Bomber jacket
To sew the bomber jacket, prepare:
- a DIY kit from dresowka.pl
- a multi-functional sewing machine, an overlock (use needles for knit fabrics (90), and if you have microtex needles – they will work great with this fabric)
- scissors, pins, sewing clips, a seam ripper, tailor's chalk
- interfacing (it will come in handy for reinforcing the pockets)
In the kit, you will find:
- a bomber jacket pattern printed on soft sports knit fabric
- a zipper
Preparation:
1. Cut out the bomber jacket pieces:
- 2x front of the bomber jacket
- 1x back of the bomber jacket
- 1x long piece for the bottom waistband ribbing
- 2x short pieces for the bottom waistband ribbing
- 2x sleeves
- 2x sleeve cuffs
- 1x collar stand
- 2x front facings
- 1x neck facing
- 2x pocket flaps
- 4x pocket bag pieces (2x larger piece, 2x smaller piece)
If you decide to reinforce the pockets with interfacing, cut from it:
- 2x pocket flaps
- 4x pocket bag pieces (2x larger piece, 2x smaller piece)
and iron it onto the corresponding pieces cut from the knit fabric.
The Pocket
2. The pocket in the bomber jacket consists of 3 pieces: a flap, a smaller pocket bag piece, and a larger pocket bag piece.
3. On the front pieces of the bomber jacket, you will find the printed spots where the pocket should be sewn in. Find the center of this rectangle and draw a long line through it.
4. Fold the pocket flap and align it with the drawn line, so that the markings on it line up evenly with the ends of the rectangle. Place the LARGER pocket piece on the other side of the line. Its bottom part should be facing upward.
5. Sew on the flap and the pocket. Make sure the lines of the rectangle are within the seam allowance (try to sew directly along them).
6. Cut the rectangle open along the drawn line, and at its ends, make diagonal cuts to the corners as shown in the picture.
7. Turn the pocket and the flap through to the inside.
8. Turn the small triangles created by cutting the pocket upward.
9. Sew the smaller part of the pocket bag to the seam allowance of the flap.
10. This is a good time to overlock the seams connecting the pocket bag elements to the front of the bomber jacket.
11. Make sure that the "triangles" are pointed towards the bottom of the jacket. Pin them in place.
12. Topstitch the pocket flap. In the picture, this is done on all sides. However, do not topstitch the side of the flap where you insert your hand yet.
13. Fold the pocket bag, directing the pieces toward the bottom of the bomber jacket, and sew them together with an overlock.
14. Topstitch the final side of the flap, and the pocket is ready.
The Facing
15. Place the front facing and the neck facing together, sew them, and overlock the outer edge of the assembled piece.
Assembling the Bomber Jacket Pieces
In this tutorial (step 7), we showed very precisely how to sew a sweatshirt using this method: https://dresowka.pl/pl/blog/Bluza_ze_stojka_na_zamek/
16. Place the back and front pieces of the bomber jacket together (right sides facing) and sew at the shoulders. Attach the sleeves; when pinning, pay attention to the markings (the sleeves are not symmetrical).
17. Sew the sides of the bomber jacket, starting from the sleeve and ending at the bottom of the jacket. Make sure to cross the seam allowances under the armpit.
18. Sew the cuffs to the sleeves.
Bottom Ribbing
19. The bottom ribbing consists of 3 pieces. Connect them together as shown in the picture.
20. Pin the unfolded ribbing to the bottom of the jacket, right sides facing. ATTENTION! Pin and sew the short pieces flat, meaning without stretching them. Only stretch and fit the long ribbing piece. We recommend sewing the ribbing in two stages—each time starting from the piece that must not be stretched and ending at the center back.
21. Overlock the bottom edge of the ribbing.
The Zipper
22. Pin or clip the zipper to the front of the jacket. Start from the bottom, matching the markings you will see in the middle of the ribbing.
23. Sew the zipper in place using a zipper foot.
24. Pin the other side of the zipper. Before sewing, make sure both sides are symmetrical. During sewing, focus on not stretching the fabric and sewing it exactly as it is pinned.
Collar Stand
25. Fold the collar stand along the long edge, wrong sides facing. Mark its center by making a small notch. Also, mark the center back of the bomber jacket's neckline. Pin the collar stand to the neckline. Remember to line up the notches evenly.
26. Also remember to keep the zipper "folded" for now, meaning its right side should face the right side of the bomber jacket. Sew the collar stand onto the zipper assembled this way.
Connecting the Facings and the Bomber Jacket
27. Pin the facing to the bottom of the ribbing and sew it. Do this on both sides.
28. Fold the bottom ribbing along with the sewn facing upward (right sides facing) so that the fold falls exactly where the zipper begins. Pin the entire facing all around and sew it down. Remember to leave the bottom edge open.
29. Sew the end of the zipper at a right angle where it meets the collar stand. Clip the corner of the seam allowance.
Topstitching
30. Pin the bottom ribbing so that the seam allowance connecting the pieces points downward, and the overlocked edge of the ribbing points upward. Topstitch.
31. Topstitch along the zipper and the collar stand.
32. You can also topstitch the seam connecting the elements of the bottom ribbing.
Done!
Happy sewing
Iwona Bartczak
Małgorzata Michalewska
