Sometime ago I won this lovely pattern via a SewOver50 challenge and I was so thrilled as I’d seen it on my friend Hélène and loved it. I duly made a couple of versions and have worn them a lot, but decided I wanted another one; as a jacket. Hélène posted one she’d hacked and so I am unashamedly copying some of her details.

Here is the original pattern and my hacked version. I’m attempting to Pose Like the Pattern Model here!

First of all, I need to mention the fabric. This is some beautiful cotton I bought in Singapore when I went shopping with Belinda from @PinpointTextiles on IG. One side is spotted and the other is dots and dashes, which I suspect is the wrong side, but I decided to use with on the outside. I lined the hood but reversed the fabric so that the spots showed. The pattern came with a label so I sewed it in. I also added a label from Kylie and the Machine’s Advent Calendar so generously given to me by Katherine from Sew blooms. The last photo shows a large (huge!) button at the neckline and this is one of the ideas I got from Hélène. Such a good hack. I used some white shock cord as the button loop as it has a lot of stretch and didn’t need to be too big to go over the button.

I used a piece of silk to line the pockets, which I added as the original pattern didn’t have them. I used in seam pockets for my previous versions but this time I used a self-designed patch pocket pattern that I’ve used a lot, especially on shorts.

I only had two purple open-ended zips in my stash. One was too long and it seemed a waste to use it, but this one was too short. I thought I could get away with not having it go to the bottom but the elastic (another idea of Hélène’s) pulled it open and I didn’t like it. Notice the big safety pin holding it in place. This is also before I added the button or the pockets.

I removed the elastic and replaced it with drawstring elastic. I was hoping to find purple in my stash, but only had white, black, green and orange, so white it was. The drawstring distracts from the gap at the bottom, or it will when I even out the gathers.. The drawstring pulls came from Meggipeg. You can also see how well the button works with the hood. I have decided to shorten the drawstring and perhaps use heat shrink tubes to stop it ravelling. It’s cotton so can’t be melted.

Too many photos of the back of the hood, I was trying to capture the inside! I really like how this jacket just sits on my hips now.

The jacket came on holiday with me. It is a perfect trans-seasonal weight, so was easy to slip on and off.

This is a walk along the seafront. It’s full of interesting artefacts and has been beautifully done.

Although I made the same size as last time, I feel as though the jacket is a little big. I might remove the sleeves, shorten them and narrow the shoulders a bit. when I have the energy!

Some action shots that highlight the beauty of Esperance The first photo does not show the height or steepness of those steps. It was a long way down and even further back up!

I tied the cords into little bows to shorten them. I still haven’t got the gathers evenly distributed but working on it.

The jacket goes perfectly with jeans, both blue and white and I think it will be something I throw on when it gets chilly.

The jacket fits into a couple of sewing challenges this month, the main ones being: The SewOverAgeism challenge being run by @SewOver50 on Instagram, as the pattern model is over 45 (I hope!), the Magamsewalong challenge on IG, which has a theme “Mondial March” and for which I am a co-host. The fabric was bought in Singapore, in the company of a fellow Australian and the pattern is from the UK.

I have enough fabric left over to make some sort of a skirt. Stay tuned!

And finally, what happens when a small person finds a lipstick. She knew exactly what to do with it, but did manage to get it everywhere.