Finishing Burda 5941 Jacket: seam details, binding & final assembly

It’s the end of the week, and time to finish sewing the Burda jacket 5941.

Yesterday, I attached the band/facing to the front pieces and finished that hidden seam with the serger. Then I managed to get the two sections for the two fronts, the sleeves, and the back stitched together. I also sewed up the side and shoulder seams. I used that combination of self-bound and flat-felled seam finish for all, eliminating the pockets on the front so I could miss one step.

It’s time now to finish the sleeves, collar, the facing, and the rest of the finishing details.

A tip when sewing those self-bound seams to replicate the flat-felled seam is to use your quilter’s awl to help hold the pieces in place while stitching. It’s called different things, but it’s the most helpful tool for sewing a wide range of items. I would NOT sew without it.

I had to get a bit creative with some of the seam finishes. Here’s the inside of the front band/facing. I had to clip the seam allowance to press the part under the band open, and I did the hybrid self-bound/flat-felled finish for the visible part. As I mentioned the other day, I should have serged those seam edges BEFORE I sewed them together. They would have been much neater, but it will all work just fine. These are inside the facing, no one will see them!

When I was finishing the seams, joining the two sections from the front and the back together, I put them in opposite directions, which helps to reduce the bulk at this intersection. I’m surprised at how I was able to conceal the seams and deal with the bulk. Those seams are pretty flat!

Not that it’s a big deal, but notice how the topstitching is in the Gütermann thread, and while the seam stitching is grey? Duh – I should have used that blue thread for all, but it’s not the end of the world. The grey thread is not so noticeable. One needs to be a bit more thoughtful when sewing garments, and I’m so used to sewing quilt tops with one color on the top and bobbin! I’m learning!

While the topstitching is not noticeable from the right side of the jacket, I still wanted that line to be there, just in case anyone checked! Because it would be a challenge to topstitch along the inside of the sleeve seam, I stitched a line of stitching ⅞” from one edge BEFORE I sewed the sleeve seam. Then I finished the seam allowance using the hybrid method, but instead of topstitching it, I hand-stitched the fold in place.

And here’s the outside, which now looks just like the other seams. I thought it was a brilliant way to make the seam appear the same. Come on – you know people will check! The sleeves will get inserted later.

Then it was time to deal with the collar, and instead of adding interfacing and a second layer of fabric, I chose to bind the edges of the collar and use only the piece of quilted fabric. It worked beautifully, but to get started, I had to trim down the collar to remove the seam allowance from the ends and the outer edge. I moved the pattern over and used the edge to trim those edges.

It was a bit tricky to sew that facing to the top of the jacket, with the collar between the facing and the front and back sections. Yes – I used pins on this seam and clipped it to allow the three pieces to match up. This seam requires a bit of fudging to work in the excess caused by the inner and outer curves and the bulk of the three layers. But it worked beautifully and I’m happy with the results.

Here’s the collar after sewing that “fun” seam and pressing the pieces. I love it, and I love the contrasting color. It wasn’t that difficult following the instructions, although I made some minor adjustments to the instructions and switched the order of sewing some of the components. How does one know how to make those changes? I hate to say that it’s experience, but it certainly helps. The more you make, the better you become, and the more confident you are to make changes.

OH – when I was finishing the edges of the front band/facing, I used the serger to finish the edges so I didn’t add bulk by turning the edge under. I put the Guermann blue thread in the lower looper, and it looks fantastic. The needle thread is white, which is why you see those white dots. But this looks so much better than using a neutral thread (white, cream, or black) on those seam finishes. They are visible on the inside of the jacket. The matching thread looks so much more professional, and the Gütermann thread worked like a charm in the serger. I’ll be using more of that in the future when I need a matching thread for my garments.

Now onto those sleeves. After hand-stitching the seam allowance, it was time to finish the cuff. I didn’t add extra length for the hem since I planned to bind the edge. However, we all know how challenging it can be to add binding to a small area like a cuff. The first step is to measure the circumference of the cuff. Add ONE width of your binding strip to that measurement. For instance, if the cuff measures 16” around, then you want to cut a piece of binding 18½”.

As per my usual, I’m using binding strips that are 2½” wide. I made up some strips of binding for the collar, the cuffs, and the lower edge of the jacket. I did NOT use bias binding, although the thought crossed my mind. However, the curves on the collar were quite gentle and worked just fine with straight-grain binding.

I joined the binding strip with a diagonal seam to create a circle and then folded it in half, just as I would with any quilt binding. Then I inserted it into the cuff and stitched it in place, just as I would when stitching a binding on a quilt. It’s super easy.

Then, using the free arm on the sewing machine, I topstitched the binding to the front of the jacket sleeve.

I also sewed the binding to the bottom edge of the jacket, including the facing.

I stitched in the ditch between the front band and the front of the jacket. I may go back and stitch ¼” inside the outer edge, but I’m not sure. The extra stitching will help the band keep its shape.

The last step was to sew the sleeves in. Again, I used pins, which are necessary because of the excess fabric in the sleeve cap. It worked out with minimal pinning, and it’s so easy to manipulate the fabric with the quilter’s awl and a little bit of fudging!  There are no tucks on this seam, and I’ll use the hybrid seam finish for the sleeves.

And now it’s time to try the jacket on! I made the shortest length and I love it! I’m so glad that I cut back on the pattern size. I did not need it two sizes bigger. I may have even been able to go down one size, but I prefer a roomy jacket, and this one is nice and roomy without being too large. I love the contrast in the binding for the cuffs, collar, and hem, as well as the band.

The shaping, due to the curved seam, prevents it from being too boxy. I like that, even though it gave me some challenges with the quilted fabric. I overcame them and I’m thrilled with the results.

Here’s the back of the jacket. Plenty of room in the hips, but not overly huge. I will be wearing this jacket a lot! While I did a pretty decent job of matching the vertical lines in the print, my next version may not use directional fabric, and I think it would be fun to use two different fabrics. I may take the remainder of the quilted fabric and reverse the top versus the bottom sections.

I didn’t get a chance to put the closures on, but I did audition them. Here are the decorative snaps. Hmm – I think they go on the inside, which won’t work for this jacket. But they are beautiful, and I must find a spot to use them.

I didn’t want to use the self-cover buttons, as I’ll have to make buttonholes. So I’m choosing the heavy-duty snaps. I like them, but I won’t have time to put them on. You need the UNIQUE Sewing Large Snap Attach Tool to install them properly.

And there you have it – my gorgeous jacket made from the Burda jacket pattern 5941. I used the sewing machine, the serger, and many smaller tools and supplies to finish the jacket. I’m very pleased with the results and look forward to wearing it.

It was a great exercise to make this jacket, and even though I’ve made garments before, I learned a ton from it, as I now have access to a serger, which I hadn’t had in the past. Following the directions was great, and then I added in my personal experience and expertise to tweak a few things.

Next time, I might consider modifying the pattern and omitting the band/facing. Hmm – what kind of changes do I need to make that happen? And I might try the next size smaller – just for the fun of it. The best part is that if you find a great pattern, you can change it up and make it yours by changing up the fabric, the coloring, or adding and subtracting components as I did.

I hope you enjoyed the week and that it will inspire you to grab a jacket pattern and give it a go!

Have a super day!

Ciao!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

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