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Reversible Jacket — Butterick 6863

2022-02-05T12:30:00-08:00

Wanting something warm to wear, I decided it would be fun to try my hoodie pattern Butterick 6863 in flannel. The pattern is oversized so this continues my experiment with making this ‘designed for stretch knits’ in a woven. This is emerging as a theme along with making the garment reversible (see my blog on the kantha hoodie, same pattern, different problem solving). With no stretch I find the arms do need some added width — more about that later.

Once I decided to make the hoodie reversible for added warmth, the fabric, design and construction choices appear.

Design & Cutting Tips

The boldness of the red and black of Crimson Baby Buffalo Check Flannel provides the right juxtaposition to the small scale of Black and White Mini Houndstooth Flannel and makes a perfect contrast in color, balance and proportion. Cut the checked fabric separately to match the checks. Each side has one pocket in the contrast fabric to balance the inside of the hood which is exposed when worn. Cut the identical fabric pockets on the bias to provide design variation and solve matching issues.

Construction Tips

Essentially you are stitching together two separate hoodies. The zipper is first sewn on each side of the Crimson Check so the checks match. Basting the zipper in place with thread or double-faced tape is crucial. I used a 27” YKK #5 Molded Plastic Reversible Jacket Zipper purchased from Wawak.com. Once both sides are constructed and the zipper installed, with right sides together, stitch around all the edges of the garment, including sleeve hems, leaving a 5” opening on one edge to turn the whole shebang right sides out. All the seams are topstitched. This gives the hoodie a nice structure and keeps the 2 layers from bagging out. About those sleeves. With no stretch in the fabric, the sleeves need to be cut larger. This means that both the armhole and sleeve seams must be enlarged. I added 1½ ” on both sleeve seams for a total of 3”. Drop the front and back armhole 1½” so everything matches.

Have fun, keep warm and well!

Fooling Around With Flannel Jacket — Butterick 6521

2021-09-23T12:30:00-07:00

Here’s another version of B6521 — my current BFF shirt pattern — in flannel. I alliterate the feel of flannel with the flattering fit of this shirt. There is nothing like a flannel shirt when the seasons turn into cooler weather. My mind shifts into the zen mode of ‘chop wood, carry water’. For me it’s lug logs in for the wood stove, wash the dishes, make a flannel shirt. Personal zen.

Flannel — soft, cozy, comfy, warm, stable weave, easy to sew — perfect for pattern play as zen meditation.

When one has been sewing for a long time it’s great fun (and high time) to experiment with new things. I’ve played with prints a lot over the years, combing stripes, florals, abstracts, geometrics, paisleys, colors, textures and checks. This print shirt is a variation on a stripe; a subtle and soft turquoise line reminiscent of wood grain on a gray ground.

I must confess to be cavalier when working with stable woven fabric. I play with the grain line. I actually ignore it occasionally. Quelle horreur! The caveat here is try this at your own risk. Experiment. Use common sense. Common sewing sense. Sometimes it works better than others. Just saying.

It’s easy to see the grain line in this print. You can see in the different photos how each pattern piece was cut. I like the harmonious variation in each piece as it meets its neighbor.

My method involves using the straight grain, the cross grain and the bias. The bias is the tricky part but when analyzed makes sense and works.

Bias is great used in a sleeve because it offers a little give and extra ease. When used in a collar it provides a lovely soft roll. On the cuff, bias is stabilized by the straight grain on the backside. On the torso pieces, it curves over the bust and floats over the hip.

There are whole books dedicated to play and how good it is for all of us. Sewing is a great venue to play in and stripes, alone or in combination with other prints, always make a good play.