Designing Your Wardrobe: Drafting the Tailored Jacket or Coat

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Draft a pattern for a sophisticated jacket or coat with customizable details. Ready to test your patternmaking skills? Master designer and pattern drafter Suzy Furrer shares in-depth tips and techniques to help you draft a full set of patterns for a chic, tailored jacket using your own well-fitting bodice sloper. Learn how to draft pattern pieces for two-piece sleeves, welt pockets, an inside zipper pocket, bound buttonholes and even a coat hook.

The Jacket Front

Meet Suzy Furrer, your design and patternmaking expert, as you begin drafting the pattern for a showpiece jacket or coat to go over everything in your wardrobe. Beginning with a well-fitting bodice sloper that you already have, you’ll draft the jacket front, including the major lines of the collar, lapel, and princess seam, along with the front facing and bound buttonhole pieces.

The Jacket Back

Move on to the back of the jacket, along with the back facing. Learn how to add princess and waist seams and create waist stays for stability in the jacket.

The Two-Piece Sleeve

The two-piece sleeve is a classic design feature of a tailored jacket. You’ll learn to draft it with facing, then draft buttonholes and a sleeve head for internal support.

Collar & Interior Reinforcement Pieces

Using the collar that you drafted in Lesson 1, you’ll refine the upper and undercollar pieces, then draw in the roll line and see how the undercollar support is stitched. Then you’ll learn the nuances of drafting the front support trio of interior pieces and a back stay that will add stability and shape to the jacket.

Muslin Mock-Up & Pockets

Learn about pocket placement for your jacket pattern and how to draft a double welt pocket with flap. Then learn to create pattern pieces for an interior zipper pocket that will be inserted in the front facing.

Lining Pieces

You’ll draft pattern pieces for the front, back, and sleeve linings, and learn where to insert jump pleats and how to plan ahead for “bagging” the lining.

Choosing Fabrics & Making Production-Ready Patterns

What are the best fabric options for a jacket or coat? Suzy will walk you through some good choices and advise against bad ones. Then you’ll learn how to finalize your pattern and make it production-ready, and how to fill out a pattern record card listing all of your pattern pieces and trims.