Camo Jacket
/I love me some camo. During a recent trip to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, I made sure to pick up some yardage of the "good camo" that I can't get anywhere else near me. I knew I wanted to make a jacket but hadn't found the right pattern.
The Green Pepper has some great outdoor gear patterns and this jacket had pretty much everything I was looking for. It even has an option for a zip-in liner (which I didn't use this time), but it's nice to have options!
This is the Skyline Jacket by the Green Pepper.
I made the outer shell about a month ago and was looking for the right lining. I wanted it to be insulated and found a couple of online stores that have good fabrics for outdoor gear (Seattle Fabrics and Rockywoods). I ordered some swatches and pondered.
I decided to go with a black taffeta-faced pre-quilted insulation fabric for the core of the jacket, and added some extra sherpa I had left over to the collar for a nice, soft feel. The taffeta face makes the lining nice and slippery so it's easy to get in and out of. On a side note, Joann's carries something similar but the facing is cotton, which is not slippery, and you need slippery to easily scoot in and out of a coat.
I like that this jacket has a few pockets - two side pockets and an upper pocket at the left front yoke. All the pockets are zippered, which I also like, so that things don't mysteriously fall out.
Pocket on the upper left yoke.
There were a few things that I changed about the pattern:
Side pocket, zips down to open; up to close.
- The size pocket zippers, according to the pattern should zip up to open. That felt backwards to me (and I even went and looked at my other jackets, and their pocket zippers go down to open). So, I flipped the zips and this feels more natural to me.
- I don't like elastic-waist jackets. I like to be free, so I didn't put in the elastic at the back hem to cinch the jacket.
- The pocket and cuff flaps were 4 pieces of fabric per the pattern. I did that on the front yoke pocket flap and because my fabric was a heavier weight twill, that was a lot of layers to sew through to attach it, so I made the cuff flaps with two pieces each (sewn right sides together and then turned right side out) instead of four.
- I wavered back and forth on the outer storm flap to cover the front zipper, because I felt like it wouldn't stay put, but I ultimately did leave it in.
I haven't finished the cuffs yet, but I will. I have a hard time with sleeve length, and I always hesitate to shorten until I can try the garment on and decide where I want the sleeves to fall. I've probably already taken 4 inches off of this sleeve (I think this is unisex sized, so the sleeves are longer for the menfolk). I'm trying to get the lining right so that the actual cuff isn't too bulky with the lining doubled up, so that will be a challenge for later in the week!
The jacket itself is pretty big (and really roomy), but I think that's how I want it because I need to be able to get it over a hoodie and other layers, so I'm just going to go with it for now!
