Cutting fabric & interfacing for Burda Quilted Jacket Pattern 5941

Yesterday, I shared essential tips about reading sewing pattern instructions, the importance of a muslin mockup, and how to save your paper patterns for future use.

All the pattern pieces for the Burda jacket pattern 5941 are ready to use. It’s now time to cut the fabric. I’m super excited and ready to get started!!

Again, find a nice flat surface to lay out the fabric and separate the pattern pieces depending on the fabric you’ll be cutting from. I glanced at the pattern layout and realized that I could rearrange the pieces more efficiently, so I cut according to my plan. If you’re not comfortable, then follow the pattern layout.

In this photo, I’m cutting the two pieces for the back. I have folded the fabric in half, and the pattern fold will be on the fabric fold.

While this fabric is directional, with motifs spaced along the vertical line,  I only focused on matching the vertical lines, but did not match up the motifs. I didn’t need to be that fussy.

Pattern weights and a sharp pair of scissors are excellent for cutting fabric. You could use a rotary cutter, mat, and ruler (or freehand it as well).

When you get to the corners, be sure to cut a little bit beyond, to make it easier to get a sharp cut at the corners instead of trimming off the corner. It makes lining up the pieces much easier.

And there’s the first piece cut! It’s so easy and super exciting!

I decided that instead of hemming the bottom, which with the quilted fabric will cause a lot of bulk, I’ll put a binding on the edges, which is similar to what you would do with a quilted jacket, so I think my coat will be a hybrid with some parts using techniques for a structured jacket and some with techniques for a quilted jacket. That’s OK — some of this I’ll make up as I go. I’ll be sure to identify where I change the pattern as I assemble it.

To mark the hem, I used a ruler and my Clover Chaco Liner (my favorite marking tool) to mark the bottom edge. Then I gently moved the pattern out of the way and cut with the scissors.

Some of the pieces look the same as the bottom section of the front and back are essentially squares due to the shorter length of my jacket. So I pinned the two sections together, so when it was time to sew, I wouldn’t get the pieces mixed up. As you can see, the vertical lines are pretty well matched (it’s not pinned exactly), but I didn’t match the motifs across the width.

Be sure when cutting out the fronts and the sleeves, that you cut a left and a right. It wouldn’t be fun to have two left fronts! It’s simple enough to do – you can cut two layers at a time by folding the fabric right sides together. Or you can cut one layer at a time if you need to fussy cut, which I had to. Simply flip the pattern over to cut the reverse (left versus right).

In this photo, you get a pretty good view of the curved seam along the join for the two sections of the jacket front. That curve will provide shaping, which is very cool.

It didn’t take long to cut out all the pattern pieces. From the quilted fabric, I cut the two sections for each front, ensuring I had a right and a left—the same thing with the two sections for each sleeve. Use a fold in the fabric to cut the two pieces for the back, so there’s no seam along the center back.

I only cut one collar as I don’t think I’ll put interfacing on that. The collar may end up being another hybrid component, and I’ll have to compensate for the seam allowance. More on that when I get to the sewing.

Then I was on to cutting out the pieces from the lining fabric. From the lining, I cut the two pieces of the front band/facing and the back facing.

I also cut the two pieces of front band/facing and the back facing from the HeatnBond fusible interfacing, which is necessary to add stability to the single layer of cotton.

Then I used the Singer Steam Press to fuse the interfacing to each of the corresponding pieces of facing fabric. It takes a few minutes to heat the steam press, but the wait is worth every second. It fuses the interfacing to the cotton with amazing speed, and the adhesion is complete. No fussing with a regular iron and then discovering that the adhesion isn’t strong. The interfacing is NOT going anywhere! The steam press is one of my favorite tools for garment making, but it is also very handy for fusible appliqué and other crafts!

The final step today is to transfer any necessary markings for assembly. After carefully reviewing them, I determined that the only essential at this time is the front fold line on the band/facing. I used a transfer paper and a marker. I couldn’t find my tracing wheel or my Hera marker, so I went with this point turner instead. Anything with a firm edge that won’t perforate the pattern piece will work.

And here are the pattern pieces for the Burda jacket pattern 5941, prepped and ready to sew!

I have to say that so far, working with the Burda jacket pattern 5941 has been super easy, even if each of the main parts has two sections. I found it was so easy to work with the smaller pieces for tracing and cutting. And I was able to optimize my cutting process, so I didn’t have to cut into the second piece of quilted fabric. You know what that means! I should be able to make a second jacket, and this time, I can make some changes should I wish, like converting it to a 100% quilted jacket! It would be interesting to see the difference.

It’ll be much easier to convert after sewing, as by then, I’ll have a full grasp of the construction methods.

Be sure to come back tomorrow as I’ll start assembling the jacket. I can’t wait to see it come together.

Have a great day!

Ciao!!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: How to prep patterns & quilt fabric for a Burda quilted jacket project

Go to part 4: Sewing Burda Jacket 5941: seam finishing tips for quilted garments