because i had to.
remember when Em wore her brother’s blazer during October’s film petit? it didn’t quite fit her, but still looked so cool that i’d been wanting to make a girlified blazer ever since. finally, with Christmas sewing behind me, i got my chance!
i originally had it in my head that i wanted to do bright blue velvet blazer like this Crewcuts version, but when i went shopping at Fabric Depot with my sister in law, i spotted a creamy white stretch corduroy that i thought might look just gorgeous (and she agreed). the white shouldn’t pose too much of a cleanliness problem…unless her brother comes at her with spaghetti-o hugs.
the pattern is the popular Basic Blazer by Blank Slate Patterns (affiliate links) in a 3T (size chart here). it’s available both digitally AND as a paper pattern, if you prefer (i bought the digital version months back). i’d never seen it sewn for a girl before, so i ended up making some modifications both to girlify it and to put it together in a bit of a different way. i followed the instructions as written when i made it the first time and they worked, but you know how sometimes there are multiple ways of doing things and certain methods just click in your head because you’re more used to them? that.
here’s what i did:
- cut the back on the fold, eliminating the center seam allowances
- shortened the length by 1.5″ so it hit at her hip, redrawing the bottom front curves
- moved the buttons up, marking where i wanted it to close during a fitting
- interfaced the collar (both sides) and the jacket facings for structure
- clipped into collar’s seam allowance before basting it to the jacket, pinned the collar 1″ from each front edge
- added flap welt pocket on the right
- lined the jacket using this method, a fab tutorial by Grainline Studio which includes finishing sleeves without hand-stitching (woo!)
i love this jacket. it’s the kind of thing i’d never spend $100 on at a store, but with a fabric store gift card and some elbow grease, i’m super happy it’s now in her wardrobe. i have no idea how often she’ll wear it, but it is very soft and i did make the lining very Em-like so i have high hopes.
i stitched around an elephant-stamped linen patch with metallic silver thread and added a hanger loop; the combo of both make it seem Crewcuts-y to me. the lining fabric itself is a gorgeous dec-weight Alexander Henry print (“Laurel Canyon”) that Caila sent to me around Christmastime because she’s just a super sweet gal. the buttons are a pretty metallic gold/silver flower design.
speaking of metallic, i definitely made her a super twirly (two selvedge-to-selvedge cuts) skirt from Nani Iro sparkly polka dot flannel that i had left over from the commuter cowl to go with the jacket. it’s double topstitched with metallic silver thread and she really loves dancing in it.
get your Basic Blazer pattern here (affiliate link) and please let me know if you make (or have made) a girly one – it’d be fun to see more little gals in blazers! there’s also a Blank Slate Patterns flickr pool if you need more inspiration.
she wanted to show off this sticker. i guess she’s now entering into her Disney princess phase?
skirt as top 
Love, Love, Love the jacket! It’s so pretty. I adore blazers like this on girls.
I love that jacket, the while is beautiful! The changes you made to girly it up make me want to make one!
The ultimate compliment when I see amazing children’s clothes is thinking, ‘I want one in my size!!’. That’s how I feel about this jacket!
oh thanks girl – same here! i started plotting whether i could make one, but i think it’d take more patternmaking know how than i currently possess. looking at my favorite j.crew jacket scared me off. 😉
I *love* all the pieces! The outfit looks just amazing, and Em looks very happy in it. I love all the little surprises, like the stunning lining, or the metallic topstitching, or the hanging loop and label. Much love!
I adore this!! And, I completely agree with the comment above — I want this for me!!
I love your girly version. I have been wanting to make one for s too.
it’s a stunner (especially in real life)! gorgeous and sophisticated and the lining is so fun! i love how you modified it to be girly. the flannel skirt is dreamy, too. is that frost on the grass in the photos?? brrr. 🙂
YES it was a froooosty morning! gotta love the 5 minute photo shoot with cocoa waiting afterwards. 🙂
oh, a mini-mommy! i can absolutely see you wearing that outfit. 😉 beautiful job!
hahaha i totally would. 😉
Love that lining, great job!
This is just gorgeous and looks fantastic on Em. I finished my first blazer for my youngest last week and I used that same tutorial to line it. I also cut the back on the fold as I made a muslin and doubted if it would fit otherwise. I’ve been toying with the idea of a white or cream one with red constrast for my oldest as we’re going to a wedding in March with that colour theme. I’m not sure he’d keep it as clean as Em though. Such a sweet little skirt too.
OMG, such a little snow angel…. She looks like she should have a little briefcase and glasses and be the CEO in charge of official celestial cuteness!!! That blazer is true to Skirt As Top awesomeness… the surprise of the incredible lining, the coat hanger hook with silver thread (genius!) and the cutey patootie stamp! Perfect!
That one pic of Em’s eyelashes, sooooo made me smirk… That is one pretty adorable kid you got there 😉
Oh- and princesses??? HAHA! Welcome to the club!!! There’s a lot of swag in here lol
Oh I love the whole outfit! And Nani Iro flannel with metallic polka dots?? That needs to be part of my stash immediately! So awesome, Kristin!
Super cute! Great job on the whole outfit! The details on the jacket totally make it!
I love how stylin she is. You did an exceptionally amazing job on the jacket
This is such a fantastic outfit and so beautifully made. I love it! All the little details are perfect and make it so special. The princess sticker made me laugh; we aren’t there yet (it’s probably totally naive to hope we’ll bypass it completely, huh?), but E’s so-so dance teacher keeps asking them who their “favorite princess” is and has them do “princess dances.” GAG! Not what I thought I was signing up for. Sorry for the digression. 😉
I want this outfit!!!!!!!!!! Love the pockets and the delicious fabric, lining, and coat hanger and tag and polka dots. I just cut out my second blazer- this one’s for my nephew. I was actually wondering about interfacing the collar. . . . The first one I made was for Ansley and the suiting fabric was stiffer/heavier and didn’t need the interfacing. anyway, maybe I just should and interface the facings for a shirt at the same time and then clean the iron. 🙂 (oh and here’s the link to Ansley’s blazer (it’s pink and purple- shocking, no?): http://replicatethendeviate.blogspot.com/2011/11/blazer.html PPS love princess phase!
AW pink!! It’s so cute!! Em would love that. Thanks for linking.
Mmm . . . Looks so soft!! Love the blazer! It’s gorgeous, though I’d be so scared of letting my kids around it 😛 And that skirt. I want it so bad!! Here’s the blazer I made for Yuki a year ago!! http://youandmie.com/2012/01/27/the-saturday-blazer-outerwear-for-prp/
She’s an amazingly clean kid most of the time (though her tights get stained up on the playground at school a lot). Ohhh yes I vaguely remember that jacket – I think that was right around the time I discovered your blog. So adorable!
So gorgeous! It looks very crew cuts! The lining fabric is so awesome as well.
this is such a gorgeous jacket, I want one for me! that lining is fabulous, and I am such a sucker for winter whites…or whites just all year round. Love this! Beautiful.
oh I love little girls in blazers!! Love the lining and hope she wears it a lot. I made Ellie a blazer in the fall and it’s kind of getting too small–I feel inspired to make her a lighter colored one for spring like yours!
What pattern did you use for the skirt?
no pattern, but similar to Dana’s market skirt in construction. i cut two panels selvedge-to-selvedge and attached the short edges, gathered the top, then attached it to a waistband that was smaller to reduce bulk at the waist. threaded elastic through, hemmed, done!
Gorgeous! Looks perfect with the nani iro on the bottom too.
Amazing. I love girls in blazers. I just bought my girl one from the boys section. This is perfect and I love the fabric inside. X
that jacket! that lining! that skirt! Wow – what an ensemble! Very Crew-cuts indeed – well done!!
looks totally soft and cuddly!!!!! I’m so impressed. Man, my girls wouldn’t even touch a jacket like that, glad Em loves it!
Nailed it. You and Cherie are killing me with that nani iro, btw. You better be getting compensated for all that free advertising..
beautiful! Just beautiful. I like white clothing on kids. If it gets dirty it only takes some oxy clean or fels naptha and it’s good as new right!? Great details and silver thread? How cool is that?
I just remember that The Mouse House did a cropped version of this for Week 2 of Prap Season 5. Here’s the link: http://www.projectrunplay.com/2012/09/time-to-vote-week-2-fashion-icon.html
I love the lining!! So sweet. I also love that you went ahead with the white. I put white on my daughter all the time, and it all comes out in the wash, anyway!
LOVE this, kristin. especially the white/print contrast – perfect.
So LOVELY Kristin!
It’s gorgeous! Love the lining.
whoa, that lining is super gorgeous! I love alexander henry fabric. Your jacket came out amazing!
The disney princess phase is not something I wanted to go through with Clover, but we’re coping……she’s totally obsessed. Princess Leia became a Disney princess just in time too. Lol
This is fantastic! I love white on kids. SO many people are scared of dressing kiddos in white, but I love it. Looks great!
Kristin this is SO pretty. I really love it!
So on first glance, I was thinking this lil white coat is cuteness… then I saw the lining and the coat became cuteness personified! Great job!
WOW!
Loove the jacket!! Love Crew Cuts too:) I hope she wears it a lot. And the lining is FABULOUS!! I adore the skirt and the fabric used. I love it! I like to put Emily in white but not Ava. one is messy the other just isn’t.
I’m so glad I popped over to see if I missed anything lately – yes!! this amazing blazer!!! I love, love, love white and that lining is just the icing on the cake! Gorgeousness, Kristin!!
So I just downloaded this pattern, and am about to make one for my girl too….I’m going to make it shorter as you suggest to try to girl-i-fy it a bit….we’ll see how it turns out!!