One of my favorite parts about living in Durham is visiting the new spots that seem to pop up every week. The Durham Hotel is not new, it\’s been open for a year or so, but I just recently learned of their \”disco brunch\”–a monthly brunch party with a DJed set, bloody marys and mimosas (starting at 12 due to our absolutely draconian NC laws), and, of course, amazing food. I went recently with a few friends to see how it was and despite my rather boring/#basic resolutions to partake of no alcohol or animal products for the month of January, I had such a good time!
I got the vegan option, a pea patty sandwich–way better than it sounds! I\’ve been off and on veg/pescatarian for years but I was nervous about eating vegan for a month and especially nervous about finding something for brunch–no eggs?! Overall though, I\’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the vegan options you can find if you\’re looking for them (thank you, trendy avocado toast), and by how little I miss eggs and milk. (True confessions: mostly I just miss the embarrassing number of croissants I buy from the Fresh Market near my office…)
The second best part of brunch, after seeing friends (and also after brunch beverages February through December), is dressing up for it. My boucle motorcycle jacket is, believe it or not, Lisette for Butterick 6169! I got this pattern as part of a giveaway bundle a few years ago. I generally like Lisette patterns but the cover for this is not drop-everything-and-sew attractive so it sat in a drawer for ages until found this perfect fabric and thought of this j. crew jacket.
The boucle is from Mood and it\’s actually Oscar de la Renta! The subtle metallic flecks are so pretty–they aren\’t sparkly at all, but add just a little shimmer that I think the gold zip brings out. This too sat in a drawer–I wasn\’t quite sure how to work with the boucle. I went back and forth between interfacing the whole thing and underlining it in muslin and I went with the latter–I actually quilted it to the muslin (spacing the quilt lines about 1.5\” apart) and I\’m not really sure if that\’s the best treatment but it seems like it worked fine.
For the added peplum I cut the side front, side back, and back pieces at the waist line (marked on the pattern) and then slashed-and-spread the bottom half of each before adding seam allowances to the top of the ruffle and the bottom of the bodice pieces. If you don\’t want to do all that you could also just buy the SBCC Moto Chic Jacket which I realized after the fact is basically the exact pattern I hacked. (This pattern is for petites, fyi!)
I left the fit the same otherwise, so it\’s a bit roomy through the waist; with the peplum it\’s almost like a swing jacket. I\’d like to make this again in a sexier fabric (by that I just mean black, probably) and take in the princess seams through the side and back for a really nipped-in look. I think if I left my peplum pattern pieces the same took in the waist by 6 or so inches it would be a pretty dramatic difference in silhouette. I also skipped the shoulder pads but I left a slit in my lining in case I wanted to add some in after wearing it for a day, and.. I think I\’ll add them in after all.
Do you make non-sewing New Year\’s resolutions? I don\’t put much stock in cleanse diets but I do notice a difference when I try to eat healthier overall, and it\’s nice to have January as a \”reset\” to start the year. On the sewing front, have you ever worked with boucle? I didn\’t clip as I went (shame on me) and all day yesterday I was finding threads on my jacket; it\’s impossible to tidy up! And so ravelly–but worth it, I think!
xoxo,
Very cute, Allie! The color suits you.I have a suggestion — could you do a how-to post on quilting the muslin underlining? That sounds like a big undertaking, and I'd be curious to see your process and get a sense for how long it took.
We love this! Well done. Bonus points for putting your own spin on it.
beautiful…love the styling too
Gorgeous jacket. I think I have this pattern, too, but haven't yet felt compelled to sew it up. Your jacket is perfect inspiration. I do make resolutions each year. Why not? So this year my goals are to lose 10 pounds, be credit card debt free, and take better care of my skin.
Your jacket is lovely, Allie! If you do have visitors, please consider bringing them down to Mulberry Silks in Carrboro, NC. Lots of lovely garment sewing fabric!
I love Mulberry Silks! I do all my local fabric shopping there. They also have a sewing group that I'm dying to join but both times I've asked there's been a WAIT list!!
Taking better care of my skin is one of mine too!!
It wasn't too hard–I would do a tutorial but I was seriously making it up as I went, just sewing vertical lines at about 3.5 stitch length. I stitched around each piece and then vertical lines about 1.5 inches apart.
Thanks so much!
Thank you!!
Great jacket! I love the preppiness. I was recently introduced to the Durham Hotel because Spoonflower hosted a sew-in for charity there a few months ago. Do you ever go to their events? (I'm a fellow Durhamite and sewer. You can find me at memademakes.com.)
I've just followed your blog… and i think you might live in my neighborhood! I can't find an email for you on your site but send me an email at hello at alliemjackson if you ever want to meet up for coffee and sewing chatter or anything! I'm never organized enough to get myself to spoonflower events, even though their headquarters is like 10 minutes away tops!
This is gorgeous!! Your whole look has a super classic Jackie O vibe, which I just love. And this would look amazing in black as well! (But then again, what doesn't? haha!)
Wow! that jacket is beautiful!
Wow, excellent job on the jacket! Looks fantastic. Also, I had no idea The Durham Hotel has a \”disco brunch\” – I'm glad you enjoyed the vegan option 🙂 I'll have to check out their brunch soon!
I would never have guessed this was made using the Butterick Lisette jacket as the base–I love your twist on it! The boucle adds a luxury element to what is otherwise a casual type of jacket, and it looks so chic! And the fabric is a great color on you, too.
Great jacket! It looks absolutely fabulous on you. One thing I truly miss about living in Raleigh is all of the local events/eateries in Raleigh and Durham.
This is a fantastic addition to your wardrobe – fits right in with you style! I have this pattern, but I've yet to make the jacket, only the dress (which is very narrow, if anyone is wondering!) My sewing resolution is to make less – so far so good as January is very busy and my sew-jo is way down, and make a serious effort to sew up those stash fabrics. Otherwise, I don't really make resolutions. But I try to learn a new skill every year – take a class, brush up on an old hobby etc.
It's a really gorgeous jacket – how fun is boucle to wear! Love the little peeps of lilac lining at the sleeve.