Chanel-Style jacket & Cupro Silk lining

Simplicty 4954 is a sewing pattern for a Chanel-Style jacket. We have lined this jacket with a special beautiful Cupro Silk according to the sewing techniques à la Chanel couture. The result: a wonderfully fitting jacket to wear on a daily base!

Simplicity 4954
Simplicity 4954 is a sewing pattern for a lined jacket with multiple variations in front and fringes. The jacket has princess lines and is nicely fitted. The sleeves are wide and looks very young and modern.

Recommended fabrics are:
Jeans, corduroy, damask, twill, wool, wool blends, tweeds, brocade, satin, velvet (non-stretch!), Linen and linen blends. In the list has been forgotten: Bouclé fabrics. Of course they are also very suitable, especially as in the example: Model A. and C.

You also need: possibly shoulder pads, ribbon, ribbon, a flower, buttons, lining and inter-facing. You can make fringes yourself from the Bouclé fabric or use purchased fringes.

The sewing pattern is one of our favorites and we have used it before.

Sewing level
On the sewing pattern we cannot find anywhere information about the recommended sewing level.We find that strange and disturbing. Our estimate is: average. It is absolutely not a difficult jacket to make, but it is also not suitable for the absolute beginner.

A very special beautiful lining
According to the couture techniques Coco Chanel used for her famous tweeds jackets, we quilted the lining on the outer fabric. The Cupro silk and this sewing pattern lends itself excellently for the couture sewing technique.  It is a lot of extra work, but the result is that you have a jacket that is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside and you could even wear this jacket inside out.

The technique is explained in detail in the books of Claire Sheaffer. Especially in the book: The couture cardigan jacket. This book is a must-have for seamstresses who are looking for extra information about couture sewing techniques and who enjoy making a 'real' Chanel-Style jacket. The book is full of  information and photos and gives excellent instructions.

Cupro silk lining
The advantage of a cupro silk lining is the fact cupro silk feels very nice on the skin but is slightly less smooth and cold (on the skin) than regular silk or an acetate lining fabric. Cupro gives a soft feeling that lies between a nice t-shirt and a beautiful silk fabric. It is ideal to wear on bare skin. You could therefore also wear the jacket over a top without a blouse underneath.

We bought the Cupro silk from TST fabrics.

Tips:
We recommend cutting the Bouclé fabric with an extra half centimeter of seam. First: lock the Bouclé fabric after cutting. Or a make zigzag edge. You have less chance that the fabric will fray. Because you work with relatively small pattern pieces (due to the princess lines) you cannot afford to fray the fabric and lose an centimeter.

Quilting the cupro silk fabric on the Bouclé fabric is best done partly by hand with a sharp silk needle. Think of it as a great sewing project, even if you lose more time.

You can make the fraying as big as you want. You can also add extra fraying to the sleeves. Then make the sleeves a bit shorter because they are already very long and wide with this sewing pattern.