Butterick5616 - Liberty Jacket and Asymmetrical Tee Dress

I really love Liberty! It’s fall, and I wanted a light jacket using Liberty fabric.

I really wanted to make the jacket that this model is wearing in this Japanese sewing magazine. The jacket was made of Liberty stretch cotton. The magazine didn't really include sewing patterns and have only simplified instructions instead. I was thinking of making the sewing pattern myself but then I found Butterick 5616. I purchased it sometime ago on sale.

I thought the pattern was a semi-fitted design, but the pattern envelope said "VERY LOOSE." Before cutting the fabric, I compared these patterns and my RTW jacket. It was bigger than I expected. However, I wanted to wear it as a light jacket, so I modified it a lot. While I was making it, at every step I checked to see if it fit me.

I made view B using a Liberty stretch satin cotton. The instructions called for either 45" x 2 1/8 yd or 60" x 1/2 yd, but I only had a 50" wide x 1 7/8 yd. I considered that I did not have enough fabric to make it, I was just barely able to squeeze the pieces onto the fabric. The pattern was too big in spite of choosing a size 8 (my normal size 8-10), so I changed it around the bodice and sleeves. At first, I took 1/2 inches off both sides of the bodice and additionally narrowed at the waist by one inch. I also raised the waistline by 1/2 inches and took 1/2 inches off the shoulders. I thought that the sleeves (especially the upper arms) were too loose, so I reduced width of the upper arm to the elbow by one inch. I think that the changes made the jacket look better.

This loose dress has an asymmetrical hem that falls longer overlay in front. It's pulled over and has three skirt parts, an elastic waist and drawing strings. I have some simple tee maxi dresses but am tired of them, so I wanted to make an unique one. I picked up a light sweat cotton-polyester from my stash. Making the dress is really simple! At first, make a simple loose fitted tee shirt and add only three skirt parts: Trapezoid back skirt and two asymmetrical front skirts. If you have a simple tee pattern, you can make it easily.

👇👇👇Simplified skirt pattern. Click!

I cut off the hem of the front skirts by relying on my intuition. The asymmetric hem adds a unique touch and makes me look laid-back. It can be worn without a zipper and is very comfortable to wear. It took me about one day to cut and sew.

I don't like a loose-fitted jacket with three-quarter sleeves. I usually steer clear of such jackets, because they make me look frumpy. However, I've recently often seen women wearing over-sized silhouette denim jackets. I may try to sew one with long sleeves, using denim and will make it one-two size bigger than my normal size at the time.

Fabric: Jacket 50" 1 7/8 yd, Dress 75" 2 3/4yd

Total Time Spent (not include cutting time): Jacket 20 hours, Dress 5 hours