 |
| Today is the day for the sweet jacket. It’s another piece from the project run and play entry. I had a completely different idea for the adult inspired challenge, I was making a top that was going over the eye lit top so only the eye lit at the bottom would peek out, but as it often happens I finished the top put in on my little one and it was horrible… The ruffle around the neck looked like she was drowning in a clown collar, the sleeves looked like the puffy pirate top from the show Sienfeld, and well don’t get me started on the faux button flap detail that was horrid. Maybe someday I will re-visit the design and try to “make it work”, however for the competition I was running out of time to make something and have time to take pictures in daylight. I had some idea of what I wanted to make, so I did a search through pictures I had saved and choose a jacket I loved to use as my insperation. Making it child friendly was the easy part. I am so glad I went with the jacket, even if this outfit is what got me voted off project run and play it was my most favorite pieces I made the whole competition, and my little miss is getting a lot of wear out of the pieces still. So would you like to make your own? Great! I do apologize in advance that I did, as I said sew this in the wee hours of the night at my parents house with pretty poor lighting so many of the pictures are really blurry, and I am sorry about that but hopefully it won’t be that bad. |
 |
| First let’s make the pattern. Grab a shirt that fits well, (long sleeve will be easiest) Then trace the sleeve you would normally when making a pattern, but we need to add length in two places to the sleeves in order to get the pleating detail in the arm. Start by marking the pattern and placing a pin in your arm about an inch or so below the armpit. |
 |
| Then move the sleeve down the paper and start at the pin and continue tracing to the armpit. Connect between the first and second mark to continue the sleeve. So we added length in the arm and you should have two marks. How much space should you add? It’s up to you really, and how many pleats you want in the arm, I added about 2.5 inches. |
 |
| The next place you want to add some length to is the top of the sleeve. Move the shirt up on the paper about another inch from where it was, and then trace the curve of the sleeve as you would normally, but connect to the armpit. |
 |
| For the other pieces of the jacket. Trace the bodice for the front and back. (on the fold) then you will also want a front facing piece this piece fits just inside the front bodice piece and you can get it by tracing the right side edge and then following the curve so the piece it about 1.5 inches wide. (or more if you like) You will also want to cut out the tabs pattern piece, I just eyeballed what I wanted them to look like. Then since I had 6 tabs (3 on each side) I cut out 12 tab pieces. You will also need one back piece on a fold, two front pieces not on a fold, and 2 sleeves cut on the fold and lastly two front lining pieces. |
 |
| Start by sewing right sides together the front facing to the front bodice. Then I serged the front facing edge. |
 |
| Turn the facing around to the back. |
 |
| Now, since I did not make my jacket fully lined and the fabric is pretty light, I cut out a semi circle and sewed it in place along the back neckline. This helps stabilize the back neck, so it isn’t flimsy, as a bonus it looks pretty cute, and would be a great place for a tag. |
 |
| Next with right sides together sew the front and back bodice pieces together and the shoulder. |
 |
| Next pin your sleeves in place. Add pleats down side between the top of the shoulder and the armpit. |
 |
| Next with right sides together again you will sew up one arm, to the arm pit turn and go down the side. Before you sew you will be putting pleats in the arm. Pleat both sides, but don’t pleat them together. Pleat them each and then sew them together… Does that make sense? |
 |
| Next hem the sleeve. |
 |
| Next the piece we didn’t cut out when we made the pattern. Why? I find it is easier to get a perfect fit of the collar if you measure after the pieces are sewn together. Just measure the neckline from the front left side around the back and to the front right side. Then you will simply make a rectangle strip that is the length of the neck opening and the height that you want the collar. (doubled since it will be folded. Then turn under the two edges and fold the strip so you have a collar. Pin it around the neck and sew to the right side of the jacket neckline. |
 |
| Next sew two tab pieces together, clip the curve and turn them right side out. DO this to all the tabs. Then spacing them out how you like down the inside of the jacket sew the tabs in place. (oh hem the jacket first…) |
 |
| The tabs will fold around to the front |
 |
| Sew some buttons to secure the tabs in place. |
 |
| That’s it. A simple, yet stylish light little jacket perfect for the spring. |
 |
| While I love the jacket with the sweet little miss ensemble, I also love pairing the khaki color with some bold colors… |
 |
| No matter what it is paired with it seems to be the perfect little jacket for my sweet little miss.(oh and as a side note those jeans? tutorial coming 🙂
Enjoy! |
casserole
This is sooooo cute!! I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:<br />http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-cropped-military-jacket-for-little-girls/2011/02/19/<br /><br />–Anne
Shanna
Shauna!! I just love this jacket!! I cannot wait to play with making my own in a couple weeks!! I feel like all your tutorials are very well written, like you would jot a receipe down to a friend! PERFECT!
Unknown
This comment has been removed by the author.