I love being part of pattern tours, I really do. I have a lot of fun sewing from my Japanese pattern books, but I feel like I get an extra dose of inspiration from sewing up the many fantastic indie patterns I’ve been lucky enough to try. Heidi of Elegance and Elephants is one of my favorite designers. I know that I’m in good hands when I follow her steps, and I’m always delighted by the clever little details she includes. And the end result is professional and beautiful.
And she’s so technically savvy! She included a nifty PDF function that enables you to select only the size you want to print out (I chose size 7 and the fit is perfect). Maybe it’s common practice with digital patterns now, but this was the first time I’d seen it.
So today, we’re talking about the Spring Showers Jacket, which I’m sure you’ve been seeing around the online sewing sphere. I used an upholstery weight cotton canvas with an aqua ikat print. I lined it with the ubiquitous grey stripey cotton lawn that I use for linings all the time. As you can tell, I didn’t nail the print alignment in the front, but as always, I chalk these things up as homemade charm.
It has so many cool tidbits like the zipper shield (my first one ever!), hi-lo hem, and a visor on the hood, and I loved how this jacket is constructed. Heidi really broke down the steps to make it as easy as possible and I really enjoyed the whole process. Maybe I’m slow at sewing or maybe it was all the topstitching, but the jacket took me a long time. Then again, I had to take a lot of breaks because I was sewing it while K was home with a stomach bug, and a sick kid is pretty demanding. But the effort was worth it because K absolutely adores this jacket.
K chose the zipper and it was a good call, I think.
Fortunately, she got over her stomach bug by the end of the day, so we walked around the neighborhood for a photoshoot, since we’d spent all day cooped up at home. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:
Isn’t she silly? Love her.
Make sure to check out the other fabulous Spring Showers Jackets on the tour, and if you hurry, you can get a dollar off the price with the code: TOUR through today! Thanks for including me, Heidi!
I love the fabric you chose! Fabulous and fresh too. Seems like a pretty nifty pattern and based on the pictures, K seems to feel great in it. Sorry to hear she was sick though.
Thanks Alexandra! It was a super quick bug and she didn’t seem in too bad a shape while she had it. Unfortunately, I caught it too and was bed-ridden all day yesterday!!
oh man, i knew i was going to love your version of this pattern, and i do!! great fabric, such a cute jacket – it’s adorable on her!
This fabric totally reminds me of you, Gail! K is a big fan of this jacket and wore it to school yesterday even though we’re having a tremendous heat wave (you guys are probably having one too, right?).
Just wonderful! Wonder if I could copy it with my albion pattern…? The fabric is perfect. Impressive patternmatching on the pockets! I am wishing you a beautiful spring shower for your crazy little K!
Oh, the albion jacket is such a cool pattern, Ute! I bet it would look great! And thanks for the patternmatching love – I was quite surprised that it came out as well as it did since it’s clearly not my strong suit ;-). It’s crazy hot in Seattle right now, but we’re anticipating some spring showers in a couple of days, which will be perfect for this jacket!
This is a wonderful project.. I love that fabric choice.
Thank you, Lucy! I bought a bunch of the fabric with the intention of making some poufs/floor cushions, but I think it was the right choice for this jacket 🙂
I just love your version! And I agree with K, great choice on the zipper!
Hope you are both feeling much better!
K didn’t actually have a lot of choices for the separating zipper – it was either the navy, the beige or a black-and-white polka dot, but I think she chose well too 🙂 Thanks, Megan, we’re both doing much, much better!
that’s funny – one of my first thoughts when I saw the top picture was how well you lined up the fabric print on the front. See – you’re your own worst critic as I was quite impressed! Even the pockets prints line up:)
Such a great version of this coat, and I love the fabric that you chose. I would imagine that this type of coat would get much wear in Seattle, both with its temperate climate and dampness. I hope K loves it, as she looks adorable in it! And tell her that navy zipper was the perfect choice!
ps – love the goofy box-on-the-head pictures – glad she was feeling much better by the end of the day!
I’m pretty proud of the pockets 🙂 The front was actually supposed to match up, but when I installed the zipper, the fabric shifted and I couldn’t be bothered to un-do and re-try…but thank you as always for seeing the good, Lucinda! As I’m typing this, I’m sweltering in 90 degree weather — so NOT Seattle! Fortunately, it’s supposed to cool down in the next day or two, and the jacket will definitely come in handy then!
I love the aqua – it is my new favourite colour this year! It was very hot in Vancouver today too – where did that come from??
I really want to make this jacket but I’m wondering about how practical it is since I won’t be making it out of Gortex or a waterproof fabric. I’ve been thinking about a waterproof spray but I worry about the smell or if it changes the look of the fabric. Any experience with waterproofing? (Mine’s all with tents)
Hi Traveller! It’s so much cooler today, thank goodness. I’ve become a true Pacific Northwesterner and can’t handle the heat anymore 🙂
As for waterproofing, I don’t have a lot of experience with waterproof spray and this canvas isn’t actually waterproof (I considered doing a DIY waxed canvas, but the tutorials looked too daunting). I thought about using a laminated fabric as well, but I’ve made K lots of spring jackets in cotton/canvas, and they’ve held up well in our rainy weather (we end up using umbrellas).
Thanks!!
This is so gorgeous! The fabric is so fresh for spring 🙂
Thanks so much, Eva! I love this fabric as well – I’m pretty sure I got it from my go-to store Drygoods Design, but my fabric memory seems to keep getting spottier and spottier…
Such perfection as always, Sanae! I’m so glad K loves her new jacket. I had to laugh a bit when you said I was technically savvy because of the ability to print specific sizes. I can’t take the credit since it’s all completely thanks to Lauren Dahl’s new Pattern Workshop course. 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind words and for participating in the tour.
I need to take that workshop! I’ve heard fabulous things about it, and I want to learn how draft patterns. Thanks again for letting me participate – it’s always an honor, Heidi!! 🙂