I’ve been wanting to make Mark a new casual jacket, possibly with matching tracksuit bottoms, to wear to the pool and for long trips in the car, but just didn’t have the right fabric in my stash. I broke my self-imposed fabric ban when I found the perfect fabric at Knitwit Fabrics, and bought three different colours: grey and black for him, and pink for me. The reason I got slightly excited is that most of fleecy fabric is polyester or a poly/cotton blend, whereas this fabric was 95% cotton with 5% elastin to give it stretch. It was expensive, but totally worth it.

To make Mark his tracksuit I used the Fibremood Sean and Fibremood Owen patterns. I’ve made the Sean Jacket a couple of times, but hadn’t tried the Owen.

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Both patterns have nice features. I love the shoulder inserts in the bomber jacket, it’s a lovely detail. I also really like the side pockets which are hidden in the front panels, so much better than in side seams. The wrists and bottom hem are elasticated, although these could be substituted with a knit.

The Owen trousers have narrow side strips and the pockets are sewn into the front seam of the strips, which, again, is a much better position for them. The side strips give good colour blocking opportunities too. There is also a faux fly, which I rather like. The waistband is elasticated with a drawstring (which I don’t both with as Mark always loses them), and there are back pockets too. I think this flatly shows the features better than when worn.

Mark has worn this outfit nearly every day since I made it as the weather has cooled off again. I note that the back pockets are very low, but that’s how they are on the model. Excuse the action shot, it’s hard to get him to stay still. The tee shirt is made from fabric that was in my goodie bag from the 2019 Perth Frocktails, and it goes perfectly.

I finally managed to get a photo or two of him in the whole outfit. Post swim, obviously, and I can see he’s still wet!

and the obligatory back view

If you are thinking that the pool looks a bit empty of swimmers, it’s because it was! We swim outside, but the indoor pool is a short course (25m) and it’s not terribly popular.

I also made him a pair of black trousers from the same fabric. He’s wearing them with a black Fibremood Sean jacket that I made from some thrifted fabric. I’m hoping he learns to mix and match the grey and black, but gentle urging may be needed!

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As I mentioned, when I bought his fabric, I couldn’t resist a piece of pink for me. Influence of new granddaughter perhaps??

Speaking of our granddaughter, I got these photos when we took her for a walk near Tom and Bridgette’s house. It was a glorious day and I was pleased to find something to wear with those candy pink trousers! For the record, I’m wearing the Pattern Union Lulu tee and a knitted cotton shrug. I made the hat in a class back in the early 1990s and it hasn’t fallen apart yet. I’m rather proud of that hat!

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The trousers are the Friday Pattern Company Joan Trousers, which I was inspired to make when I tried on my friend Hélène’s when I visited her in Montreal. I have made them before and tweaked them a bit – they are a bit narrower in the leg now, and I added 8cms to the length – I can’t bear having my ankles on display.

I also made the Pattern Union Cora blouse hacked into a hoodie. I used some of the grey scraps to alleviate all that pinkness. I should have used tee shirting in the hood as it’s quite bulky, but it’s really warm!

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I needed a pocket but couldn’t decide what sort. In the end I went with an odd shaped scrap of grey and hand blanket stitched it on, adding a “bespoke” label from Kylie and the Machine.

I used some lovely silk thread that I found in an op shop in Sydney. It makes such a difference when sewing with nice thread.

I used some knit binding around the neck which I had bought with Hélène on a different visit to Montreal. It was so good to use it, and I had happy thoughts of our meetings when I was sewing it on. It is lovely stuff and I don’t think I’ve seen any since.

You can see the lusciousness of this fabric. It’s so cosy inside, and it has really good stretch. It’s so comfortable to wear, I could live in this outfit!

It’s nice to make things that are in constant rotation. I did have second thoughts about the pink pants when I was making them, but I think they are ok. Mark is really happy with his outfit and I think the two Fibremood patterns will be my go to for him.