I suppose it takes a special occasion to dust off the blog these days, and I’m happy to say today is such an occasion. I’ve made a Liberty Larkin Bomber, and I have to show you!

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? A couple of weeks ago, DuckaDilly had their once quarterly remnant sale, and I was lucky enough to snag a new Liberty print. Having had my eye on this particular Capel Floret color way, I snatched it up as soon as I saw that it was available! I didn’t know at the time what I would make, but I knew I wanted it to become an autumn staple in my wardrobe.

Even though I have a closet full of Liberty button downs, I find that when it’s truly chilly outside, I cover them with jackets. And to me that sort of defeats the purpose of wearing a pretty shirt. Wouldn’t it be great if it could be outerwear?

But then there is the problem of weight. Lawn is just too light for cold weather. Somewhere along the way, I had this lightbulb moment that I could use the same high loft, high density batting that I use for sleeping bags to create a quilted fabric with Liberty’s lawn. And so that’s what I did.

I have somewhere in the range of one hundred Seamwork credits from my years-long membership, so I searched their vast library and found the Larkin Bomber. I took a peek at Instagram to see how other makers liked this pattern, and I was encouraged that it was a good one. So I downloaded and printed it and I was well on my way.

Based on the size chart, I chose to make a size 2, and I will note here that using a super high loft batting did make for much less ease than intended in the pattern, so if you choose to copy this style, know you may want to size up.

For the quilted fabric, I layered my Liberty, the batting, and then used Robert Kaufman’s silky voile on the bottom. Even though this is covered by the lining, I felt it was necessary for stability, an extra layer for warmth, and also just for the ease of sewing. I didn’t want all the batting being exposed and dusting up my machine. I cut my pieces from that.

The one change I made to the pattern was to shorten the jacket body by 2″. I am 5’4″, and I do have a long torso, but this is a unisex pattern, and I found that the jacket was longer than I wanted. The shortening I did makes it fit like a women’s standard bomber, I think. It is by no means cropped like everything you see in stores at the moment. I found this pattern very easy to follow. The directions were quite thorough and well written, and the pattern itself was drafted well. I found no discrepancies at all.

I have to say, this is right up there as an all-time favorite make. I will wear this jacket all the time. The thick quilty exterior gives the jacket quite a lot of structure, and I think it fits almost more like a letterman jacket, which I always wanted when I was a teen. Now I have one, but it’s pretty!

The lining I used is actually also a Liberty remnant from DuckaDilly, and it serendipitously coordinates with the exterior. They are not part of the same collection, but they could not go together more beautifully.

Details: 

Find the fabric here at DuckaDilly

Find the pattern at Seamwork (Use this link for 50% off an Unlimited membership!) Size 2, shortened by 2″

Want tips for working with Liberty? I have a full post with all my best advice! Check out Sewing with Liberty here.

Sewn on Janome Continental M7