As Portland transitions to winter, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about layering pieces. I’ve realized how much I’ve been lacking in my personal wardrobe when it comes to a lightweight layer that isn’t knit. I really wanted something that was easy to take on and off, looked polished, but was not quite as sweltering as a sweater knit. I decided to take our Delavan pattern—a simple blazer layering piece—and give it my own spin.

The first thing that came to my mind was to add a color-blocking detail. I wanted this piece to feel like it can go with everything but still have some visual interest.

Here are my changes:

01 | Lengthened the blazer to my low hip

02 | Rotated the darts into the side seam

03 | Added side seam pockets

04 | Added a color-blocked, split-back detail

I used a very lightweight wool for the main body and a lightweight cotton silk for the color blocking, both purchased locally here in Portland. I really like how the black and white wool is subtle, but still adds dimension. 

With these simple pattern hacks, I now have a new easygoing layering piece to add to my winter wardrobe.

About the Author

When she isn’t pattern hacking, Chelsea is drawing step-by-step pattern instructions in Illustrator. As the Technical Illustrator here at Seamwork, she loves to make our instructions easy to follow and fun to read.