Cut out the pattern pieces for your jacket. Be careful, brocade frays easily. It has to do with the weave – the warp is made up of densely laid fine threads with thicker threads woven in between to form a pattern. All the threads are beautifully shiny and smooth, so of course they slip loose easily.

The best thing to do is to finish the edges of each and every piece after cutting. Either use a spray like Fray Check (it hardens when it dries, so it won't work everywhere) or sew the edge with an overlock or zigzag stitch (this takes up some of your seam allowance).

For the purposes of this tutorial, please assume you should finish any rough edges, even if I don't say it outright. If you don't finish the edges at the cutting stage, then you should do it automatically after sewing a seam to keep it from fraying as you wrangle your work through the next steps.

When tracing, pay close attention to the brocade motif. For busy little designs this may not be a big deal, but for regular, symmetric designs (like the Heaven pattern shown here) you should frame the motif and keep it centered. Make sure the designs on each side of the zipper match up. The sleeves should be mirror images of each other too.

If the prospect of sewing pockets makes you break out in a cold sweat, you really can leave them out entirely, or just add simple in-seam pockets.

I'll show you how to make elegant welt pockets. They're easier than you think. You just have to take your time.

On each of the front panel pieces, mark a rectangle for the pocket opening. This is where the welt will be. Rule of thumb is 6" (15 cm) by 3/4" (2 cm). Your pattern might already have pocket markings, if so, just trace them on. Don't do any cutting yet!

Reinforce the pocket opening on the back side of the fabric with fusible interfacing – make a 3/4" (2 cm) overlap on all four sides.

Grab a pencil and sketch the rectangle for the pocket opening on the interfacing for reference.

Our fine fusible canvas works really well for reinforcing brocade.

Each pocket has two pieces. One piece is a little longer because it includes the welt, in our case that's 3/4" (2 cm) more. Pocket pieces have a standard seam allowance of 3/8" (1.5 cm) all around.

Cut the pockets. The sketch below shows all four pocket pieces as they should be laid out on the face side of the fabric. On the left are the pieces for the right pocket and on the right are the pieces for the left pocket. The blue rectangle is the welt, which is the part that peeks out. The underside piece is smaller because it doesn't have that part. The dashed line around the edge shows the seam allowance.

Both welts should look the same – they should have the same motif, mirrored. This will make the final jacket look neater than if each welt were different.

First, grab some thread in a totally contrasting color and stitch to mark the rectangle.

A welt pocket demands a little three-dimensional thinking. The sketch below should help.

Pick up a front panel and its matching, longer pocket piece (double check to be sure!) and place the longer pocket piece on the face side of the jacket so that the seam line (the red line on the pocket shown below) is aligned exactly on top of the lower line of the welt (red line on the jacket).

The dotted yellow line in the picture below shows the pocket welt. Lay the pocket piece as shown (face to face with the pocket facing the jacket center) and move it over so that the red lines lie on each other.

Sew it on. It's easier from the back, where you have the line marked. Sew only along the line, not all the way to the edge of the pocket piece – leave the seam allowance loose.

Sew on the other (shorter) pocket piece pretty much the same way. Again, face to face, this time along the upper edge of the pocket opening.

See the next picture. On the right you can see the longer pocket piece sewn on, with the red line marking the seam. (I folded the seam allowance back and pinned it so it wouldn't get in the way.) The shorter pocket piece on the left is what we're sewing now.

Lay the piece on the front panel face to face, mirroring the other pocket piece. The yellow line on the pocket piece should be lined up on top of the pocket welt edge.

Sew from the back, just the length of the line, not all the way to the edge.

Now the front panel should look like it has a pair of elephant ears. Don't worry, it will be a pocket soon enough.

Drop a bit of fray stopper at each of the four corners of the pocket welt and let it dry.

Turn the piece over to the back. Using a small, sharp pair of scissors, cut a slit at the middle with a sort of triangle at each end as shown below. This is the pocket opening. Cut corners almost to the seam line. Be careful not to cut into the pocket pieces! Only cut the front panel fabric.

Rip out the marking stitches. You won't need them anymore.

Pull the pocket through the slit. Everything comes to the back, including seam allowances and triangles. Fold the larger pocket piece and press the 3/4" (2 cm) welt corresponding to the width of your pocket opening from the seam line.

In the picture below you can see this pressed piece at the bottom. The smaller piece is folded up at the top.

From the front the pocket looks like this now. It's starting to come into shape even if it's still a little crooked.

Straighten everything up. If you can't get a nice corner, it might not be cut deep enough. Double check your measurements and press in place.

Now the pocket is ready for final sewing. Since I cut the pocket piece so that the motif would line up exactly with the motif on the front panel, it is almost invisible.

You don't have to go for a perfect pattern match like this, which can take a lot of extra fabric. Another good option is to cut the pocket deliberately in a different direction or in a place where there is no pattern. The main thing is that the two pocket welts should have mirror images of the same motif if possible.

Finally, sew all around the pocket opening, keeping close to the edge. (Note: When sewing the lower edge, don't forget to move the back piece of the pocket out of the way, otherwise you'll sew your pocket closed!)

Sew the pocket together to finish. Line up the two pieces, face to face, sew around with a straight stitch and finish rough edges with a zigzag if you haven't already. It doesn't have to be perfect; the pocket will be hidden under the lining.

Do the other pocket the same way.

Your pockets are done!

Now, as a reward for all that detail work, we get to take a huge step forward... sewing the body of the jacket!

Since a bomber has dropped shoulders and a lower sleeve head, it's a lot like sewing a t-shirt or a shirt.

1. First sew the shoulder seams. Sew the back and front panels together, face to face, along the shoulder.
2. Attach the sleeves. Place the sleeves on the jacket at the sleeve opening. Make sure you line up the pattern marks.
3. Sew the sleeve length and side seam. Turn the whole thing inside out. Start at the armpit and sew to the end of the sleeve, then from the armpit to the hip. Do this on both sides.

It's starting to look like a bomber. (This is a good time to try it on for size.)

Cut a strip of ribbing of the needed length and width.

The measurements are given in the pattern, based on what size your jacket is. The ribbing for the waist will be shorter than the lower edge of the jacket (it should be around 80% of the lower circumference of the jacket). That gives the jacket its shape. You stretch the ribbing as you sew, so the bottom of the jacket will be gathered.

Since the ribbing is doubled over, the strip width is double, plus seam allowance. So if the finished trim should be 2" wide (5 cm), you'll start with a strip 5 1/4" wide (13 cm) and fold it in half lengthwise before you sew it on.

Sew the folded strip of ribbing along the lower edge of the jacket. To make sure you stretch it evenly, start at the center and pin the ribbing in a few spots.

The ribbing should be no problem for an all-purpose needle, but if your machine seems to have problems or is skipping stitches, try a stretch or jersey needle for this step.

Some bomber jackets have ribbing along the whole length of the bottom. I think it looks better if there's a bit of solid material at the front on either side of the zipper. This makes it easier to zip up too.

After sewing the long edge of the ribbing in place, notch the corners of the seam allowance in the jacket material (use a drop of fray checker here), spread the corners open and sew the short end of the ribbing.

The cuffs are done pretty much the same way. First sew the short ends of the ribbing together, then turn the the piece back in half, right side out, to make a cuff.

Pull the end of the sleeve into the prepared cuff, align the seams and pin in place with the rough edges lined up. Pin at two or three spots so you know how much to stretch. Sew the cuff on from the inside as shown.

The last bit of ribbing goes at the collar. The strip is cut into a sort of tapered shape. Again, it is a bit shorter than the circumference of the neck opening, but not much – the neckline shouldn't have much gathering.

Pin the collar to the neckline. Make sure you line up the center and shoulder marks. Sew in place.

The zipper goes in between the jacket and the lining, so we'll be doing these two steps in parallel.

We'll do it a little differently than it's shown in textbooks (an in some patterns, like this one from Burda). This technique takes a little more time, but I think it's easier to follow, and harder to mess up.

First, sew together the three pieces for the facing. There are two long front facings and a shorter one at the back of the neck. Sew them together at the shoulders.

Now it's time for one small detail that no jacket should be without, a loop to hang it on.

Cut a rectangle from a scrap of fabric about 4" (10 cm) by 1 1/4" (3 cm). Fold it in half lengthwise, right side in, and sew with the folded edge aligned to the edge of your sewing foot. Trim away the excess fabric and turn the tube right side out.

To turn it out, you can use a loop turner (sold at most fabric shops), a safety pin, or a knitting needle. You don't have to finish the ends; they'll be hidden.

Place the facing on the neckline, right sides facing, along where you just sewed on the collar. Line up the center and shoulder seams.

Time to put in the front zipper.

Fold back the seam allowance for the zipper and iron in place. Do the same for the seam of the facing, so that it's ready when you get there.

Pin the zipper in place and make sure everything lines up (top and bottom, the brocade motif). Stitch it loosely in place. Don't forget to leave a seam allowance at the bottom.

At the neck, fold the end of the zipper tape to the back – once the facing is sewn up, it will be hidden inside.

The photo shows the view from the back. The zipper is stitched to the front panel of the jacket and the facing is pinned in place for sewing later.

At the bottom of the jacket, sew the bottom of the facing to the section between the ribbing and the zipper.

Turn out the facing so that it is lying right sides facing on the jacket front. Loosen the stitches at the bottom of the zipper so that you can sew from edge to edge. Sew the bottom as shown by the dotted line in the picture below.

(The seam allowance shown in the picture is a little narrower than it should be; don't let it confuse you.)

Turn the facing back to the inside of the jacket. Now it is sewn both at the top and bottom; only the long front edge remains.

From the bottom, pin the facing to the zipper. You should end up with a zipper sandwich – the jacket's front panel on top, the facing on the bottom (both with folded, pressed seam allowances) and the zipper tape in the middle.

Sure, you can wear a bomber without a lining. But if you do, you've got to clean up all of your seams (with a bias tape is best). Then your jacket will look nice on the inside too.

Of course, the lining takes your jacket up a notch, plus it keeps you warmer and protects the brocade from wear and tear.

Trace and cut a back panel, two front panels, and two sleeves from your lining fabric.

The pieces are the same size as for the jacket shell. The only difference is that the back and front panels are reduced by the area covered by facing.

Follow along with the pictures below:

Do the same for the front panels. Subtract the front facing piece from the pattern. The front panel of the lining will be much narrower when you're done.

Sew the lining together just as you did the jacket shell. 

1. Sew along the shoulders
2. Attach the sleeves
3. Sew the sleeves and side seams from the armpit. The only difference here is that you will leave a gap of 5" (13 cm) in one of the side seams.

You don't have to finish the rough edges of the lining seams, just press them in place.

Lay out the jacket, face side up, with the facing spread open as shown below.

Lay the lining, wrong side up – right sides facing – on the jacket.

Pin the lining to the facing panel. Make sure you align the center of the back panel to the center of the facing panel. Line up shoulder seams too.

The bottom of the bomber is now as shown below. The lining has been sewn to the facing all the way to the seam allowance.

Rotate the lining clockwise, in the direction shown by the arrow. You will be rotating it around point A so that the yellow dotted lines come to lie atop each other. The lining will be face side down with its seam allowance lined up along the seam allowance of the waistband.

The center of the back panel of the lining should be aligned to the center of the jacket and the side seams should also line up (see photo below). Pin in place and sew along the whole length.

Sew on the seam line where the ribbing is attached to the jacket. Don't forget to gently stretch the ribbing as you sew.

The result should be a sort of sack, sewn shut, that you wouldn't be able to turn right side out... if you hadn't left a convenient gap in one of the side seams of the lining.

Reach into the gap and pull the whole jacket through. You might want to start with the nearest sleeve, then the bottom edge, and the other sleeve last.

You still have to sew the lining at the sleeves. You can do this by hand or machine. To do it by hand, fold the seam allowance at the end of the sleeve lining and use an invisible stitch to attach it to the cuff.

To do it on a machine, use the gap again. Reach in and pull out the jacket sleeve and the lining sleeve. They'll both be inside out as you can see in the next photo. Tuck the cuff into the jacket sleeve.

Line up the edges of the lining sleeve and the ribbing (align the seams). Sew all around. From the right side of the jacket, reach into the sleeve and turn it right side out, pulling the lining with it.

There are a few details left to finish off by hand: the unfinished ends of the facing panels at the bottom of the jacket and the gap in the side seam.

Good job. You are the proud owner of a beautiful new jacket. 

Here's hoping it serves you well and gets you many well-deserved complements.