This post is written by Beata Khaidurova.
Despite the fact that I sew almost exclusively for myself, on some special occasions I do sew garments for the more special people in my life. This year I offered to sew my partner a casual hooded jacket for his birthday, and this was the result, which he has worn almost every day since. I am calling that a win!
The jacket wasn't to be a surprise, so I was able to work with him to choose the pattern and fabric. The pattern is from an old issue of Burda magazine from October 2008 - if you happen to see this copy on eBay it is quite a good one for men's patterns, this is the second men's garment I've made from the issue!
The fabric is a maroon sweater knit for the body with matching maroon ribbing at the waist and cuffs. I love how easy it is to buy matching fabrics from the MaaiDesign shop, which really helps with creating a professional looking garment.
I lined the hood and pockets with some grey jersey I had and I love how lining the hood elevates the jacket slightly, hiding the brushed fleece side of the sweater knit. The pattern does not call for a hood lining, but it was pretty easy to add one in. I simply cut two of each of the hood pieces, then stitched them together along the front edge before attaching to the main body of the jacket.
This was my first attempt at welt pockets, which I was a bit worried about sewing in a knit fabric, but as the knit is interfaced in those areas it was actually pretty easy to work with. While the pattern included patch breast pockets, we opted to leave these off.
My partner has attested to this being a super warm and snuggly jacket, which I attribute to the quality of the knit. Hopefully he can get a few more wears out of it before the weather heats up!
