1cm below the hem fold.

Silk thread is used to permanently, and invisibly attach the interfacing to the sleeve.

Mitred Sleeves BY HAND

I've mitred some corners in my time. That neat cornered finish, is visually pleasing, and also helps to distribute bulk evenly. 

Sewing a mitred corner is not complicated, but demands precision. All of my hems with mitred corners have been done by machine, with a considerable amount of time taken to ensure everything lined up. UNTIL NOW.

For the first time, I tried my hand (ha!) at mitring the corners of the vents by hand and let me tell you, it's a game changer! Instead of spending considerable time calculating the folds, the stitch line and where to cut, you just iron along the sleeve hem and the seam allowance and then fold the corner under. So simple! 

It's an easy slip stitch or ladder stitch in place, and visually you can see that it's exactly in the right place. No sitting in front of the machine, with fingers crossed hoping that you've got it right, folding it out and realising the hem line is now off.

When you sew it by hand, especially in fine fabrics like suiting fabrics, you don't trim the corner. This means you can shorten or lengthen the hem in future if needed, and the additional fabric actually helps reinforce the area. Unless you have really thick fabric like a heavy wool coating, you should not need to cut the excess.
It's also a really short seam, so hand stitching it takes about one minute! Le simple!

Ta-DAH! Mitred corner sewn by hand!

So clean, so precise. 

The vent in it's closed position.

Lining the Sleeves

There are a lot of firsts for sleeves in this jacket and this time I lined the sleeves BEFORE attaching them to the jacket, another game changer.

When you add lining by hand, the order that you attach your garment pieces together has many more options.

I sewed the vertical seams of the sleeve lining together first, and then attached them to the garment at the sleeve hem. It's so much easier working on the hem of sleeves when they are not already attached to the jacket body!

I then hand basted the lining to the sleeves about 3/4 up from the hem, in preparation for attaching to the garment.

Hand mitred hem, with silk lining hand sewn to the sleeve hem.

Is there anything prettier. I ask you.

Pockets

My jacket consists of three pockets, one single welt breast pocket, and two double welt flap pockets.
All of the pockets are functional, with the welts and flaps individually cut out to pattern match the surrounding fabric.

I drafted the flap pockets AFTER I'd created the welts, to ensure that they fit accurately. They are slightly longer in length for a snug fit, and each flap has been decorated with a pick stitch by hand.

The backs of the pockets were reinforced with cotton fabric, instead of iron on interfacing. This gives strong support, without warping the garment fabric with the adhesive.

Single Welt Chest Pocket

Basted close. Pockets are basted close so that they don't get pulled or distorted while you are constructing the rest of the garment. Everything is held in place exactly where it needs to be.

The back of the lined welt pocket. The sides of the welt are cross stitched to the jacket from the back, so that you can't see any stitches from the front.

Double Welt and Flap Pocket

I decided to make double welt flap pockets for the jacket body and drafted my own flaps.
Even if you are using a sewing pattern that provides a pattern piece for the flap, I find it's much easier to sew the welts on your jacket FIRST, and then remeasure the opening.
Often the size changes a little and we want to make pocket flaps that fit perfectly, rather than forcing a pocket flap in that doesn't match the finished welt pocket.

Before making the welts, I reinforced the back of it with light cotton fabric, which I basted into place.
When tailoring a garment, I avoid glue on interfacing as much as possible, which can warp the fabric over time.

cotton pocketing basted to the back of wrong side of the garment where we will make the welts.

From the right side. You can see some rough chalk guide lines and the basting stitches that hold the cotton and garment together.

I then cut two pieces of fabric for the welts, which i took the time to match to the plaid. My pieces were 20 x 5cm. I then hand basted them right side of welt to right side of garment, making sure to baste close to placement line, with the raw edges butting together.

Once I was satisfied with their position, I machine stitched each piece down 6mm from the raw edge/placement line.
When machine stitching turn your speed right down and reduce the length of your stitches. You want to make each line exactly the same length so there is no puckering at the corners of your welt pocket.

From the wrong side, slash along the placement line (the centre between the two stitching lines) to about 1cm before each end of the stitching lines and snip right up to the end of your stitching line to make a 'Y' shape.

hand basted into position, close to the placement line with raw edges touching.

From the back of the garment! Take it slow and make sure each row is exactly the same length. Go back and add a few extra stitches if you need to!

The flaps are then pushed through to the wrong side, wrapping around the seam allowance. The seam allowance stays inside the welt as extra reinforcement, and dictates the shape of the welt.

The seam allowance becomes both the guide for your welts, and a nice stable filler, which is why the welt pieces DON'T need to be reinforced with glue on interfacing.

Both welts pushed through to wrong side, wrapping around welt seam allowance.

Once welts have been turned to the inside, we stitch them into place by hand using silk thread.
From the right side, stitch along the seam line with small back stitches, going all the way through to catch the back of the welt to the garment.

Sewing the welt in place by hand is quick (it's just a little seam!) and allows you to be exact and precise. I find it much easier to do this by hand as there is so much more control, and it's so much less visible than 'stitching in the ditch' on a machine.

Both welts hand stitched in place along the length of the seam, not yet ironed.

Drafting the Flap

Once the welts are in place, it's time to measure the opening and draft a flap!

These are super easy. If you can draw a rectangle and own a ruler, you can draft a pocket flap.
As with everything in fashion, lengths of pocket flaps vary depending on style and personal preference, but I made my pocket flaps 5cm long.

1. Measure the opening of your welt and then add 3mm to that measurement. You want the flap just slightly longer than the opening, so that there are no gaps and it curves nicely around the body.
2. Draw a rectangle with your measurements (including the extra 3mm), mine was 14.5 x 5cm.
3. In the bottom right corner of the flap, extend the horizontal line out by 6mm. 
4. Join the top right corner to this new point.  This will be the back corner of your flap.
5. Add a 6mm seam allowance at the bottom and sides of flap, and a larger seam allowance at the top.

Drafted pocket flap that fits your welt perfectly!

Sewing the flaps

You now have a pocket flap perfectly made for your garment! Cut two mirrored pieces in your garment fabric, and two mirrored lining pieces.

For the lining I cut the pieces about 3mm shorter along the bottom and sides, so that when they were sewn to the garment pieces, the outer fabric rolls in slightly to the under side, hiding the seam line.

Our pattern piece has sharp corners at the bottom of the pocket, so make sure you curve those corners when sewing them at your machine. If you prefer, you can curve the pattern piece before cutting them out.

Once you have attached your flap fabric and lining together, machine stitch or baste along the upper stitching line to hold them together and to act as a placement line. I then hand pick stitched along the edge of the flap which is both decorative and helps keep the edges crisp.

Watch my mini tutorial below (includes right handed and left handed views) to see how to make a pick stitch.

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One completed welt, with a hand pick stitch along edge.

The flap is then positioned in the welt opening and basted to the top welt to hold into place. The welt pocket is then lined with pocketing fabric and basted shut until the whole jacket is completed.

I love a pretty pocket fabric. I attach a 5cm long strip of garment fabric to the piece of pocketing that is visible when you lift up the flap, that way the contrasting fabric doesn't peak out and is only visible when you look inside the pocket.

And that's it for today!

Next up: Part 3 - Attaching the Canvas + Padstitching the Lapels

All the posts in this tailoring series:

1. Tailoring Resources for a hand sewn bespoke blazer - how I learnt what I know so far through books and blogs
2. Part 1 - Muslin fit, collar and canvas prep
3. Part 2 - Welt and Flap Pockets + Sleeves with mitred corners

Tailored Double Breasted Blazer PART 1 - Muslin and Canvas Prep

I've been working on another hand sewn tailored blazer and this time I'm making my first double breasted blazer!

So much work goes into the making of these tailored blazers, and with most of my projects you only ever see the finished product!  As stunning as a hand tailored blazer is, what I find the most beautiful is all the engineering and creating of the jacket itself. It's the process that makes the finished product so successful. This time I thought I would share the details on my blog as I walk through this big project.

All the posts so far in this tailoring series:

1. Tailoring Resources for a hand sewn bespoke blazer - how I learnt what I know so far through books and blogs.
2. Part 1 - Muslin fit, collar and canvas prep
3. Part 2 - Welt and Flap Pockets + Sleeves with Mitred Vents

THE PATTERN

I'm using McCall's Patterns #2341 Version C with the double welted flap pockets in a size 12, and with quite a few changes.

Here's me in one of my first calico toiles in all its glory:

It doesn't get any sexier than this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You'll see in the above pic that the arm on the right has been altered, with the seam lines on the outside. This jacket was made in the 90's for big feature shoulders with stacked shoulder pads. I decided to calm it down a little. I also made the following fit changes:

Sleeves:

• Removed 2cm width out of the centre of the sleeve, starting from the centre of the shoulder cap all the way down to the hem.
• Extended the sleeve vent to 11.5cm from the hem
• Raised the height of the armscye by 2.5cm. Having an arsmcye that is too big or low, actually restricts your movement. Most patterns are drafted with large armscyes as a 'one size fits all' measure, and it means when you raise your arms, your whole jacket rises with it. The closer the armscye to your underarm, the more comfortable. When you think about it, it makes sense. Look at athletes, who need a full range of movement. Their clothing is fitted to their bodies, not hanging. You do however want to make sure that the armscye doesn't get closer than 2.5cm to the centre of the armpit.

I added a strip of fabric to the muslin at the armscye, rather than recutting a new toile.

When raising the armscye, you also need to raise the height of the sleeve pattern too. You can see the adjusments here in blue that grade out to nothing at the notches.

My altered sleeve patterns, which I redrew on brown paper.

Collar and Lapels:

I didn't like how there was a gap between the peak lapels and the collar (see original toile photo), so I redrafted the top of the peaked lapel, to line up with the collar, which you can see in the picture below.

Much better! The lapel and collar now butt up against each other

Changes to Bodice:

In addition to the sleeve alterations, I also:

• Narrowed the shoulder by 2.5cm grading down to the armscye notch on both the front and back pieces.
• I narrowed the waist by 1cm on the front, back and side seams, taking the waist in by a total of 8cm. I wanted a more shaped fit, rather than the boxier style that the pattern was drafted for.
• I graded out to a size 14 on the hips
• Did a sway back adjustment of 2cm, positioned 1cm below my waistline.

Tip: When making multiple changes, I like to redraw the pattern onto card or brown paper so it's easier to work with. I also write the changes I've made on each pattern piece, which makes it much easier for future me to immediately understand the alterations!

Preparing the Under Collar

I cut the under collar in a wool felt, and used french collar canvas for interfacing. Both pieces were cut on the bias.
French collar canvas is a little stiffer than regular body canvas and is often made out of a treated heavy weight linen.

I then stitched along the roll line, and using the roll line shape as a guide, I started pad stitching over the whole under collar.

Note: Traditionally tailors use melton wool for the under collar, but I enjoy wool felt for it's thickness and shape, which I feel makes a crisp and upright collar. Just make sure it's 100% wool!

roll line basted with silk thread, and then pad stitched.

Ta-Da! Smaller pad-stitches were made at the corners to encourage the collar to roll slightly towards the body.

I then folded the collar along the roll line, pinned it to a pressing ham, steamed it and let it dry over night. The photo above shows what it looks like once it has been set and dried.

The seam allowance of the under collar has been removed, as is typical with a bespoke jacket where the collar is attached to the neckline seam allowance by hand.

This is the underside of the under collar. Can you see any of the pad-sttiches? When you pad stitch correctly, you are just picking up a tiny 'bite' of the fabric from the right side. In a thick wool felt it is not even detectable.

Preparing the Canvas Interfacing

For my double breasted blazer, I am using the full front canvas interfacing for the first time. I used canvas I already had in my stash that I purchased from Spotlight a while ago.

With my previous two tailored blazers, (here! and here!) they were partially interfaced to start under the arm, travel above the bust, and down through the centre front length of the jacket (check out my previous post here to see a comparison picture of a full canvas and partial canvas front).  I wanted the jacket front to have uniform draping, and so with the book 'Classic Tailoring Techniques for Menswear' as a guide, I drafted a canvas front.
I cut out the darts, and closed them with pocketing fabric and a zig zag stitch.

I then created a PLASTRON using canvas and french collar canvas, and then covered with wool fabric. I then loosely pad-stitched the plastron's to the canvas interfacing.
This part will be covered by both the fabric and lining, so the pad stitching can be visible on both sides.

The plastron's purpose is to keep the form of the jacket across the chest, where it may naturally cave in. The wool fabric covering is the side that is closest to the body, and covers the additional canvas so that it is not uncomfortable to the wearer.

You can see below the 'right' side of the canvas, with the pad stitching showing on top and the plastrons underneath.

The jacket front interfacing with darts zig zagged closed, and the plastron pad stitched to the underside.

Finished under collar and readied canvas interfacing pinned to the dress form.

And that's it for now folks! Thanks for reading :)

Next up: Part 2 - Sewing the Welt and Flap Pockets + Sleeves (with mitred corners!) 

All the posts in this tailoring series:

1. Tailoring Resources for a hand sewn bespoke blazer - how I learnt what I know so far through books and blogs.
2. Part 1 - Muslin fit, collar and canvas prep
3. Part 2 - Welt and Flap Pockets + Sleeves with Mitred Vents

INSIDE the Tailored Jacket - Taking a look at the Couture Construction of Burda 6875

I recently finished my first ever tailored blazer and I decided to do a second post for those of you who wanted a bit more detail on the construction of this blazer.

If you just want to see the FINISHED LOOK, feel free to click on the image below to go to the original post! :)

Now's the time to go to the bathroom and grab those snacks because this post is a LONG one...

The Pattern: This is Burda 6875

Pattern Sizing: Euro 34-44.
I cut a size 38 (with modifications) in View A (shorter length).

The instructions: As is consistent with Burda patterns, the drafting and details of the pattern are excellent.
The instructions are detailed in some areas and lacking in others, but mostly I disregarded them and constructed the jacket in my own order.

As always when sewing something that is detail heavy like a jacket, a TOILE IS A MUST Not just for the fit but to practise the techniques and to fill in the missing gaps in the instructions.

TIP: When trying on your toile, pin in your shoulder pads. This pattern has been drafted to include them, so you don't want to mistake a caving above the chest as a fit issue, when it actually just needs to be lifted with a shoulder pad.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love the NARROW LAPEL of this blazer which is flattering and modern.

Burda patterns always include the little extras like ease at the shoulders, pleats in the centre back lining for extra movement, and sleeve vents.

Double welt pockets and two piece sleeves that are beautifully shaped are some other features of this great jacket.

Fabric Used: A double wool crepe (Mood Fabrics)
Soft hair canvas for interfacing (Spotlight)
Silk organza for back stay (My stash)
Liberty of London cotton lawn for pocket lining (GJ's Fabrics)
Wool felt for under collar (GJ's Fabrics)
Silk Satin (19momme) for lining (HomeCraft Textiles)
Organic cotton wadding for the sleeve heads (Spotlight)

Construction Changes and Tailoring:
I have been wanting for a long time to make a tailored jacket using traditional bespoke methods, and I finally worked up the courage to try it for the first time!

I chose this pattern and made a toile, and with the aid of the book 'Tailoring:The Classic Guide To Sewing The Perfect Jacket', and bits and pieces that I found on the internet I decided to give it a go. Below are the details of how I've constructed my jacket.

Note: I deviate from the book in quite a few areas where I've found other techniques work better for me personally.

FIT CHANGES:
I cut a size 38 and tapered out one extra cm from the waist to the hem at the side seams, and side back princess seams, effectively doing a full butt adjustment.

I also did a sway back adjustment with the widest reduction being 2cm at the centre back.

DOUBLE WELT POCKETS
I've always loved how double welts look and I was excited to play with these. I made a practise one before I cut into my fabric and I'm so glad I did.
The placement of these pockets is on an open seam, so it's not constructed the typical way.

I added a 1" strip of silk organza, centring it over one end of the pocket (the side back end) going straight up to the underarm. This reinforces the pocket and stops the bodice from sagging because of the opening.

I steamed and stretched out the strips of fabric that would become the lips of the welts before attaching them to the pocket.

WATCH OUT for the side of the welt pocket that begins on the 'side back' piece.
According to the pattern the pocket starts at the notch, which is where you cut away the seam allowance to place the welt lips. DON'T cut all the way from the notch, give yourself an extra cm after the notch before you start cutting. Otherwise there is no seam allowance for the side of the welt lips, so you'll see the raw edge.
You want to cut a 'Y' shape (clip into the corners) before turning the lips through, and then sew the little 'V' to the lips. 
This sounds very confusing, so just trust me and do a toile and practise the pockets so you can see what you're working with.

I ignored the pattern's pocket lining and made my own so they'd be big enough. 
I cut a 2" strip of garment fabric and top stitched onto the upper edge of the pocket underlay, so that you saw the fabric poking through the welts and not the pocket lining.
The pattern has you cut a whole pocket piece in the garment fabric for the back of the pocket and that adds unnecessary bulk and is also not as strong as what a pocket lining should be.

I used gorgeous liberty of london fabric for the pocket lining as a nice little surprise for my hands.

THE LAPELS

Using the facing pieces as a guide, I cut out hair canvas. I made them 1 inch wider than the facing pieces, scooping above the bust point and out to the side seam, a few inches below underarm.

I cut out extra canvas to reinforce the shoulder, upper chest where it naturally wants to cave in. This I secured to the canvas with rows of machine basting stitches, spaced about 2cm apart from each other.

I then cut out the dart in the canvas and used iron on interfacing to close it. Once closed I secured the edges with a zig zag stitch.

Next I marked the roll line and pat stitching lines for the lapel, which all run parallel to the roll line.
The line next to the roll line and in the corners of the lapel were spaced 3mm apart, and 6mm for the rest of the lines. (narrow on and next to the roll line and in the corner of the lapel).

The canvas was then basted to the garment with long tailors tacks in silk thread. I positioned the garment right side up when basting to make sure it was smooth and there were no puckers. 

I then removed the canvas seam allowance of the shoulder and side seams and catch stitched them to the garment. 
The seam allowance of the arm hole is kept on to give the underarm area, a high stress area,  extra support.

Next I hand fell stitched cotton twill tape just shy of the roll line. I cut the tape 1cm shorter and eased it over the length of the roll line. This helps curve the lapel slightly, to accommodate the natural curved shape of the chest.

Pad stitching time!

Pad stitching is the art of sewing together the two layers of fabric, the garment and the canvas interfacing, to act as one. 

It is done using small hand stitches that run along and parallel to the roll lines of the collar and lapel. When done correctly these stitches are almost invisible on the right side of the garment.

When stitching, the fabric and canvas is rolled over the index finger to encourage a curve in the fabric. Smaller stitches are made at lapel corners and at the roll line to set the roll line and to make corners of lapels and collars turn slightly to the body, rather than sticking out.

I pad stitched the canvas to the garment, with shorter narrower stitches on and next to the roll line, and at the lapel corners. 

Generally, if your lines are 3mm apart, then the stitches on those lines are 3mm long. If it's 6mm apart the stitches will be 6mm long etc.

I then removed the seam allowance of the canvas only (not the garment fabric) from the collar notch down to the hem.

Once the seam allowance of the canvas was removed I hand stitched the tape along the seam allowance of the lapel, starting from the collar notch down to the hem with permanent uneven basting stitches. These stitches are not visible from the right side, and are made uneven to prevent a pattern showing on the garment front. 

Setting the Roll line
Once all the pad stitching was complete, it was time to set the roll line in place.

I placed a damp folded towel (about 1cm thick) between the jacket front and the lapel along the roll line. I then steamed it thoroughly without letting the iron actually touch the lapel and left to dry over night.

Once it had dried the pad stitches were set and there was no way that lapel was going to fold anywhere but the roll line. Success!

Adding the Facings to the Lapel
Now it was time to attach the facings to the lapel and see all the magic come together!

I cut the lapels 1cm wider than the pattern along the roll front edge all the way down to the them.

This creates a graded seam to help minimise bulk and the extra width gets folded over the twill tape and catch stitched down.
The longer seam allowance meant a flatter edge, and makes stitching the seam allowance down easier. Stitching the lapel seam allowance down, keeps the joined seam edge rolled slightly under and flat to the body.

The corner of the lapel is also cut on the diagonal to remove bulk.

Once the seam allowance has been folded over and stitched down, the lapel facing gets turned to the right side and that's where all your hard work starts to pay off. Look at that lapel!!

THE BACK and SHOULDERS
I drafted a back stay to stabilise the shoulders and give extra support in the areas such as the shoulder blades which is another high stress area.

I cut the back stay on the fold in silk organza and pinked the bottom edge. It was then hand basted to the garment back at the shoulders and underarms and catch stitched to the side seams.

Front and backs were then pinned together at the shoulders.
A 1cm wide cotton twill tape was pinned along the front bodice shoulder, centred over the seam line.  I cut the tape half a cm shorter than the seam line and eased it over the entire seam.
Once attached I then used the clapper to flatten and set the seams.

The cotton tape along the shoulders reinforces a seamline that gets a lot of wear and pull, and stops it from losing its shape.

THE COLLAR
The UNDER COLLAR I cut as two seperate pieces instead of one on the fold. I also cut it on the bias to help it shape along the curve of the neck.
I used wool felt for the under collar instead of the garment fabric, which allegedly is one of the marks of a true bespoke jacket.

The seam allowance at the centre back was lapped to make it as flat as possible, and the canvas hand basted to the wool felt within the seam allowance.

I created a roll line as the pattern piece didn't have it marked on it. This I just sort of 'winged'.
I marked where the roll line ended on the lapel and tried to match that up on the under collar. I then curved it up to the middle of the centre back neck seam, where the collar folds over.

First I invisibly basted the canvas and the felt along the roll line.
I then pad stitched the under collar following the curve of the roll line, with narrow stitches and lines on and below the roll line (and in corners of collar) and wider lines and stitches above roll line. 

I removed the seam allowances of the under collar, and cut the canvas just slightly shorter so that it wouldn't poke out and be visible. 

I then pinned it to a sewing ham and gave it a really good steam, without letting the iron touch the actual fabric or canvas. The steam helps set the roll line, but you don't want a sharp crease.
I then left it overnight to dry.

Once the under collar had dried I pinned it along the seam-line of the neck, lapping the neck seam allowance. I hand basted it into place, lining up the roll line on the collar with the roll line on the lapels and when I was happy that everthing was in the right place, I fell stitched it along theneck by hand.

UPPER COLLAR
I pressed under the top and bottom seam allowances of the upper collar piece, and then basted it by hand to the under collar. I started along the collar edge (the top edge) beginning in the middle and hanging over the under collar ever so slightly so that the seam line is not visible when the collar is turned down.
Once positioned correctly I attached to the under collar using small fell stitches.

Next I basted the neck edge of the upper collar to the neck and gorge line (where collar meets lapel) and then used a slip stitch to attach.

Finally the seam allowance at the sides of the upper collar are folded over to the under collar and hand stitched down with a fell stitch.

This is allegedly a sign of a true bespoke tailored jacket, where there is no seam at the side collar, but a neat clean fold and the edge visible underneath.

Next I pressed the seam allowance under for the NECK FACING and slip stitched it to the seam line. 

Sewing the collar and facings by hand means that the facings and collar are anchored to the neckline right where they need to be, and results in a cleaner attachment to such a bulky area that can easily get twisted or bunched when completing this area on the machine.

This is by FAR the neatest collar I have ever made. The control you have by doing it by hand is LEVELS above what I have been able to previously achieve on the sewing machine.
Yes it adds a bit more time, though not as much as you think.

Machine Vs Handstitching LAPELS
I always find the pattern instructions for lapels/collars/facings super confusing and inevitably mess something up.
Pieces end up fighting each other and fabric gets slightly pulled or puckered and doesn't sit quite right. I know I've often sat in front of my machine with the garment inside out thinking 'well I sure hope this works!'

Doing it by hand is much more intuitive because you can see where things need to go, and you can place them precisely. There is no estimating or hoping it works out when everything is inside out and half attached.

You can also control the slight roll of the upper collar so that seam lines along collar edge aren't visible. Even for future jackets where I don't do the full tailored methods, I think I will still sew the collar on by hand because it's relatively quick and the difference is so noticeable!

SLEEVES
I used hair canvas for the sleeve hems, which I hand stitched on with silk thread. 
The sleeve pattern comes with vents, which I extended to make them 11.5cm from the hem to the top of the vent.
I then did a mitred hem for that extra touch and to minimise bulk.

I hand basted two rows of thread along the sleeve head for gathering. I alternated the stitch placement to ensure they would gather as evenly as possible.

I placed the sleeve cap on my sewing ham and steamed it to shrink the fabric and even out the gathers. I then pinned it to the armhole using lots of pins to make sure it was evenly positioned.

I hand basted along the seam-line, and when I was sure there was no puckering i stitched down the seam on the machine.

I stitched a second row of stitches at the underarm ONLY, about 3mm parallel to the original and then trimmed close to the stitches.

SLEEVE HEADS
I cut 2 pieces of quilters wadding/batting (mine was organic cotton) at 5 x 23cm and then folded one long end down 1.5cm. I lined up the folded edge with the sleeve cap seam-line and slip stitched the fold to the seam line. The sleeve head buffers the gathered fabric from the cap and gives a smooth rounded shape to the sleeve cap.

I then hand stitched in shoulder pads.

I am so excited by the difference a sleeve head makes! It gives that beautiful, soft and rounded head that makes a sleeve look so much more polished and 'professional'. I'll never do another suit jacket without it!

HEM
I ended up making my hem 3cm, because that's where it naturally seemed to lie with the facings but normally I would do (and recommend) a 4cm hem.

I cut out a strip of canvas 3.5cm wider than the hem (3cm hem + 3 = 6.5cm) and positioned it just below the hem fold line (around 1cm). Having the canvas extend into the hem softens the edge a little and gives support.

I then blind stitched the upper edge of the canvas, and permanently and invisibly basted the bottom of the canvas along the hem line crease.

I then folded up the hem along the pressed edge and permanently basted it to the canvas with uneven stitches so as to not detect a pattern on the right side.

I catch stitched the edge of the canvas to the facing canvas, and then fell stitched the facing hem to the jacket hem.

FINALLY I hand stitched the edge of the facings to the garment in preparation for attaching the lining.

LINING
I added an extra 1.5cm at the side seams of the lining body, grading it down to nothing about 10cm down from the arm hole. I also added 1.5cm at the underarm sections of the sleeve lining pieces, grading it down to nothing at the notch. 
This adds a little wearing ease, and provides extra room for the sleeve heads and shoulder pads which take up volume.

I stitched all the vertical sections and darts in the jacket left front and jacket right front  linings and hand stitched them individually to the jacket shell.

I used slip stitches around the facing edge and then secured them along the side seam of the garment, the shoulders and the armhole with permanent basting stitches.

I then sewed the vertical sections and darts/pleats in the lining back, basting the pleats and darts down so that they didn't distort when attaching them to the garment.
I then lapped the seams at the shoulders, and slip stitched the side seams of the lining back to the lining fronts.

I added the sleeve lining at the armholes using a double thread fell stitch, which anchors the lining to the sleeve heads. Finally I stitched the lining of the sleeve hem to the hem vents.

The pattern gets you to cut out the sleeve lining without vents and sew both seams down to the hem line, meaning that the sleeve vents are purely decorative and not functional. 
I sewed and attached the lining like you would for a back vent so that I had the option of making the vents functional.

In the past, the only hand sewing I've done for linings is attaching the hem to the garment.

I really loved how the lining was in harmony with the garment when sewn in by hand.
There is no pulling or twisting of the garment due to a misshapen lining, and the lining moves as one with the jacket, rather than billowing out loose from the shell of the garment.

The lining is anchored at the arm holes, shoulders, side seams and facings, and you're able to assess the drape of each piece as you attach them, rather than at the end when it's usually too late.

OTHER CHANGES
I made a bound buttonhole for the button closure on the centre front.

I changed the jacket to one button instead of two, and slightly lowered the top buttonhole.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My goodness, this was a lot of fun and I'm so glad I finally pushed myself to try tailoring!

This jacket took a lot longer to make then previous jackets that weren't made without these techniques; most of this jacket was sewn by hand!

But I can tell you that I absolutely enjoyed the engineering and the discipline of making a bespoke jacket, and though it's my first and there are some things that need improving, I'm an absolute evangelist for tailoring now!

Yes it took longer, but the joy that it gives me and the difference in the outcome makes it absolutely worth it!

For all the FINISHED PHOTOS of the blazer, you can check out my blog post here!