I’ve been deep stash diving for this make.  This lovely doubled-sided wool was purchased many, many, many years ago at The Fabric Store in Melbourne with a short jacket in mind.  It feels so good to have finally sewn it up.

My idea of a short jacket was re-interpreted as cropped, boxy, unlined jacket from a Japanese pattern book for #sewjapaneseinjuly.

I think this Japanese pattern book might become my favourite.  Each pattern comes with two versions – oversized and a true-to-size.  The true-to-size has two sizes and includes a diagram with garment width, body length and sleeve length.  I find these measurements very helpful when choosing what size to make.

The jacket that I’ve sewn is Pattern ‘l’ (lower case L) in the smallest size (size 1).

I made three pattern alterations.  The first two of those changes where specific to my body – a forward shoulder adjustment and shortening the sleeves – and the latter was due to not being able to find matching ribbing.  Yes ribbing… the cuffs in the pattern are supposed to be ribbing!

Instead of the ribbing I added an elasticised cuff.  Did you spot that I used the reverse side of the fabric?  I’m quite happy with how this alteration worked out.  It helps the jacket maintain a bit of a sporty/bomber jacket vibe.

Can you believe that I had the perfect zip in my collection?  It’s exactly the same colour and length that I used for my rust coloured Falda Jacket.  And the reason that this zip was in my stash?  At the time of sewing the Falda I had to order 5 of the same zip to get the colour/length that I required!

Now this is the first time that I’ve sewn a zip with a facing that wraps around and sits behind the zip.  It’s actually a really neat finish and I felt rather pleased when I discovered how it worked.  I often learn by doing!

The instructions didn’t specify, but I under-stitched all of the facings.  Under-stitching is a favourite sewing technique of mine as it really helps elevate the finish on your garment with very little effort.  As you can see above, the facings still need to be hand-stitched in place.  I promise I’ll do that before I next wear this jacket!

My final thoughts…

I love my new jacket, but I just wanted to reiterate that this pattern is very boxy and has a lot of movement and swing.  I think the following photos capture the jacket in all its glory!

Pattern:  Jacket l (lower case L) from ISBN978-4-579-11563-1
Size:  Size 1
Fabric:  Doubled-sided wool from deep stash (originally purchased from The Fabric Store)
Alterations:  3/8″ (1cm) forward shoulder adjustment, shortened the sleeves by 2″ and replaced the ribbed cuffs with elasticised cuffs made from the reverse side of the wool.
Outfit:  Jeans from Witchery,  Doctor Who Cowl and boots from Obus (last season).
Photo Location:  Port Fairy