It's been a long time since I have blogged here, I'm sorry about that. I need to get better at this. It's been a busy autumn and the kids have enjoyed every moment of it! It's not very often that I get to sew for Riven. He has lots of hand-me-downs and hasn't grown very fast, so he fits into things FOREVER! So when I had the chance to sew him up something he actually needed, I totally jumped at the chance.
His jacket from last year just wasn't cutting it. It still fit, but it just wasn't as cool as he wanted it to be. I mean, come one, that was a third grade jacket and now that he is in forth grade he needed something a lot cooler! I think we managed to pull it off.
Fabric is from The Fab Clique. The navy is the beautiful Croc and Roll foiled Ponte. It is currently all sold out, sorry! But it is a gorgeous fabric and if you ever happen to come across it, you'll want to grab a few extra yards because this fabric is great for jackets, hoodies, skirts, pants and pretty much everything that needs a stable knit. The grey is the world's softest Charcoal Baby French Terry. There is still of some of this in stock as of November 1, 2019, but I can't promise it will be in for long. This baby French Terry is so soft it almost felt as if it were treated with aloe while I was sewing with it. Pretty much fabulous!!
Now let me tell you about this jacket. It's a new pattern from Ellie and Mac. It was designed by yours truly and drafted by Lindsey. And let me tell you, it has been a labor of love for several years now! But I have never been so proud of a design, EVER! But I am extremely grateful to have been able to work with Lindsey with this design and in making my dreams of turning my "idea" into an actual pattern for the whole world to sew!
Let me show off some of the fun features of the Transformer Jacket Bag!
First, there are these neat hidden pockets on the inside. Riven likes to call them his "candy pockets" because they are the perfect size for carrying a candy bar.
These hidden pockets are on the inside of each side of the jacket. So there are two hidden pockets! Awesome!!
When the Transformer comes off, the first thing you notice is that there is a HUGE pocket in the back of the jacket with a little pocket on it. This is where the transforming magic happens. You can kind of get an idea of what's going on here. There are straps and casing inside the big pocket and when the pocket is turned inside out and the whole jacket is stuffed inside, that's where the magic happens!
The GIANT pocket flips and turns into a bag! That grey pocket above is flipped around and goes into the bag to hold the special things that would are carried in your pockets, like cash, a phone, maybe house keys. And the whole jacket is condensed and so much easier to carry. You can now see the straps of the bag and how easy this is going to be to carry.
Some of the bag details. The casing of the bag has grommets for the straps to slide through easily. The casing ruches up and closes the bag. I have used 5/8" grosgrain ribbon for the strap so that it is light weight and flat. Other kinds of straps could have been used like shoelaces, paracord or a length of fabric.
And then my favorite part! Sliders are added to the strap so that they are adjustable! There are more grommets on the triangle support at the bottom of the bag so that straps slide easily and can be adjusted for comfort. I used small lingerie sliders so that when the Transformer is being worn in jacket form they don't press into his back when he's sitting.
This is a very beautiful jacket! With lots of fun options and a pretty great fit. The only warning I would probably give to sewing this up yourself is that the pattern has a lot of pieces and steps. This is not the kind of pattern you can whip up in an hour before a birthday party, so please give the time it needs to make this, especially on the first try. But it gets easier and more worth it with every time it's made. And there are currently only kids sizes available from 2T to 10/12, but adult sizes are coming, eventually. So keep an eye open for that.
Until then, I am going to be making these for my kiddo's and probably all my nieces and nephews! Here is an affiliate link directly to the pattern. So, the only real problem I'm going to have is deciding on which fabric combinations I want to use.
So, tell me, do you have a dream "pattern" that you wish a designer would turn into reality for you? Please, share your ideas with me! I'd love to see them!!
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