Sewing For Men: Colette Albion Jacket

For the last month or so I've been making quick projects for some instant gratification. I decided I needed a slow and steady make and began the Colette Albion jacket expecting it be a long haul. I showed Tim the pattern a while back; he liked it and asked for a coat version very similar to the one on the cover.  I snapped up the pattern (from Indie Stitches) and hoped to participate in the sew-along and competition but was running out of time after troubles finding the camels wool that Tim wanted (at a reasonable price). I finally decided to give the jacket version a go using cheap heavy navy brushed cotton from GJs discount fabrics. Perfect for #sewbluefebruary.  I planned this version to be a wearable muslin.

Tim's measurements fell between a small and medium, so I cut a medium. The fabric was very easy to cut, sew and press but it molted everywhere and I swear I even had a cough from inhaling its blue dust. The jacket version is unlined. After much debate/thought with Tim and input from the social sewing ladies I used the brushed side of the fabric as the wrong side. If feels almost like wool and is lovely and warm against the skin despite being only one layer of fabric.

I started sewing about two thirds of the way through the sew-along and caught up very quickly. The Albion is a surprisingly quick make and much less complicated than I anticipated. However, there were a few stages where I had some difficultly due to fiddleyness. In particular, sewing and pressing the flatfell seams in the hood was very tricky without a tailors hams. Because I'm inpatient I ended up using the bottom half of a stuffed penguin to help shape the hood. I followed the instructions and only looked at the sew along posts if I needed an in-colour representation of the instructions. This jacket is much less intimidating to make then you'd expect!

The innards of the Jacket version are all bias bound. I used leftover fabric from Tim's Jedediah shorts for the bias and I love the red and blue contrast. The insides look so neat without any exposed seams, but it was a battle sewing over all those layers of heavy cotton and bias when hemming the jacket.

I altered the hood to insert a drawstring and I also inserted a zipper for extra protection from the elements. Both of these adjustments are detailed in the sew-along. I had a hard time deciding on the kind and colour of toggles to use. Tim had the final say and went with tan toggles with light brown leather patches (is there a technical term?). It took me a week from jacket body completion to get the nerve up to sew on the toggle closures. Sewing on the hard leather patches was harder than I imagined, probably the most unnerving part of the hole process.

The final product looks fantastic and I'm really proud of how it turned out. However, the fit isn't perfect. The Jacket is a little boxy around the waist and massive in the arms. But I think this will still be a great jacket for him to throw on in the winter especially on weekends, when we go to the footy and whatnot. Also, the colour really suits the rest of Tim's wardrobe.

I am very excited that I ended up finishing the jacket in time and am able to enter it into the competition. Check out the other amazing entries in the Colette Patterns Flickr pool! There are heaps of female version which are really inspiring! I think I will make myself a slimmer cut version for winter as well. I will make a casual jacket version with a more defined waist, smaller arms and perhaps a colour blocked bodice and yoke/sleeves.