Jackets and coats

Little red Closet Core Kelly Anorak

Today involved a giant breakfast, a bit of hammering, and a nice walk. I’m showing off my finished Kelly Anorak which I completed right before we headed out the door. Yes, I might look like little red riding hood but I stayed dry and warm thanks to my new jacket.

This jacket has been a long time coming. I started it for the fabulous Anorak August Sew-along the brainchild of Sheffield Sewcial but after losing my sew-jo (thanks Covid) I struggled to feel motivated to finish until now. I was looking for a lightweight jacket to layer over jumpers for casual walks or errands when I didn’t want to wear my wool coats or Barbour jacket. I also needed a hood as NONE of my outerwear has one! The Closet Core Kelly seemed like a good choice.

Somehow I made a toile straight away in some horrendous 90s Laura Ashley-esque waxed cotton from my stash. Some people thought this was my actual fabric! Fit-wise I started with size 8 around the upper body and 10 around the bottom. After a try on I had to remove 2″ from the length, add 2cm to the centre back and hood and add 1cm to each side seams around the hips. Maybe the hood is a little roomy now but it’s fine. Annoyingly I’ve put on a fair bit of weight since I started making this so the fit in the body isn’t ideal but I’m sure it will be better again soon.

My pattern came from the fabulous Bobbins and Bolts in Harrogate. I met owner Gemma at The Dressmakers Ball and was so pleased to learn about her bricks and mortar shop. I really hope it survives the Covid absence of shoppers. I bought this and the Kew dress pattern which should get made next Summer.

I know there’s been a lot of chatter about the pattern recently, especially the lining extension with people not thinking the instructions and construction of the hood works. Closet Core (formerly Closet Case) recently reissued the lining pattern. I didn’t use it so I can’t really comment on whether it’s fixed or not I’m afraid.

My waterproof fabric was a fantastic bargain from Fabworks online. You know I love a trip to their Mill as the team are a real hoot! Can’t wait to go back again soon. This is called Dark Rust showerproof nylon and cotton, and it was £18 for 3m. My coordinating zip was from eBay. The BIGGEST thing I hate about my Barbour jacket is the double ended zipper which takes me about 5 goes every time so I’m super pleased with how this one came together.

After reading the post on Closet Core about underlining the jacket in fleece (instead of lining) I thought that would suit me best and chose a navy and white spotty flannel from eBay. The red top-stitching and my red satin bias inside looks nice together and the husband said it reminds him of Joules which I think is quite a nice “boy compliment”.

Now for some real talk. I kind of hated every step of making this jacket. I counted, and I’ve made 7 wool coats/jackets, 2 Chanel style jackets and 1 mac and this is the worst piece of outerwear of the lot.

The construction is straightforward if you’ve made coats before but the fabric was so thick in places topstitching was a challenge to keep even and flat felling the seams was more fiddly than normal. Plus the spray glue I used to secure my flannel to the outer was utterly useless so everything kept shifting.

I think the lack of sew-jo didn’t help as I dreaded doing anything on it. I stabbed every finger, had to resew most seams, and the cherry on top was when I made two left pockets for the front.

The snaps aren’t right for this jacket either! This fabric is too light for them and I should have chosen plastic snaps instead of metal ones. Therefore I didnt bother putting them down the front when I knew they’d be loose and either sag or entirely fall off. I might go back and add one to the hem though to keep the flap shut when it’s windy. It’s done, not perfect… and that’s fine by me.

We took the jacket out for a walk in Silsden today as I really wanted to see one of the Stanza Stones. It’s a series of six poems by Simon Armitage carved into stone and placed at atmospheric or dramatic areas of natural beauty. Today we saw the Dew Stones. You can do the full trail to see them all in one go but we’re going to visit individually to stretch them out. Armitage’s work has always been a favourite of mine as his poems are unfussy and honest. Plus he’s from Yorkshire, so he’s a winner.

(3) Comments

  1. Lis Taylor says:

    I’m sorry it was such a painful construction but it does look fabulous and hope you get your sewjo back big time!

  2. Carol Thomas says:

    Trials and tribulations! Yet another triumph of sewing magic. A very useful jacket, just right for those walking jaunts along the Whitby coastline with your mum and dad. After Covid, of course!

  3. […] this pattern also works in untreated cottons and even organza for a lightweight workout layer. The last raincoat I made was from ripstop, a nylon fabric that is water-resistant. And while I made it super warm by […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.