It has been ages since I have last updated my website so apologies for the sudden disappearance. These couple of years seems like a whirlwind with a major move from a place I had called home for decades to a new home that required quite a lot of work done. Caught in between, my making has shrunk to making little things like jewellery to furniture for the house. I have finally settled down and my dream of owning a room where I can make things and get my creative juices running again has become a reality. I can finally pattern cut on a table and not break my back cutting on the floor.
While trying to save money for future home improvements, I decided to raid my materials box and I uncovered leather that I had collected from a while back. In fact, this was the same batch of leather that was donated to me back in 2013. The leather was still in good condition but the white leather had started to go a bit yellow. Regardless, I liked the ‘patina’ and decided to make a short cropped leather jacket, using an altered pattern from the long coat I made in 2024 (click here).
My reference for my inspiration came from leather racing motorcycle jackets and I thought that the mix of black and white leather would bring out the curvature of the sleeve. In all honesty, I had a limited amount of leather so was working within the constraints of what I had left. My poor sewing machine had to put up with sewing leather but luckily, it was quite easy as the leather was soft and fairly thin.
It might be a sign of old age but it took me several days to complete this jacket. I know leather is notoriously difficult to sew and mistakes cannot be easily rectified. So slow and steady was the call and the results was quite impressive. I especially liked the look from the back where the silhouette looked like a circle.
There was quite a massive change to the finishing during the process of construction. I has initially wanted to just sew a ribbing around the waist but I was worried that the leather might not cope that well with a stretched ribbing so while trying on the shell of the jacket, I had an idea. I was just going to attach the ribbing on the lining of the jacket while leaving the waist of the shell raw. This meant that the lining had to be doubled so no unfinished seams or raw hem can be seen.
In some parts of the jacket, I stitched the seams together by overlaying one side to the other. This construction detail removed unnecessary bulk from the seam and created a pleasing raw edge.
I can’t tell you how rewarding and exciting it was to get my brain powered up, thinking about possibilities, construction options and of course, the outcome. I was initially worried that I had left my creativity in my old home as that was the place that enabled me the time and space to experiment with my making, but now seeing the finish product, it’s safe to say that my creativity is back and flourishing.
I am already lining up my next project and having this space where I can continue to make and experiment is such a privilege. This has also made me understand my thinking process a bit better and solidified my identity. As a child, I had always wanted to be an inventor, but now I find being an experimentalist is a better and more organic fit.
Stephen Yong 