How To Be Your Own Sewist? #14 Ilford Jacket

For my last post in this blog series, I want to showcase Fabriclore’s gorgeous corduroy fabrics. 

It is one piece of garment and of course, I love how easy and comfortable this jacket is for travel. I chose to make the Ilford jacket by Friday Pattern Company using this gorgeous polka-dotted corduroy. 

The Fabric

This corduroy fabric is absolutely perfect for so many different garments. I can see it made into more structured dresses for the winter, bomber-style jackets, and gorgeous pants. The fabric feels soft and has a beautiful fall. 

It was washed and sewed up perfectly. There is a large corduroy selection at Fabriclore which I urge you to look at. It is the only collection that has incorporated Indian textile art into the fabric. 

One thing to keep in mind when working with corduroy fabric is a nap. This just means that you will have to be careful when you cut your pattern pieces and always place your pattern pieces in the same direction while cutting. 

There are several videos online explaining what is nap and some pattern companies will send you a cutting layout you can follow specifically for fabrics with a nap. 

The Pattern

The Ilford jacket is another cult classic in the sewing community. There are so many versions of this going around on Instagram for inspiration. 

This pattern would be great in denim, corduroys, canvas, or any medium to heavyweight fabric depending on what you are looking for. 

I chose to cut out the XS size of the pattern after seeing the finished garment measurements. I also chose to cut out the longer-length version of the pattern. I honestly love this look!

This fabric has very few pattern pieces and comes together very fast. 

I like the comfortable jackets with many pockets and this pattern allows you to manipulate the pocket type and placement. I also chose to not add buttons to this jacket and keep it as a layering piece. 

And here you go, a perfect dress for the perfect occasion.