So, I rummaged through my stash looking for the thickest, warmest fabric that I could find and I turned it into this:
Does look warm, doesn't it? It is also super, super comfortable. The pattern is the jacket from Vogue 2989.
A simple jacket with lovely lines, raglan sleeves, a peplum and a sort of scarf collar. I totally love the pattern but the actual jacket came out kinda wide, don't you think? I made my usual size 14 and the waist fits fine. But the sleeves and the upper chest is where I think there's too much fabric. Actually, looking at the side view there is also too much fabric at the underarm. If I make it again I will try to bring the armhole a bit higher. Perhaps even also a small bust adjustment?
Even though it is a bit too wide I am still very happy with my new jacket. It was super easy to make and came together very quickly. Because my knit had a tendency to curl at the edges I topstitched all the seams, holding the seam allowances in place. The knit is very fluffy so the topstitching is relatively discreet, which I think is nice.
One change I made was to leave the collar drape bits "single ply". The pattern asks you to cut 4 pieces of the collar drape, two for each side, one at top and one at bottom. But I thought my thick knit would look too thick and more importantly, I didn't have enough fabric to cut all 4 pieces. In fact, I didn't even have enough to cut 2 collar pieces. I nearly panicked when I noticed this but then I realized that in a real knit like this I could "graft" two pieces of fabric just like I do with my hand knits. It worked beautifully, you can't even see where I grafted the fabric together (it's ~10cm below the shoulder seam. I told you it wasn't visible!).
It closes with a simple hook and eye at the waist.
Despite the extra fabric under the arms it is a warm and welcome addition to my wardrobe.
My review of Vogue 2989 is here at Pattern Review.
