Heather Blazer Sew-Along by Paige Joanna

Hey guys, Paige here - Friday’s social media manager. As promised, we have been adding sew-along videos to our YouTube channel, with full step-by-step instructions for our patterns. The latest pattern to be added to the sew-along series is the Heather Blazer! In this blog post, I wanted to talk about my experience actually sewing along with the steps, whilst making my first Heather Blazer. Keep reading to find out more.

My fabrics

I was really inspired by Chelsea’s amazing red and pink coat version of the Heather, so I wanted something a little like that with my own take on it. I saw some inspiration on Pinterest as well, which meant I cultivated my finished concept using all the inspiring examples. After shopping around for fabrics I settled on this pink check Lady Mcceldroy coating from Minerva Crafts and a simple pale blue lining. Once all my ideas were refined and fabric choice was settled on I was able to sketch out my design to get a picture of what it would look like. Originally I wanted to add contrasting pockets and collar but when the fabric arrived the weight was a lot heavier than the outer fabric so I decided to not use it. 

Prep Work

This pattern may seem intimidating to new sewists or beginners but to be honest, it’s actually fairly simple in techniques and shape. I would personally say I find the tricky most time-consuming part of sewing is always the prep work. From cutting the pattern PDF in my size, cutting the fabrics and interfacing, ironing on the interfacing, and then cutting in notches/sewing any marks needed, it all can take quite a while to do! The Heather blazer does have quite a bit of prep, but I just pop on my favourite music and don’t force myself to get it all done in one session - In fact, this took me 3 days to do in total. My little tip for anyone who hates ironing and setting up an ironing board each time is to use a craft iron like the Cricut Easy Press Mini. I keep mine on my desk and use a heat-proof mat and that way I can go from ironing and prep work to sewing super easily. 

Sewing Along to the video

Once it was time to sew I felt so at ease knowing I could watch along with Chelsea as she ran through all the steps. I set my laptop up on my desk and would watch and pause through the video so I could watch a small step, do said step, press play, and then carry on. I sewed my lining the previous day and of course, I had also done all my prep work so when it came to actually assemble the outer part and bringing it all together I managed to almost finish my Heather in a day session. The sew-along made sewing such a breeze when usually I personally find written instructions quite difficult to get my head around as I am mildly dyslexic and a visual learner, so this helped so much to see the steps properly. 

The only part I found tricky to get my head around was the corner section, which is in a separate video as it requires a few more extensive steps. But once I mastered that I felt super proud of myself. I chose to hand sew the collar so this was a nice evening activity whilst watching Netflix. 

Finished Jacket

I am super pleased with my finished jacket! It feels so empowering to take a wonderful pattern like the Heather and magic up your own design from it. Being able to choose fabrics, combinations and finishes are why I love sewing my own clothes. It’s such an amazing way to express myself and I always feel so incredible when wearing something I have made myself. I used one of my woven labels inside, which are available on my Etsy store if you want to take a looksie. 

I can’t wait to sew a matching skirt or pants (trousers as we like to say in the UK) to go with the blazer. Watch out summer wardrobe, this Heather is going to become a staple! 

If you would like to sew along as I did, then check out the video here, make sure to subscribe to our channel for more videos. 

I also have a personal vlog on my channel Paige Joanna if you would like to watch me sew along with the sew-along, haha! 

Shop the Heather Pattern here.