Constructing a Sweatshirt Jacket.

Okay! Finally here is the sweatshirt jacket post :) I hope that you all like it.

You can see a picture of my Halloween Jacket here and my scrap jacket here if you'd like to see my other ones.

First of all choose a sweatshirt that is one size too big for you with set in sleeves not “raglan” sleeves. Some people don't like to pre-wash their sweatshirts before they use them; but, this is a matter of personally preference to me. If I am making a seasonal jacket that I will only wear a couple of times a year then I will even use an older sweatshirts that is in great condition. I seem to end up with a bunch or size LG sweatshirts when I take a medium :)

Turn the sweatshirt inside-out and cut off the bottom ribbing and the ribbing around the sleeves but leave the ribbing at the neck.. Next cut the sweatshirt apart at the seams. You will now have two sleeves a front and a back. Measure the width of the front and find the center. Draw a line down the center with a chalk pencil that you will be able to see and cut the front in half along that line. You have now just cut the two front pieces for your jacket. You can see the individual pieces in the photo.

Now you will need to “make” fabric somehow to cover the individual pieces. Here I am using scraps from my Christmas Scrap Quilt and from my Christmas Table-runner to form fabric that will cover the pieces. Some of it is already pieced and some of it is in the audition phase here. You can also use the sweatshirt as a foundation and do the stitch and flip method (like crazy quilting) to cover the sweatshirt base. There really is no wrong method here :) Just cover the sweatshirt base.

Do the same thing to all pieces. Don't worry about the excess overhanging. We will trim that later.

I always like to pin the pieces to my dress form to make sure that I like the effect that the jacket is going to have. If you don't like something now is the time to change it.

Next machine quilt the pieces. I've used a combination of the decorative stitches on my sewing machine and free motion quilting on this jacket. I wanted to quilt it so that it resembled the Christmas Quilt.

After the quilting is finished trim away the excess fabric so that the top matches the sweatshirt base.

Now is the time to cut away the ribbing at the neck. If you cut it away earlier the neck of your jacket will be all stretched out as this is all bias.

Sew the sweatshirt back together starting with the seams on the shoulders. Next pin and sew the sleeves back on. Your jacket should now look something like the photo in form.

Sew down the arm to finish the construction. Now try on the jacket and make sure that it fits. Sometimes you really have to take the jacket in around the waist to keep it from bagging out. Once you are happy with the fit overcast the seams using with your sewing machine or a serger.

Now make a 2” cut bias binding and bind the jacket edge and around the cuffs. Turn the binding ot the back and Voila you're finished :) Some people leave excess fabric around the edges and just turn it to the back but I like the effect of a binding better personally.

I'll post a picture or two of the finished jacket once I finish turning the binding to the back :)

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them here and I will try to answer them :) I hope that you all enjoyed the post.