Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: A Seasonal Shacket

Hello everyone! I love to end the year with some new outerwear, and so here I am with a new garment to keep me warm for the next few months. This is the type of garment that sort of evades a concrete name… Chore Coat? Utility Jacket… Shacket? Anyway, regardless of what we’re calling it, this is such a great and easy, warm style to throw on and run. 


As a treat and to make this project fairly effortless to begin, I gathered just about all of the necessary supplies into one order: fabric, needles, interfacing, matching thread and adorable statement clothing tags. 

The fabric is a gorgeous and soft Dark Cornflower Blue Wool/Poly Flannel, and it’s not too thick or heavy, but features a nice loftiness and none of the scratchiness that sometimes occurs with wool in the mix. I broke all rules and tossed this fabric into the washing machine and dryer. The hand lost some crispness, but to me, that just makes wearing this all the cozier. 


I chose some Black Cotton Shape-Flex Fusible Woven Interfacing for use on the collars, facings, and cuffs. Fusible interfacing is a must for me, and to keep the wool safe, I used a press cloth when I ironed it on. 

Schmetz Universal 90/14 needles were perfect for the job. There are some rather thick seams here, especially when hemming the flat-felled seams, and this size and type worked well. I would liken the density of this suiting to melton, so it sews up absolutely beautifully and the thread kind of sinks into the seam, but topstitching still looks stunning. 

I’m already a massive fan of Kylie and the Machine’s labels, so I finally narrowed down my choice to the It Has Pockets set. Possibly the most difficult decision I had to make was choosing which color to add. I finally settled on the tan/orange tag since I thought that hue highlights the pine buttons so pleasingly. 


Matching Gutermann thread is always a no-brainer for me. If you opt to make a similar coat, get yourself an extra spool! I ran out right when I got to the buttonholes and ended up using serger thread and crossing my fingers no one notices the slight shade change. All those flat-felled seams really eat up the length! 


The pattern I chose is the West End Jacket from Peppermint Magazine and Cami Made Patterns. This is a unisex style with very beautiful finishing techniques and a slimmer fit than any other shirt jacket pattern I’ve sewn, and that’s a nice change, really. 

I also admire the round collar, and though I originally thought that would be the pattern piece I’d alter, I just let it ride when I was cutting my pieces. No regrets! I love how this looks as is. 

For kicks, and to keep on theme with the woven tag’s line, I added one smaller accent pocket keeping the same ratio as the originals. If I’m being honest, inseam pockets would be welcome, too. 

I was so set on these big buttons (also from Fabric Mart, circa 2020) that when I realized that the matching buttonholes wouldn’t fit well horizontally across the placket, I just broke the official coat rules and sewed them vertically instead. This piece has enough positive ease that I’m not concerned about straining them when buttoned up, so I guess this now leans slightly more toward a shirt than a jacket. 

This is such a marvelous and useful jacket! I’m imagining post-holiday dinner walks and having places to put a phone, keys, mittens, bonus snacks, whatever! in those pockets and be comfortably hands-free. 


Cheers to everyone sewing this season! I hope you find the time to treat yourself to a special little project, too. 

KATIE  @kak513


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories WOOL & FLANNEL.

Comments

  1. Utilitarian garments are so worth making, you did a fine job! It will be your friend for a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful color! You did an excellent job. Enjoy your new jacket!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful fabric, and it made a sweet shacket. It’s such a cheerful color. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I LOVE seeing your creations! You have a flair for selecting fabrics and colors that are perfect for your project. Thank you for sharing it with us!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Did someone say FREE??? All about Free Sewing Patterns

Hi sewing friends! I am SEW excited to share this blog post with you today! This is my fifth post with Fabric Mart since I did a guest post late last year and then joined the blogging team in 2024 but I would say this is the post that 1) I worked the hardest to create, and 2) the one that has me the most excited! Today I am going to talk about FREE sewing patterns, showcase a few free patterns I’ve sewn, and then share some very exciting news at the end of this post about an upcoming! First, let’s talk about free patterns – where they come from, why they exist, and how you can find them. But first, here’s a recent free pattern I sewed. This is the Finn Crop Tee from Petite Stitchery . I used an ITY (Interlock Twist Yarn) for this one and I was able to squeeze it out a yard of a fabric. ITY is one of my favorite fabrics to dress up a t-shirt and it wears well across all seasons. And Fabric Mart gets the most AMAZING designer deadstock designs you will ever see! Petite Stitchery offers

Made By A Fabricista: Well Suited for Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the year! The weather is cooling down and I'm always excited to transition into the cooler weather. I get to create with some of my favorite fabrics and I'm always inspired by all the cool fashion trends for the season. So for this month's fabricista feature I snagged some cool medium-weight twill fabric in a beautiful warm cinnamon color.   This fabric has a medium bottom weight feel to it, great for pants, outerwear, jackets, boiler suits and more. I used a needle suited for medium weighted woven fabrics and my serger for finishing raw edges. The color of this fabric is so warm and inviting. I think it is the perfect color for Fall. I couldn’t wait to create a fall ensemble with this fabric. I chose Simplicity Pattern S9893 because I’ve been dying to create this pattern since it launched. It is a cool cape with cargo pockets, storm flaps, hidden buttons at the shoulder, a collar with button tabs and even more button tabs at the underarm. This c

Made By A Fabricista: From Fabric to Finish Line: Creating My Running Gear

In 2021, I ran my first 5k; I was instantly hooked. I loved the instant sense of accomplishment of crossing the finish line & completing something, but all in all at the time I was absolutely no good at running. Now in 2024, I am an avid runner. I absolutely love running & I still love completing races. It had never crossed my mind to sew any running clothes until lately, but I’m sure glad I did.  On Fabric Mart they had the most amazing windbreaker like animal fabric & I knew it would be a perfect match. For the jacket I decided to block it so that it would give it a bit of extra definition. The actual fabric was really easy to sew with & to cut, however, it was a bit hard to pin & left needle marks within the fabric so I suggest using clips instead. I absolutely loved how it turned out. The pattern that I used for the jacket is a free sewing pattern from Mood Fabrics called the Cory Jacket. It is a fairly simple sew & can be made in a day.  For the shorts, I u