The latest pattern from Pattern Union is the Felix Jacket and I was lucky enough to be a tester. Sarah has been working on this for quite a long time and I was privileged to be privy to her development process.
I began with a white cropped version made from a Victorian bedspread given to me by my eldest sister when she was clearing her house in the UK, preparatory to moving to Spain.
Pattern placement was critical to accommodate the border design of the bedspread.
The back has a yoke effect by using the border of the bedspread at the bottom.
I absolutely love this jacket and have worn it a lot in the run up to summer.
Paired with my zero waste Clair skirt, it’s perfect. For this one I used vintage cotton bias binding and haven’t folded back the sleeves into cuffs, although there’s enough length for that to be an option.
The bolero length is just right when you need a cropped jacket.
I also made a bolero length orange denim one. I bought the denim at Fab Scrap in Brooklyn (so cheap) and had enough for this jacket with quite a bit leftover to make a matching pair of trousers..
I’ve teamed the jacket with a thrifted leather dress I bought in New York. This is a lovely combination.
I used the wrong side of the denim for the body of the jacket and the correct side for the contrast binding and pockets. The sleeve cuffs contrast as they are folded back.
Back view…
A close of the denim with my Grumpy Cat brooch, which is currently living on the jacket.
Then I decided I was going to use the long version of the pattern to make a duster. I’ve been wanting a duster for at least four years and have been known to stalk people as I take photos of designs/fabrics/length, etc.
I chose some lightweight cotton that I bought in India. I spent ages trying to determine which was the correct side, and wouldn’t you know, after I had completely made it I decided that I had chosen the wrong side! I could not face unpicking it all though. Worn here with self drafted jeans and a Pattern Union Lulu tee.
This is a handy jacket for spring and looks good with a variety of outfits.
I love it with my Pattern Union Phoebe bib and tucker.
The obligatory back view.
And finally I wanted a slightly warmer duster so found this amazing heavy cotton twill in my stash. I had bought it about five years ago at Textile Traders and could not work out what to use it for. Well, this is the perfect garment for this fabric, worn here with my Pattern Union Hannah Culottes and Lulu tee. This was worn for the Remembrance Day service in my local suburb.
I adore it in this fabric. Mind you, I love all my versions!
I was a bit anxious about the pattern matching, but once I worked out where to place the spots, it was pretty easy.
I matched the pockets pretty well too.
The Felix jacket is designed to have binding round all the edges, but I couldn’t envisage putting any sort of binding on this fabric, so I rolled it under and hand stitched it down on the inside. This gave a neat finish.
This is another well drafted and versatile pattern from Pattern Union. It is an open-front, unlined jacket with optional bound edges, but can be lined if desired. Grouped cup sizes eliminate the need for a FBA. It has a fitted, two-piece sleeve with optional cuffs, and can be made in three versions: Bolero, mid-thigh or duster opera length. The pattern is layered for ease of tracing, and of course this saves quite a bit of wasted ink as you only print the sizes you want.
The pockets and edging finishes are wide open for interpretation, and as usual Sarah provides wonderful instructional videos that take the maker through each stage of the making process. The jacket is simple to make but has some nice features that provide some learning opportunities. As usual the sleeves are a thing of beauty and this will be a set of jackets that I will get so much wear from.
I think I will make a wool one for winter and I’d really like another duster where the side seams are open from the knee down. Perhaps in silk organza?
The pattern is currently on sale for $12 (Australian dollars), but I notice that Sarah has extended the sale to the Hannah Culottes and the Cora blouse ($15 and $12 respectively) for the first month of release of the Felix jacket as they all go together so well. Three patterns for $39, which is so reasonable.
Here is a slideshow of some extra combinations of the Felix, Hannah and Cora patterns.
