4 June 2021

My summer 2021 wardrobe: the rain jacket

The weather hasn’t been really spring-y lately. I had in mind to sew myself a rain jacket in softshell so it was the right time to dos so.

I chose to modify Jalie’s 2795 hoodie pattern since it was meant for stretch fabrics and softshell is not stretchy enough.

Jalie’s 2795 pattern

This pattern should be sewn using stretch fabrics like sweatshirt knit with a minimum of 25% widthwise.

I totally went against this and took some non-stretchy softshell. It led to quite a number of modifications to adapt the pattern.

Pattern features

Raglan sleeves
Welt pockets
Princess seams
Collar
Option: hood

Technical features

Zipper
Welt pockets
Topstitching
Collar

Many modifications

Going from a pattern meant for stretch fabrics to a garment out of non-stretch fabric may be tricky, notwithstanding the alterations for my own body shape.

From stretch to non-stretch

Disclaimer: it won’t work for all patterns!!! Make your own research to check if someone has already done it. I like perusing the Sewing Pattern Reviews or Minerva websites (hashtags #jalie2795 or #softshell).

Jalie already drafted a pattern for softshell, #2679, but I wanted the hood (sounded logical since I wanted a rain jacket).

So I took the 2795 pattern, looked at the size chart, and decided to upsize: from X-Y to Z-AA.

And…I did a muslin from stiff fabric, to check the fit.

First thing I noticed was a big pool of fabric above the butt. That could mean 2 things: either a sway-back adjustment or more room needed around the hips.

I opted to unpick all the side seams for 10 cm and the pool of fabric disappeared. Lesson learnt: more room at the hips so I went with a size BB there.

Wrists were tight so I added 0.5 cm to all of the pattern pieces.

Other modifications for #2795

Those were just for transforming the hoodie into a proper rain jacket.

I didn’t use the cuffs and band. I added some length to both sleeves and bodice to compensate (+11 cm).

Raglan sleeves are always tricky for fit on me because of my narrow square shoulders and tiny upper back. I did some drastic slashing in the pattern pieces! I took 2 cm off the raglan and 1.5 cm on the other pieces forming the armholes.

Instead of sewing the inner collar in softshell, I used some rib-knit. Very comfy and cute with this bubblegum pink color.

Sewing softshell

I had no experience with softshell beforehands. So I did my research once again.

Softshell is easy to cut with scissors or rotary cutter. I didn’t cut on the fold: I traced all of my pattern pieces on the wrong side to prevent shifting.

I used ALL of my needles to find the right one(s). They needed to sew multiple layers, topstitch, sew zipper tapes, etc. A size 90/14 needle was great on all of my smaples, but as soon as I tried sewing my real garment, it went awful! So I used a denim 100 needle for assembling and topstitching.

Softshell and seam-ripper are foes. Once sewn, ripping a seam on softshell will leave small needle holes. Trust me: I misplaced my welt pocket facing and had to unpick. I was lucky to have my needle holes hidden.

What do I think of this modified #2795?

Well, I’m pretty happy with it. I should have lengthneed the sleeves a bit more (+2 cm) and add a zipper garage since the zipper pull is a bit annoying.

I found the inner collar assembling a bit ‘cheap’. You just roll a hem inwards and stitch it by hand, as you would for a shirt collar stand.

Even if my sewing machine is powerful, some thick layers got the better of it.

For those with a big head or sporting a high ponytail/bun, you may find the hood tiny. I have short hait and a little head and it’s cosy!