flyer coat; lumberjack shirt; adorable son!

Nels, male model. Adorable times One Hundred! You know. I made all the clothes pictured: the Finn hat, the Flyer Jacket, the skinny wool trousers (Banyan by Figgy’s), and the hooded pearl-snap shirt. AW YEAH. Hell I (arguably) even made the child. Yeah. Yeah I’m pretty awesome.

OK, so down to brass tacks: I have two new garments to show you, and two patterns to discuss. Across the internetz many (mostly)lady-bloggers are sewing up a batch of boy patterns. They are all PDF indie designs, have a wonderful size range of 3 months to sizze 16, and they are all featured on sale this week. I was honored to be asked to participate. August 26th I will be submitting my second entry. If you like what you see here, you might pee your pants on the 26th! No, really. It’s that good!

So for today: I am showcasing the P51 Flyer Jacket by Terra’s Treasures and the Lumberjack Shirt by Patterns for Pirates, and I’ll be discussing them here and in my Flickr tagset.

I ain’t gonna lie: the rest of this post – besides wonderful pictures of my son – are going to be high-octane sewing nerdery.

First up: the shirt. The Lumberjack Shirt pattern comes in a size range 3m to 14, with an option for a collar and stand, or a hood. The shirt can be made fully lined or standard, and the hood can be lined or unlined. The shirt features a small back yoke and simple square pockets (no flap) and I’d describe the fit as standard (not slim, not boxy).

I chose to construct a lined version and a lined hood. Truly a lined, and underlined garment is almost always superior in fit, wear, and aesthetics. I used a firm white cotton for lining, and a supple pima shirting for the shell. I constructed the self-lined hood with Anna Maria Horner’s Pretty Potent Interlock Knit Thistle in plum, a midweight 100% cotton that is quite simply beautiful.I also constructed the back yoke, the outer cuffs, and the pockets on the bias. The cuffs, pockets, and front placket are all finished with pearl snaps. I used Pam Erny’s fabulous interfacing – as always.

I made a size 8 with a size 12 length; which is why it fits Nels perfectly.

The lining finish is unlike any I’ve done before: the lining layer is first constructed then folded under at the front placket, inserted into the shirt, and topstitched from the top – after the outer placket, a simple double-folded placket, has been created. Because I am super-clever this method inspired a new hem finish. I attached the lining and shell to one another right-sides together, pinked (for a perfect curve), pressed, and understitched. The result is one of the cleanest, prettiest shirt hems I’ve ever had – practically no-bulk, too:

The hood version uses a simple bias strip to hide that final neckline seam. The hood for this shirt is definitely sized on the small side. You may want to double-check if you’d like a larger hood fit. A graceful hood fit depends on the length of the child’s neck and the head size – and of course, personal preference.

 Nels usually likes to wear his hoods down and due to the largeness of his head I don’t forsee him popping this hood up often. Which leads me to the next garment – the P51 Flyer Jacket:

 This jacket is simply fabulous. It comes in a 12/18 mos to size 16 size range (*bites fist in glee*) and immediately lends itself to high-end fabric squee!ness. The garment features a sherpa-lined bodice and snap-affixed collar, standard lining for sleeves, a hem band with snaps, and two front welt pockets. Obviously you can make this garment in any combination of fabrics. I chose an amazing waxed canvas from Farfield Textile (a company with great customer service, knowledgeable employees, and speedy shipping!) and one of my favorite sherpas – a bit of yardage I picked up earlier in the year from Seattle Fabrics. I lined the sleeves with some lining gifted me by local seamstress Marlene – the grey perfectly matched the shell fabric, as resultant photos will show. And finally: the zipper – a heavy, beautiful zipper with a large pull – was purchased from Lady Lynn’s in Olympia, and the snaps herald from SnapSource (another group with fabulous customer service)!

 The waxed canvas is not only a fine fabric, but it is lovely to work with, holds a great patina, and is waterproof yet breathable – without creepy chemicals!

Up close: that fabulous zipper.

The hem and hem band:

Finishing: Ultimately I opted for as little topstitching as possible, which meant applying the inner facing and inner hem band to the sherpa lining, by hand. This takes about the same amount of time as machine work, it results in better hand-control of the final fit, it looks better, and it is curiously satisfying! I have a little whip-stitch/back-stitch hybrid I use in such applications and it is a very strong, pretty stitch:

Welt pockets: due to the nature of the waxed canvas, these were perhaps the prettiest welt pockets I’ve ever made. The opening:

Hem band and sherpa:

The inner workings of the coat. Here we are looking into the right arm lining – a beautiful lining gifted to me by a friend. It matches the outerwear color perfectly (which is impressive, as greys are hard to match!). Looking at all this sherpa etc this jacket might look a tad warm for this season – but come our rainy autumns, methinks Nels will be wearing this coat often! He will be grown out of it by the end of the year or so, and at that point the jacket is up for grabs.

 The pattern itself was well-drafted. I made a size 8 with a size 12 height and although it seems like lengthening such an asymmetrical bodice might be tricky – it wasn’t. I will add that the bits of facing and bodice and placket binding are not verbally described in traditional tailoring form. However the pattern comes with pictures that are fairly self-explanatory. I have a great deal of experience so my finish work turned out well. I can picture a beginner seamstress having a bit of trouble. If you are tackling this coat, be sure to read ahead!

So there you have it!

You can learn more about the Bundle Up pattern package below – or visit all the blogs that are showcasing the different patterns. Y’all know I tend to draft my own stuff, but these patterns are pretty fabulous and most of them have a great size range. Enjoy!