A second look

I got really ramped up and wrote a nasty post about this pattern.  And then I put it on the boy.  And suddenly the frustrations of this project seemed not all that bad.  I will attempt to be less negative than what I planned to write.

It is the reversible jacket from Sewing for Boys.  When I saw it, I was intrigued–it has such an adorable Paddington Bear vibe.

I traced off the 2/3 size thinking it looked a bit small and that the welt pockets were way too close to the side seams for the 2/3.  As if i were a recipe tester, I forged ahead and changed nothing.  The welt pockets are indeed to close to the side seam; indeed, they are IN the side seam, and I had to cut them down to 1/4″ from 3/8″ to make it work (sort of).

For the outer fabric I used a remnant of upholstery wool blend from the $2/lb table at Denver Fabrics and some cotton twill for the inner fabric that I did indeed interline because Noah needs a replacement jacket for his knit hoodie which he’s outgrown and there’s buckets of snow in the backyard.

I like the idea of a reversible jacket.  Who doesn’t want two garments in one (especially Moms doing way more laundry than is kosher)?  In this case, I question the validity.  The reason why the coat scene in A Christmas Story is funny is because it’s true. To put on outerwear for kids as a parent, one must pull and heave and tug and yank.  I speak of boots and mittens which are still lined with actual slippy fabrics.  But a reversible jacket with little ease and non-slippy fabric on the inside?  It doesn’t seem terribly practical.  I had visions of the Gigantic Turnip trying to get this jacket on, but it actually goes on and off easily enough.  My bigger beef with a reversible jacket is that there are 2 sets of buttons (actually the pattern goes so far as to suggest magnetic purse snaps!).  Wearing jackets and coats while riding in a car seat means for a lot of squished in kids (my car seat is not the easiest to adjust, and really if it were, it’s a pain to have to remember to adjust them when it’s already a maneuver to get out the door).  A set of (?!) magnetic purse snaps pressing down into my child’s tummy from the added pressure of the car seat straps sounds like a recipe for a bad car trip.

My verdict on this pattern?  It’s a mixed bag.  It’s cute, but I would skip the welt pockets and forget about making it reversible. Noah’s happy, but I doubt that Sam will be the recipient of one in the future.    My full review is here.

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