The Jaime Jacket
The weekend long read.
We’re gearing up for the launch of the Men’s Worker Trousers and I’m really happy to see a full menswear outfit coming together.
To recap, we’re releasing the mens version of our best selling pattern - the infamous Worker Trousers - in a matter of days.
In the build up to this launch I’ve been sewing our other menswear patterns to create a complete look. This includes the Unisex Shirt, Jaime Jacket and new Worker Trousers.
These pieces are suitable for anyone who prefers a more masculine cut which leans towards straighter lines and elongated silhouettes. I’ve tried the whole menswear outfit on and I LOVE the look on a female body - it has an androgynous, modern style and feels extremely unrestricted. That’s not to take away from the fact that this is ‘menswear month’ but I love the universal, unisex feel of these cuts.
When cutting the waxed cotton we made a small chalk mark on the wrong side of each cut piece to indicate the wrong side.
I started creating the full outfit by sewing the Unisex Shirt is a beautiful striped khadi - if you missed that newsletter you can catch up here.
This week I’ve sewn a Jaime Jacket in a lightweight dry waxed cotton. It was an enjoyable make (bar the run & fell armhole) and thrown into the mix was a topstitch thread in a contrast colour. I absolutely love the pop that this thicker thread gives the piece. Paired with a punchy contrast button it adds a lot to an otherwise demure fabric.
The hardest part of the jacket was the run & fell armhole as the waxed cotton has almost no flexibility to work in the ease around the armhole curve. If you’re an intermediate or beginner I definitely recommend opting for the easier construction method of overlocking & topstitching which is included in the instructions.
Lining up the top & bottom sleeve for the cuff opening and run & fell seam.
To share the intricacies of the making process we made 2 videos: one of the pocket construction and one of sewing the sleeve opening. I had planned to do a voiceover explanation for both of them but decided that the sound of the machine on its own is far nicer. If you’re making this piece I recommend reading the instructions and then watching the videos as you might pick up a trick or two from seeing the handling of the pieces. I hope they’re informative and meditative in equal measures. I’ll be posting the videos on instagram so keep an eye out on there.
There are no 'make notes' this week as this make was ‘straight out of the packet’ with no changes. It’s a size Large and I'll be photographing it on the willing model (my brother) next week. One thing I should mention is that when using a topstitch thread you need to sew step 1 of the the run & fell seams from the other side. This means you need to use more pins than usual to make sure the raw edges stay in line when sewing from the underside.
The other thing to note is that you can't rely on an iron to help with the constructions process when sewing a waxed cotton. You need to use a very low heat setting and the fabric will bounce back after ironing. This means topstitching is your best friend when sewing something like the Jaime Jacket. When the fabric relies on it as much as it does for waxed cotton it makes the stitching process all the more enjoyable.
I’m so excited about the Men’s Worker Trouser pattern launch and shooting the full look next week. Feedback from the testers is in and the final tweaks are being made to the instructions. All being well the pattern will go live next Friday morning...!
As always I love to hear your questions and comments - you can always hit reply to these emails, they'll come directly to me.
Hetty
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