Making Butterick 6948

Making Butterick 6948 is what I did for one of my latest Minerva Fabrics projects. This is one of those wardrobe patterns where you can make several garments from one pattern. For this project. I only focused on the jacket.

The Fabric

This Minerva Exclusive Organic Cotton Twill is a stunning print. It’s called Parading Palms and the more technical name of the fabric is tencel lyocell twill in medium weight. There’s no stretch in the fabric.

Parading Palms fabric
Minerva Exclusive Organic Cotton Twill Parading Palms

This fabric is soft and has great drape. It would be perfect for something like palazzo pants, skirts, or jackets. I’m a Minerva Brand Ambassador so this was gifted to me.

The Pattern

I chose to use Butterick 6948 because I like the trench-style jacket look for this print. Also, because the design of the pattern is relatively simple, it’s perfect for a bold, large print.

Butterick 6948 pattern front

I chose to make View A, which is the shorter jacket with sleeves. It’s described as an unlined jacket with matching belt carriers button epaulettes and side seam pockets. I did not add the button epaulettes since I didn’t have the type of buttons I wanted for them. But with this print, they really aren’t missed.

woman wearing Butterick 6948

One thing I found interesting about this pattern is that it instructs you to interface the entire front facing. That’s quite a lot. I did it only because with the drape of this material, it probably wouldn’t hold it’s shape without it. But, if I were to make this pattern again from a stiffer fabric (one with less drape), most likely the wholly interfaced front facing would not be necessary. 

Back view of Butterick 6948

No alterations were needed to the pattern in regards to the fit.

The Fabric For Making Butterick 6948

This lyocell twill washes and dries great! Something I always do is wash my fabrics before I use them. That way I’m assured that once the garment is made, it’s clean AND I won’t have to worry about it shrinking.

Making Butterick 6948 front view

Conclusion

Overall, the pattern is easy to make. I only made this one item from the pattern, but this was certainly not difficult. I do love taking a straightforward designed patten and using it to make something stunning and/or unexpected. That’s an easy way to elevate your wardrobe and a sewing pattern.

Plaid Matching Using Butterick 4463

I decided to try plaid matching using Butterick 4463.

The Pattern

Butterick 4463 pattern envelope cover

Butterick 4463 is an older pattern that’s out of print (OOP). It’s from 2005 but I think that these days, it would be called a shacket. I have made this multiple times before and it is one of my favorites. I believe it’s available on Ebay and Etsy.

The jacket is unlined. It features two inseam pockets, front and back yokes and collar. There are a couple of lengths and a belt pattern included.

My Jacket: Plaid Matching Using Butterick 4463

Woman wearing Butterick 4463 plaid jacket

I used this fabric I was gifted from Minerva for this project. It is the perfect weight fabric for something like this. It’s medium to heavy weight suiting and is terrific for an unlined jacket.

Woman wearing Butterick 4463 plaid jacket back view

Since this jacket doesn’t have a center back seam or gathers in the back, it was a bit easier to figure out how to match this plaid. I laid out the back piece first with the fabric folded and pinned so it wouldn’t shift or move around. Then I matched up the back yoke with fabric right-side up. After that, I used the notches in the pattern pieces to do the best I could to match up everything else. Luckily, that worked out.

It’s always nice when all the effort works out and things match the way you want. But I have also learned not to stress too much about it. Nothing is going to be perfect. I would proudly wear this jacket regardless.

Woman wearing Butterick 4463 plaid jacket side view

Because I wanted the buttons to blend in, I made covered buttons using the dark part of the plaid fabric.

Butterick 4463 jacket on dress form

Doing the buttons this way also meant that I didn’t have to worry about matching the plaid on the covered buttons.

Conclusion

Overall, this is an easy pattern and fairly quick to put together. Of course, if you choose to use a plaid fabric, the layout and cutting phase will take a bit more time and patience.

As far as this Minerva polyester viscose suiting is concerned, it is fantastic to sew. As I stated, it is the perfect weight for an unlined Fall season jacket. Here is the post I wrote for Minerva featuring this project.

Modern Take on a Classic Trench

Here is a modern take on a classic trench.

As you may know, I have been working on some classic pieces to add to my wardrobe. This latest addition is the Angela Wolf Patterns Chloe trench. I made this using a home decor fabric (cotton). The jacket is unlined, but I did line the pockets, belt and back yoke with a lilac polyester fabric.

This is such a classic style that is easy to make. I found the sizing on this good in terms of going by my measurements. I had in mind that this would be a good springtime jacket. If I wanted to wear this over a bulky sweater though, I would definitely be more comfortable going up a size.

Chloe trench front view

The pattern doesn’t call for buttons, but they could certainly be added if one chose to do so. I think snaps would also be a great addition! The jacket could also be lengthened, fully lined or made as a raincoat with the right fabric choice.

Chloe trench back

Although there are some classic design details in the jacket, I used simple, adjustable buckles for mine.

While my jacket isn’t lined and lining is not required, I finished the seams with seam binding (instructions are in the booklet so there’s no guessing when and where to use the binding). I used this hot pink since I had 4 packages of it, and I always like something bright on the inside when possible.

trench coat inside out to show front inside
Inside front
trench coat turned inside out
Inside back

Conclusion

I would highly recommend this pattern. It’s really not a difficult pattern to put together.

If any of you are interested in purchasing the pattern for yourselves, you can check it out here: Chloe trench. If you would prefer the PDF pattern, that can be found here: Chloe trench PDF. You can use the code DENISE10 (all caps) for a 10% discount off the pattern price. *Please know that this is an affiliate link and that I would get a little bit of money from the use of the code.

I can definitely see myself making more of these. And I keep thinking that this would make a great dress with a button closure!

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