Introducing The Morris Blazer
I'm so excited to finally announce that the Morris Blazer is now available for purchase! Now lets get to know the Morris a little better.
I originally designed the Morris back when I was still doing Hound and produced it for 2 seasons (Fall '11 and Spring '12) before I quit to have more time to pursue Grainline Studio. That blazer was a crazy seller, I don't even want to think about how many Morris Blazers I've made. I loved that blazer as soon as I finished the first one and honestly haven't stopped loving it since. I find that I wear the Morris most during the spring - summer - fall seasons since it's perfect for tossing on in changing weather as well as all those overly air conditioned places I find myself in all summer long. It's casual enough that you can wear it daily but doesn't look out of place dressed up a bit as well.
Garment Details
The Morris Blazer is the perfect mix of casual and cool. It will quickly become the go-to garment to complete any outfit. With a mixture of drape and structure, bracelet length sleeves, and gentle shawl collar, it looks great dressed up or down. It works up well in fabrics with stretch, making it comfortable on top of everything else!
Techniques involved include sewing a straight seam, setting sleeves, sewing a shawl collar, facings, and topstitching. Pattern is nested to facilitate cutting between sizes if needed.
Both the woven and knit version follow the same instructions and you do not need any knit-specific sewing equipment for this pattern. The only thing I used a serger for was to finish my seam allowances.
Suggested Fabrics
One of the things I'm most excited about with the Morris Blazer is the fact that it's drafted so that you can make it in both stretch wovens or stable knits meaning lots of flexibility! The navy blue blazer was sewn up in stretch wool suiting which has such an amazing drape. The striped blazer is Ponte knit which looks pulled together but feels like you're wearing an undercover sweatshirt. Since both fabrications involve stretch you don't need to worry about feeling restricted as some blazers can do. I've also made one up in French terry which has a bit more drape than the ponte and it worked out quite well. The blazer is unlined.
Difficulty
The Morris Blazer is rated Advanced Beginner because of the shawl collar. We always strive to make sure that every step involved is clearly explained so if you've got a garment or two under your belt you should be just fine with this one.
I can't wait to see Morris Blazers popping up here and there, I know a few of you have been waiting on this one for a while. As always we'll be doing a sew along - I know a lot of people find them boring - but I think it's a nice courtesy to offer to customers. No date on that yet since we've abruptly found out last week that the Grainline Studio studio is moving, but I'll update you with that as soon as I know.
One last thing. If you're purchasing the print version of the Morris Blazer they won't be shipping out until after May 1st. I apologize for the inconvenience but we're currently in the middle of packing up the entire studio for the move this weekend and I don't predict us being able to ship much of anything - especially since the new patterns still need assembly - before then. I would never have planned a move to coincide with the launch of new patterns but things happen and you get through them the best you can. Kendra and I, with the help of a small team of friends, will be working super hard to make sure you get them asap though!
