Pink Winter Jacket

I wish I had a better excuse for the lack of activity here, but the fact is that more often than not, my sewing projects are quite “ordinary” and lack the “wow” factor.

I’m quite practical in my sewing (as with everything else, to be honest) and winter sewing seems to suffer the most from it. Usually I look for practical designs and fabrics that withstand the everyday wear. Plain colors and natural materials are always on top of my list.

The Oliver+S School Days Jacket Sew-along was held in the beginning of November, and although I did managed to sew my girl’s new winter jacket during the sew-along week, I never managed to post about it.

Every since this pattern was released, it has become my go-to-winter jacket pattern, for both my boys and my girl. Usually, I can get away with sewing one (for each child, of course) every 2 years, mainly because I always sew one size above …

This fully-lined hooded jacket can look a bit scary when you first look at it, but I can ensure you that it’s not difficult at all – most of the sewing is done in straight lines and, because it’s fully-lined, there’s no exposed seams.

However, it does take some time – not your typical 2 hours-sewing project, but in my opinion the final result is totally worth it: The final jacket looks rather professional.

Usually the most complicated part of sewing a winter jacket is selecting the fabric. Fortunately (or not) I purchased this pink wool on stock-out sale a few years ago, so it was the obvious option. I won’t lie to you – my girl didn’t approved this “pink” (too much pink) but after it was completed she said it looked “nice”.

I used a soft viyella (pink dots) for the lining (she did like the dotted lining).

As usual, Oliver+S patterns delivered a great winter jacket/coat pattern for everyday wear.

I will need to sew her a more formal winter coat, but this one is perfect for school and for most of outside activities.

Because our winters are usually mild (no snow and no bellow-zero temps), I didn’t add the removable quilted lining. However, I do recommend adding snaps for closing as well, especially if you use leather and wood toggles like I did.

After almost one-month in the waiting, the jacket was finally worn outside this weekend (the weather had been quite nice so far) and, despite the (pink), she loved it: it’s cozy, warm, soft and gets lots of attention.

That always makes my day! Especially because I’m expecting her to wear this jacket next year as well 😉

Happy sewing,

Ana Sofia