The Crown Royal Jacket in All Its Glory
Here it is—the Crown Royal Jacket, fully finished and ready to shine! To add a fun detail, I altered a Crown Royal bag and transformed it into a breast pocket. Thankfully, I managed to complete the entire jacket just in time for Mardi Gras.
As you can see, Kirk proudly wore the jacket while we waited for the next parade to roll.
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| Kirk wearing the Crown Royal Jacket and I waiting for the next parade to roll. |
Here is how I made the jacket
Before diving in, I should mention that I consider myself an intermediate sewer—not a professional seamstress—so thank you for bearing with my process. To begin, start collecting Crown Royal bags! For this project, I used only the bag fabric itself along with satin for the lining. In total, I ended up needing approximately 160 Crown Royal bags (750 ml size) to make a men’s 42 Regular jacket.
No, we absolutely did not drink that many bottles! Instead, I bought most of the bags on eBay in lots of 25 or more, usually for about $0.30–$0.50 per bag, including shipping. If you have a bartender friend (outside California), you might also ask them to save bags for you—oddly, liquor distributors in California sell the bottles without the iconic bags.
Choosing a Pattern
Next, choose a pattern you like and make sure it comes in the size you need. I choose McCall Pattern V8988 40-42-44-4-Vogue Pattern.
Time to cut
I first cut out the pattern pieces in gold satin and sewed the darts as instructed. These completed satin pieces later became the lining, since the original pattern didn’t include one. I chose not to wash the bags because this jacket is meant to be dry-clean only, and I didn’t want the fabric to shrink or lose its signature royal purple color. Some of the bags I bought had been washed, and the texture and color simply weren’t the same as the “virgin” bags.
Cutting the Crown Royal Bags
To prep the bags, start by cutting off the top right below the seam with the drawstring. Then cut out the front and back panels while preserving the gold-stitched side strip. Continue breaking down the bags until you have tidy piles of fronts, backs, and sides.
Working With the Fabric
Let me just say—it quickly became clear that flannel is not the easiest material to work with. To stabilize the thin bag fabric, I folded each piece of flannel in half with the Crown Royal logo centered, creating a quilt block. Doubling the fabric gave the jacket more structure. Be sure to press each block before sewing and press each seam as you go. Also, keep in mind that the metallic gold stitching on the bag sides melts under direct heat, so always use a pressing cloth.
I almost gave up
At this point, I’ll admit—I started psyching myself out. I had only sewn one jacket before, and I had never quilted anything. Because the sleeves seemed the least intimidating, I began there.
The back of each sleeve is made from solid purple “back” pieces since there’s no need to match logos. This allowed me to use larger fabric blocks. In contrast, the front of each sleeve required eight logo blocks and two side strips. This was the only part of the jacket where I used the side pieces; I’m saving the rest for a dress for myself one day.
Here’s an example of how the washed bags didn’t match the unwashed ones—just another reason to avoid laundering them.
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| Here you can see some of the Crown Royal bags that were washed and how the color does not match. |
Building the Back Panel
The back of the jacket required 60 logo blocks, plus a few blank back blocks. I chose a common bond (staggered bond) layout because it made it much easier to keep the design symmetrical. If a logo would have landed in a seam or been cut off, I substituted a plain block instead.
Once the back panel was pieced, I attached one sleeve—then the other.
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| One sleeve attached and one to go. |
The Final Challenges
By far the hardest part of the entire project was constructing the lapel and installing the lining. I ended up adding a thicker interfacing to the lapel than the pattern called for, and ultimately I tacked it down to help it sit properly. Since flannel isn’t an ideal weight for a blazer, the lining helped elevate the overall structure.
Because the jacket pattern didn’t originally include a lining, I took a bit of creative liberty with the front facing pieces so more of the gold satin would be visible.
The Final Challenges
By far the hardest part of the entire project was constructing the lapel and installing the lining. I ended up adding a thicker interfacing to the lapel than the pattern called for, and ultimately I tacked it down to help it sit properly. Since flannel isn’t an ideal weight for a blazer, the lining helped elevate the overall structure.
Because the jacket pattern didn’t originally include a lining, I took a bit of creative liberty with the front facing pieces so more of the gold satin would be visible.