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I do like tricky sewing projects. They are so motivating and I learn so much from designers.
Itch to Stitch’s Winterthur jacket* is the perfect utility jacket pattern: plenty of pockets, a drawstring (on the inside), a (optional) hood, and the ability to sew it in any kind of fabric.
Let’s see what I did!
Winterthur in a few words
Don’t be afraid of lined jackets. When a designer like Kennis provides you with loads of information, you can’t fail.
Winterthur* is the perfect outerwear thanks to:
- its pockets (chest and/or front patch pockets)
- a collar or a 3- piece hood (the best hood shape in my opinion)
- a drawstring on the inside
- 2-piece sleeves, with adjustable snap tabs
- a snap button placket hiding the zipper underneath
- cup sizes (A to DD) and sizes ranging from 00 to 40
The jacket is fully lined as well.
Its princess seams make it less boxy than other similar jackets.
Did you spot Pikachu?!?
Well, I’ll be highly visible in the countryside, for sure!
I wanted a bright jacket, made of water-repellant fabric and with a quilted fabric as lining, for extra-warmth.
Since I had been extremely satisfied by the fabric for my Lagan coat, I turned to Active Fabrics for this new project. I chose 1075, as main fabric, and navy blue quilted fabric for lining. This website is amazing for active and outer-wear fabrics.
I knew what I wanted: a yellow jacket with navy blue hardware. Oh, my, was it tricky to find navy blue hardware. Nowhere in France did I find what I needed. Fortunately, this shop in Germany had grommets, metal snaps, drawstring, etc (and so much more…a real treasure trove!).
I also bought Wonder dots: these are strong interfacing pieces for reinforcing snap and grommet areas.
TIP: if you order this set of grommets, there’s no tool included. I use Varyo pliers so I needed this set* to get the little thingies to adapt my pliers to the 8 mm grommets.
Some parts of the jackets are interfaced…normaly. I did some testing about iron temperatures. Well, I didn’t melt my fabric ofrtunately, but once cold, the interfacings (either G710 or G780) were peeling. So, I didn’t fuse interfacing, but the Wonder Dots (those were prefctly fused at lwo temperature and stayed put).
Sewing and alterations
Apart from grading from a 4B to a 6 at waist and hips, I didn’t need any other alterations. Since that was a tricky project, I did a muslin.
This pattern has many steps so stay focused!
Usually, during testing, you’re not allowed to add other features, but I added a concealed pocket on the inside….!
Be careful with the placement since you will have to sew the drawstring and the snap flap later on.
Some difficulties and my opinion
This is an Advanced pattern, obviously.
Checking that everything matches is really important…and I got the ugly surprise, right at the very end, to see that my neckline had a 1 cm difference. Even if I had basted and used wonder tape… So be careful with your various placements.
What bothered me too was my skipped stitches on the drawstring casing. I tried eveyrthing in the book from changing the needle, the type of needle, to thread, etc, but what really helped me was changing my plate to the HP plate along with the HP foot (I have a Janome 6700P).
This jacket will see a lot of use in the future. So I’ll sew a more traditional one (i.e. navy blue) with a zipper garage this time, because the slider is really irritating!
