Kwik Sew 2895 Denim Jacket - a second look

Levi's jacket from the 80's

Time to revisit a classic pattern, the good old jean jacket. It gets done in many ways, but I really admire the original Levi jacket - all those seams, welt and flap pockets, topstitching, brand buttons, orange/red button holes - what a  great look.

Here's the thing - I doubt that it's possible to make a convincing knockoff of the Levi classic. Maybe I should say it's not practical - it's sewn on industrial machines with fabric that's been treated in special ways, and with thread that we just can't source easily.

Solution? Buy one! I have a couple and love them. But I also like to fool around with sewing one. The leftover lightweight denim I used for my Strides trousers kind of stared at me and said 'jacket'. Time to pull out Kwik Sew 2895...

It's an easy pattern: the pieces fit together well, the instructions are great, and the collar is very cooperative. It has 36 reviews on Pattern Review! and seems a popular choice with sewists of many levels of experience. I sure like it.

It is really hard to photograph this fabric! A few sewing notes:

• I made a muslin 2 years ago in white denim. And never wore it - it was a little snug on me. For this one, I stayed with the size Medium, but straightened the side seam from armscye to waistband, an increase of about 2" in the waist. The resulting relaxed bodice is much easier to wear.
• I extended the cuff band to form a button tab. 
• Because the collar does not have a collar stand, I added facings to the front and back neckline. I just don't like 'fold under and hand stitch' finish that's often suggested for this type of collar - it's messy.
• And I got out the big snap tool and used antique brass button snaps instead of buttons. 

Fun with the inside, in wasabi green kona cotton. 

Here's that Pres-n-Snap tool, which I ordered from Sailrite a couple years ago. Kind of a splurge, but I love it. Because it's levered, I can close it easily, it's not at all hard to do. The 15 mm snaps are from Pacific Trimmings, a totally fun online store.

A note about denim: it ravels famously, in any weight, and it has a lot of bias stretch, even without any lycra. The first thing I did was to serge the edges on all my pattern pieces and staystitch any curves that might stretch out.

Now, about those britches - these are favorites, made with McCalls' 6291 cargo pants pattern in a tie-dye denim from JoAnns. I've worn this pair a few times on the blog, but I've never mentioned them specifically. The cargo pockets on the legs don't show in this pic, but they are there, no button flap. And the hem is plain, no elastic cuff.

Kirsten Kimono tee with 9" added to the sleeve

These pants are easy to make and easy to wear, with an elastic sewn-on waist that doesn't bunch up a lot. My very first version here...

And it's time for a fresh cup of coffee. I'm headed up to the loft, where I have a pair of purple pants in progress :-) Hope everyone enjoys a nice weekend.

Ciao! Coco