My Mum's Jacket Express Jacket

This is the Jacket Express Jacket by Islander Sewing Patterns I made as a Christmas present for my mum. I started this jacket way back in early November, when I signed up for the "Sew Better, Sew Faster" Craftsy class, but for obvious reasons couldn't post about it sooner. I was intrigued by the industry methods touted in the class description and thought I'd give it a whirl.

My mum in her new jacket

Sewing this jacket was a lot of fun and a lot less difficult than it looks. The class and instructions that came with the pattern certainly helped to make this easier to sew. The pattern is very precise and I sewed every seam in its exact and intended position. No "winging it" with this project.

But it's precisely that precision that makes this jacket easy to sew (What a horrible sentence!). Most of the things I sew include many elements of "winging it", and last minute changes and weird fabric combinations and a whole host of variables and unpredictabilities. And these are the things that make for mistakes and "afterthought sewing".

When you know exactly what you are sewing and stick to every element of the pattern, you will sew it precisely and accurately. It's not that difficult.

But, alas, we home sewers do not sew on the factory floor and most of our sewing is, for a good reason, experimental and not does not follow exacting quality standards. So, naturally, not all the sewing techniques I have learned when making this jacket have translated into my day-to-day sewing, but many have. It was a great experience and I recommend this pattern and the class to anyone.

However, the jacket pattern itself is not quite my style but as soon as I saw the pattern I knew it just screamed "M-U-M". It's excatly the kind of stuff my mum loves wearing, so I thougth I'd make it up for her as a Christmas present. I'm super happy that it turned out so well and that it fits my mum although I never had a chance to have her try it on in the making of it.

And even better than that: My mum loves the jacket and has reported that she wears it several times a week now. What a success!

In my next post I'll be posting a full review of Islander Sewing Patterns and show you another pattern that I tested.

Have a lovely beginning of the week and happy sewing!