Jalie 2679 jacket review

I set myself up for a lot of stress with this project, also starting a theme of wanting to make a complex thing right before going away, which I repeated about twice more.  So I sewed this over about 3 days and they were rife with stress to finish on time, while still creating a finished object that I could wear hiking and that would take pretty hard use.  For that reason I was constantly irritated. 

Fabric is Schoeller softshell, which is a stretchy, thin, single thickness softshell with a bit of water repellent capability.  It does not fray. I got it from Seattle Fabrics (I wish I could teleport myself there more regularly...)  I had two more pieces, one of which has since turned into Calyer pants.  

Size R going to S at the hips, though the difference was mere millimetres. I would have liked it to be easier to widen the pattern pieces at the hips or grade up, though my fabric is pretty stretchy I don't love it hanging up on my hips and bagging out in the lower back.

The pocket instructions don't give you the chance to make a very neat finish.  I ended up changing them - basically I prepped the rectangular hole, stuck the zipper to it, and then sewed it down.  As things went on, I wondered why there is no hem band - which would make the pattern easier to adjust, and would create a nice finish.  I worried that the sleeves needed bands at the end.  The instructions wanted you to hand sew down the inner collar.  Not a chance!!  

So I created more stress out of a pattern that really does come together pretty nicely.  I think heavier weight fabrics are better for it.  It's a bit narrow in my hips, which I expected, but has a good fit elsewhere, and the narrow hips are fine to wear hiking, though again I'd have loved to be able to widen it.  My zips are secure, though I really would have liked the zip to go all the way to the hem to make it more secure.  It's sewn in really well but that extra space seems like a mistake.  

 

It's a lightweight softshell jacket and I'm happy with the results.  It was of course too light for the cold weather on my trip but I wore it some of the time anyway, on principle! I'm not sure there's anything about this pattern that I liked enough to make it again.  Maybe in sweatshirt fabric, with colorblocking, at some point.  Like most Jalie patterns I feel like it was a straightforward, reasonable pattern, nothing flashy, not extra special, but that gets the job done.