Too Cool for 8174

When I was younger and overweight, I wanted a black leather motorcycle jacket,  but I could not find anything in the stores that fit me. So, I had one custom-made at a small leather shop run by immigrants from one of those Eastern European countries where the women use magenta hair dye.

When I lost the weight, the jacket no longer fit, so with a heavy heart I donated it to Goodwill.

Now today, I have developed the sewing skills to make one on my own. So when I got the itch for a new jacket – this time in red ultrasuede – I thought I could do it.

Ta da!

This is Simplicity 8174, a “Mimi G Style” jacket. I think it’s the best of the current crop of moto and bomber jacket patterns out there, especially if you have a curvy figure. It has nice RTW features, such as shoulder vents in the back, tab-and-button details (I used silver metal studs) and zippered pockets.

Its asymmetrical design features a zipper  in the princess seam, so you need to sew one side of the jacket and then the other. This seemed inefficient to me, but I learned my lesson when I accidentally sewed on the shoulder yoke, forgetting that the zipper needed to go in first.

I made a few adjustments, and one I wish I had made. This has a rather high bust, at least for a woman looking at the back end of 40. So I wish I had moved down the bust point an inch. I also widened the bicep a tiny bit and made my usual forward shoulder adjustment.

Back view with shoulder vents

Lined with silk charmeuse

Back view of lining

Zipper and stud detail

I lined the jacket with silk charmeuse left over from a failed dress project. I had to piece the lining together a bit to get it to work, but I don’t think it’s that noticeable.

My husband likes it – partly because he thinks I now need a motorcycle to go with it!

Author: shoes15

I live in Connecticut, USA with my husband and my dog, in an old house outfitted with a sewing room, a garden, an orchard, and a big liquor cabinet. View all posts by shoes15