Lonetree jacket from Indiesew, version 2

So, I made the Lonetree jacket, and I LOVE it! (Can you see Tesla in the photo going “seriously, ENOUGH with the photos, I want my walk!”). I am sure I will get a love of wear out of it. This is what a great pattern is to me: A pattern that enables me to make something that is, lets face it, really out of my league. But, with a great pattern, I somehow create things like great looking jackets and jeans! Yay for great patterns!

I made this one in a nice, black non-stretch denim (this) and lined the hood with a softer, blue denim. I used a neon orange shoelace as drawstring, and anorak snaps for pockets and sleeves. I love how the blue denim looks in the hood!

This time i cut a size L and graded to between L and XL at the hips (My measurements are bust 86 cm/ 34″, waist 71 cm/ 28″ and high hip 100 cm/ 40″, widest hip 105 cm/ 41″). This turned out to be too generous on the hips, for my next version I will use size L all over, except the sleeves where I found that size M fit me better.

I have made the following alterations to the pattern:

– Shoulders flattened&taken in 1 cm/ 0.4″
– Body lengthened 4 cm / 3.2″ (zipper length: 75 cm/29.5″)
– Pockets: added plaques to make more space
– Lowered the placement of the small pockets about 1 cm/ 0.4″

I really had trouble fitting all parts on my fabric, and had to cut the back interfacing at an angle; this has interfacing, so hopefully it won’t matter. (I was really sweating over all these pattern pieces! OMG!).

So, I cut all the pieces and fused interfacing on them. I accidentally fused the facing to the wrong side og one of the flaps for the small pockets, and decided no one will notice as I thankfully used black interfacing! Don’t tell the sewing police!

Besides the parts that the patterns call for interfacing, I also interfaced the drawstring casing where the holes are, and the shoulders to avoid the weight of the sleeves to deform the shoulder.

And now, in hindsight, I realize I should have added interfacing to the pockets where the snaps are – the first one went right through the fabric today! Argh.

I made placates on the pockets, as without this they have very little volume. I would have liked to enlarged the low pockets too, but I forgot to make the flaps larger, and didn’t have enough fabric anyway. Next time! And my phone fits nicely, laying down, in these, so it wont be a problem 🙂

Comments to the pattern: 

I had trouble getting the hood to fit the bodice (step 31), as my hood filled the whole bodice, and the instructions clearly said that it must not (both the instructions from the pattern and the sew-along). I tried to gather the hood part so there would be room for the zipper, and it turned out well, but I will adjust the pattern pieces for the next time.

I had a similar problem with the collar (step 38), where my collar was considerable longer than the bodice part. I don’t know if this is a problem with the pattern (maybe only with size L?) or if I somehow cut something wrong; I don’t think I did though, I only printed size L and XL, and the collar was something like 6 cm/ 2″ too long, which is way more than one size, I think. I will adjust my pattern pieces for next time. Also a heads up here: The collar is prettu tight, so if you don’t like this you might want to adjust it a bit.

I will also skip step 24B, pressing the cuffs, as this is counterproductive and makes it a bit more difficult to get a nice result, as the cuffs must be pressed the other way eventually.

I put the drawstring (well, shoelace) in the case right after I made it, in stead of waiting till everything was sewn together. This way I could pull it through the open front and use a safety pin, which would not have been possible through the small metallic eyes.

I did the cuffs the opposite way as in the instructions/ sew a long, as I like this look better 🙂

When I put in the zipper I marked as stated in the instructions, and then sewed just a few stitches at the draw string casing and the collar seam, before sewing the entire zipper. To make sure it would match.

I don’t think this is a difficult pattern, but it has a LOT of pieces, so it takes some time to make. I could definitely improve my “crisp corner skills”, and the part where the interface is sewn together with the zipper calls for slow sewing. But nothing too difficult I think!