The concept of Green Lanterns is pretty cool and kindof terrifying. A powerful intergalactic force tasked with maintaining order in the universe. Each one is gifted a power ring that allows them to make manifest anything they can imagine through the power of their will. I can easily see this going wrong, and there have absolutely been story lines where it has, but at the same time the concept of a ring like that is just so cool!
There is a great variety of Green Lanterns, more so with a variety of humans in recent books, and they all have their own spin on the uniform. So of course, I want to do my own… and I really love bomber jackets…
I’ve never sewn a jacket before, so to create a Green Lantern style bomber jacket I would need a pattern. Thankfully bomber jackets are pretty popular, so I had a great selection. I ended up going for McCall’s M7637 as it gave me some choice in pocket placement and collar shape.
Bomber jackets are also a great pick for first jacket as there is basically no fitting or tailoring required. So all of my angst could go firmly into how on earth to do a lining!
First step was to make a mock-up and mark out the mantle shape I wanted. Of course I forgot to take pictures of this as I was having way too much fun drawing lines on fabric! Once I had a shape I liked I cut up the mock up and used it as a pattern piece to cut out the shiny green fabric.
Really I should have pieced this together with the black, but the green fabric was quite flimsy and I wanted to back it onto the black fabric for strength.
I pinned the green pieces to the main pattern pieces then top-stitched them into place. The point was pretty messy, but this would be covered up by the Green Lantern logo, so I left it. Can’t say it didn’t bother me though!
After all the pieces were completed I sewed them all together trying my best to join up the lines. It worked better in some places than others.
And finally I used my satin stitch to make the logo! This was the first time I’ve ever attempted something like this. I used HeatnBond to stick the green layer to the white layer, then sewed around the edges with the satin stitch. I was in a state of near panic for almost the entire time as by this stage this project was waaaaay overdue and I didn’t have wiggle room to have a second go at this!
But I think it turned out pretty good. Plus I found a new tool and learnt a new skill. This patch was then satin stitched onto the jacket to cover the messy point.
Next up was the lining. Which was a disaster. There was much swearing and it’s still not 100% attached… But it’s on the inside, so it’s difficult to see, which is very good!
I will come back and finish it off properly eventually, probably by hand as I have better control with that, but today is not that day.
The main thing it it was ready for Free Comic Book Day as I intended! And I got to wear it to my local comic book shop All Star Comics and pose like a super hero.
Even though there was still stray thread attached to the back of the jacket and I’m very conscious of the dodgie lining I think it looked pretty fantastic.
I paired it with a cheep mask sprayed green with hobby paint and my regular Green Lantern jewellery from Guild Jewellery. Even my shoes are green, though the wrong shade.
But the main point is, much fun was had! And I learned a lot about jacket construction and will be having another attempt for sure.
