Hello Internet friends!
Today I’m super pumped to share my velvet Fulton sweater blazer! As you can guess from my previous velvet post a little while back I’m having a bit of a ‘thing’ for velvet at the moment, but I’m ok with it because the velvet from blackbird fabrics is just so lush that I’m exited to add more of it to my wardrobe (and yes there is more coming, I had enough of this velvet left over for a top, sorry not sorry!)
When I bought this velvet from blackbird last fall I knew that I wanted to use some of it to make some sort of blazer or jacket to fill a hole in the ‘business casual’ section of my wardrobe. I get a ton of use out of my Stretch Morris Blazer, it’s so easy to pair with a floral scout tee (of which I have soooo many and I really need to document) and a nice pair of jeans for any work related presentations or networking. So when it came to making a alternate I orginally planned on making my navy Morris a velvet partner, but after seeing the Fulton Sweater Blazer pattern and all the amazing renditions on Instagram and on the Indisew website I fell in love and switched patterns pretty much right before cutting haha!
Given that velvet can be quite bulky when used as facings I decided use some scrap merlot coloured ponte I had in my stash, I think that the merlot colour pairs well with the pinky/purple velvet when it peeks through a little :) I also used the same ponte for the cuff facings so if I decide to roll up the sleeves it will add a colour contrast there as well. I even had some matching merlot coloured serger thread so all the finished seams on the inside match the facings :D
In terms of alterations I shortened the body of blazer by 4 3/4” to account for my shortness and that was pretty much it! Minimal alterations to the pattern was a huge bonus since I knew that I would be hand basting the velvet prior to sewing to prevent ‘velvet creep’ from happening while machine sewing. I like to do as much hand basting as possible at one time so that I can get to the fun sewing part with out too many pauses to slowly to hand sew, so I based the back seam, shoulder seams, and collar parts before starting to sew. This made construction whiz by since the only other parts that had to be hand based were the side seams and sleeves (which I did all at once) and then then hem! Sewing of the cuff facings I was able to do without basting which is ironic since that part took the longest as the blazer was completely finished sans cuff facings and it just sat on a hanger for a while until I got 15 sewing minutes to actually finish it (:
When it came to installing the nice notched collar I followed the super handy videos that Alina put up on her blog. I really appreciate that she took the time to make a really informative video on the insertion of this collar, it made the sewing process that much more enjoyable as you are able to consult the video in addition to the sewing instructions. Thanks to the video and clear instructions I got the collar in without any major hitches or major wrinkles on my first try :D In the pictures there does appear to be a few wrinkles but I think that’s due to the more lightweight nature of this particular stretch velvet, it has a bit more drape than the pattern calls for. I still really like the way that the collar turned out though and I think I’ll be making another one of these in a more firm ponte or stretch coating in the future!
I really love how this blazer turned out, it’s a comfy yet stylish wear and the velvet is so nice and soft :) The only small snag with this piece is that the facings tend to turn out a bit more than I would like as I wear the blazer, the picture below shows what I’m talking about. This may be due to the ponte that I used for the facing being a bit too heavy for the lighterweright stretch velvet. I’m going to wash the bazer and steam it to see if that helps with the issue and if not I may add some small tack stitches to keep the facing turned in more. Once I fix this small issue this blazer will become my workhorse blazer #2! I’ll update here with the solution that ended up working :D
