Rigel Bomber Jacket January ft Dragonflies

When it comes to a bomber jacket no longer is it the stereo type of two toned solid colour with a stripe in the cuff, which may have been the 'in thing' when I was back in High School!  Skip a few decades and the bomber jacket is still popular but the variety is far from stereo type.

One that really caught my eye recently was worn by Gwen Stefani during her time judging on "The Voice", but do you think I can find it anywhere on the net - NO!  But what I did start was a inspiration board on Pinterest, if you're looking for something to spark your bomber craze.

After all that inspiration can you believe it, I settled on a black ... but hey it's got silver and white Dragonflies!

About this time last year I made a satin bomber jacket for my daughter using a Burda pattern.  While it was relatively easy to put together what I didn't like was that the zipper was sewn directly to the bottom band and when you put ribbing under the machine foot it squishes and stretches.

So when Sonja, Mel and Kat announced Rigel Bomber Jacket January I was keen to sew along and this time make myself a bomber.  And that I'm a bit of a Papercut Pattern fan was another reason.

Confession: I'm a bit of a queen when it comes to lining, I line everything!  Well except for knits and pants that is.  I only have one woven dress in my wardrobe that is not lined. 

So I always knew that I would have to work out how to line this jacket because the pattern is unlined.  I surprised myself in how much I knew to be able to work this out on my own - actually not that difficult!  Kat has since written a great tutorial on drafting the lining, which is pretty much what I did, with a couple of variances that really aren't worth mentioning.

I used a stretch satin (for the lining) that I picked up from The Fabric Warehouse to make a slip to go under the wrap dresses I made last year ... yeah, that never happened because I didn't want to wait and just went ahead a bought one :-)

When drafting the lining I decided it would be nice to include a back pleat.  I didn't really need to because the jacket has plenty of room and both the lining and shell fabric have lycra content.  This was more a 'because I can'.

There really isn't any shaping to this pattern so I didn't bother making a muslin - not even to see if it was broad enough across the shoulders.  Because I've sewn a few Papercut Patterns before I just trusted that the sizing would be fine for me - and it was.  There is just one thing I wish I had been a bit more diligent about and that is the length of the arms.  On most patterns I have to lengthen the arms so you would've thought I would.have.known.better!

While they don't look terribly bad in these photos, I really wish they were at least another 1" maybe 2" longer.

The only other alteration I made was to trim 1/4" off the bottom of the pocket so it would fit inside the lining.

Oh, inserting the lining I did a little bit differently than the tutorial, cause I hate fluffing around with the machine.  I attached the lining to the facing by machine and then stitched the facing in as per the pattern instructions, but then I sewed the bottom of the lining in by hand, as well as the cuffs. 

I basted the lining to the jacket so I didn't have to deal with pins and then very carefully used a fell stitch along the stitching line where the band is attached to the shell.  I personally love the look of the wee fell stitches.

I really did enjoy making this pattern.  It was kinda nice to just follow clearly written instructions (doing as told) with the added challenge of the lining.  I really like all the fabrics including the ribbing and the zip is awesome, but I am just not sure that I will wear it???  My jury is still out on that one.

More photos are up on my Flickr -->