Notes on a Pattern - Part I McCall 7203 Vintage Bomber Jacket Pattern

 My pattern collection is scandalous! It is ridiculously over the top.  I already have a substantial hoard of patterns.  But, I also have three years of Burda Magazine patterns that I rarely sew from. (I'm working on that.  The magazine is full of cute styles, but a pain in the butt to trace off.).  Every season, I purchase patterns from JoAnn's and Hancock's when they are on sale. While I'm making my selections, I convince myself that it's not too bad, because I'm always sewing and most times I only pay a dollar or two for each pattern.  So why am I saying all of this? To explain why I came up with this series, to share my thought process for selecting certain patterns, and to talk about how I use them to create the clothes I wear.

That being said, this is my first post for the Notes on a Pattern series. I took my inspiration for this entry from Rhonda B's posts: March 10th inspiration and April 7th.  Lori (Girls in a Garden) also posted an inspiration outfit on the Mood Sewing Network. She included a link to Tracy Reeses' Spring/Summer Collection (love, love it).  These posts started my quest to make my own bomber jacket. Well, guess what?  I could not find a pattern at first. Then about a month or so ago.  BAM!

I found this New Look jacket. But before I buy another pattern, I searched through my many banker boxes of patterns hoping to find a similar jacket. Eureka! Apparently, I purchased the pattern below back in the day (1980c).

It had to be for a client, can't remember though. Now, I have what I need to make my inspiration jacket.

So, let's take a look at the details of this pattern. The jacket is like the jackets showcased in Rhonda's April 7th, with the omission of the zipper pockets. This is an easy design change.

Another thing that I like about it is there are two options for creating the waistband. You can use ribbed knit, or you can use woven fabric that requires you to make several casings for elastic by channel stitching several rows. The construction process is easy.

There are only six pattern pieces for each view of the jacket. The pants aren't bad either. This is a project that you will see on my blog sometime between now and the end of summer.

I chuckled when I first opened the guide sheet.  My mind wonder back to the early days when the construction was more challenging to me.  I also thought about the many garments I avoided because I was afraid to try them.  The print and illustrations are huge compare to today standards.  And finally, did you notice the price, $2.50?  Big difference from today's suggested retail price.

Happy  Sewing!
Cennetta