Colder weather moved into Tennessee, and my granddaughters needed jackets. Sewing a jacket just sounds so overwhelming, doesn’t it? Especially if the the jackets are reversible, and require reversible separating zippers! 😮 But Grandma love prevails, so it was time to get sewing!
For some reason, zippers seem to intimidate me. It’s silly really, because as a teenager I made a pants suit with a bomber style jacket and both pieces had zippers. (I recall that my mother saved that jacket for years after I quit wearing it, probably because she was just so impressed that I made it. 🙂 )
Let me put your mind to rest now, installing the zipper in the Stitch Upon A Time Gnome Jacket is no big deal. The tutorial is well written, and the directions are easy to follow. Seriously, the only challenging part was shortening the zippers. And that’s only because I purchased super heavy duty brass zippers and my husband had to help me remove the teeth by cutting them off with nippers! 😉 Plastic coil zippers would have been easier, but I love the sturdiness and bold look of the brass zippers!
The Gnome Jacket calls for woven fabric, and JoAnn Fabrics happened to have some quilting cotton and beautiful batiks on sale. I wanted the girls jackets to match, so the main sides were made with a swirl pattern quilting cotton. I personalized the lining side with pretty batiks in complementing colors. Lila likes purple and turquoise, and blues really bring out her eyes, so this “salt dye” batik was perfect for her.
When looking through some photos from a few years ago, I noticed how nice green looked on my son-in-law. So I figured a green would really flatter Zoey’s darker coloring. The green and turquoise circle print batik was a perfect choice for the lining of her jacket.
Construction of the jackets really is easy. Honestly, the fancy gathered, completely finished pockets were the most time-consuming part! 🙂 I like finished pockets, especially on wovens, because you never have to worry about the fabric unraveling. The pockets are just as smooth and pretty on the inside as they are on the outside.
I made life easier by using simple rectangular pockets on the lining side of the jackets. Because of course little ones need pockets, no matter which way they wear their jackets! Where else are you going to store your snacks, random pebbles, and whatever other treasures you find?
The jacket has a plain back or a gathered two-piece flared back option. The gathered back is a sweet feminine touch, and only takes a few minutes longer. It’s worth the extra time for the extra girly touch!
Mama got in a little walk by pushing the girls to the playground.
The girls got plenty of play time at the playground. Climbing, perching, sliding, swinging and playing outside are always fun.
They headed over to the swings, where lots of giggling commenced! Lila was so excited to push Zoey on the swing. Zoey loved her very first time playing on the swings.
The Stitch Upon A Time Gnome Jackets are well worth the sew! The foldover cuff option gives a little extra “grow” room, so hopefully they’ll be able to wear them for quite a while. I am super happy with the outcome, and have already made (actually hacked to personalize!) another one for Lila. So you can tell I really like the pattern. 🙂
No matter how rough and tumble the play, or how wild the child 😉 my girls are wearing the cutest jackets at the playground!
The details:
Kid’s Gnome Jacket by Stitch Upon A Time (it doesn’t cost you anything extra to use my affiliate link, but I may earn a few pennies to buy more patterns! 😉 )
Quilting cotton and batik fabrics from JoAnn Fabrics
Reversible separating zippers from Wawak. Don’t forget to order zipper stops in the coordinating coil size if you use metal zippers!
This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my link. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me! 🙂 Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, sewing, patterns, fabric, and making beautiful things for my granddaughters! ❤
Sew Beach Life 