In 2023 I went to Sewaway in Maroochydore Queensland with this humble little jacket using Linton Tweeds fabric. My aim was to get to the sleeve construction part of it.

All the seam lines were hand basted and I had machine quilted the jacket pieces. At the end of the 3 days, the lining was pinned at the seams so I could hand stitch them closed. That’s where my sewing for this jacket ended for 2023.

So much of life took over and this jacket lay dormant until 2024 Sewaway. What you can see below were some of the decision points I had to make along the way.

The dark trim option was a 2023 thought. In the middle you can see the paper strips I use to guide my machine quilting of each jacket piece. On the right side is where I needed to use 2 types of silk for the lining. The softer silk worked well for the sleeves.

At SewAway 2025 I basically hand stitched all the seams closed. I also hand stitched the 3 front closures. Lastly I hand stitched the jacket hemmed and the lining. I know. That’s a lot of hand stitching.

Below are the final steps I completed in 2024 at home to have a wearable Chanel jacket #5.

The sleeves did my head in. Sleeves still need movement so I resewed the top of the sleeve in place 3 times.

Those pockets are lining with organza and lined with a much firmer silk fabric. The trim is plain white but that lets the jacket colours look as they are.

I used a heavy chain in the hem and as you can see on the hanger, the pockets are handsewn in place and buttons are sewn on after that.

Was it worth sewing? This is my fifth jacket so the answer is yes, if this is a jacket you’d like to wear. If it’s not, that’s great.