KIDS JACKET ZOE

Our new project will surprise you.

Lightweight children's jacket. Light to wear and easy to make.

The solutions we used will make your work easier at every stage of sewing.

Choose your own version of the jacket you want to sew; all you need is a sewing machine.

The jacket is made of softshell. This material sews wonderfully, and most importantly, its edges do not fray, so you don't need to finish them.

If details mean a lot to you, use an overlock for sewing, or even go ahead and sew in a lining. Two versions of the pocket are provided—choose the one you like best, as both are the easiest in the world to sew.

Let's get to work!

The kit includes:

- panel - softshell fabric with a printed jacket pattern
- zipper

1. Cut out all the jacket pieces from the panel.

2. Place the pocket bags on the back piece of the jacket about 6.5 cm from the bottom, right sides together. Sew them down.

3. Place the front pieces of the jacket onto the back piece, right sides together, and fold the pocket bags outwards. As you sew, overlap the pocket bags by only 1 cm on each side. Leave the pocket opening unsewn.

4. Topstitch the pocket opening seam allowance—preferably on the wrong side at presser foot width—and topstitch the pocket bag at 1 mm.
Now perform a topstitch connecting the pocket bag to the front piece: a horizontal topstitch, but only at the top of the pocket bag. The rest of the pocket will be secured by installing the zipper and hem folding.

Pocket Option II
Fold the top edge of the pocket bag over by about 1 cm and stitch straight across. Then place it on the front of the jacket where it fits best in size and pin in place. Sew it down at the bottom only, while folding about 1 cm underneath.
The remaining sides of the pocket will be secured when sewing the zipper and side seam of the jacket. Done!

5. Sew the shoulder seams, press the seam allowance toward the back, and topstitch at 1 mm.

6. Sew the jacket sleeves.
Using the alignment notches, fit the sleeve into the armhole and sew in the round, flattening the seams under the armpit. Remember that notches serve as alignment points to assist when sewing the sleeve in the round. Try to ease any excess fabric into the sleeve cap.

7. The hoods in our jackets include ears or spikes.
First, you need to sew these details so you can attach them to the hood later. In this case, fold the rabbit ears right sides together. Sew and turn right side out, then topstitch. Fold the ears inward to create a tuck at the base, and attach them to the hood on both sides, 10 cm from the front edge.
Join the 3 hood pieces together.
Sew the hood to the jacket.

8. Pin the zipper to the jacket, right sides together. Fold the top end down by about 1 cm and sew using a zipper foot.
While sewing the zipper, you are also securing the pocket bag (inside the jacket for the first pocket version, and on the outside for the second).

9. Sew the hood facing to the jacket right sides together, sewing at presser foot width and paying attention to the alignment points. The facing is attached starting over the zipper, going through the hood, and finishing on the zipper on the other side.

10. Turn the facing right side out and topstitch. Start from the bottom of the jacket along the zipper, topstitch the hood opening edge, and finish on the other side. Now make a topstitch along the neckline seam to keep it stable and prevent it from irritating the neck when worn. Another topstitch secures the other edge of the facing. Sew it horizontally from the collar along the facing edge.

11. Turn up the bottom hem of the jacket according to the notch—about 3.5 cm. Stitch evenly. This gap is sewn in a way that leaves room between the zipper and hem fold at the bottom to serve as a drawstring casing.

BACK OPTION II WITH SLIT FOR SPIKES
- topstitch
- sew the back of the jacket (which consists of two elements) together, inserting spikes into the seam starting from the bottom of the jacket and allowing room for the hem fold. Start pinning the spikes about 8 cm from the bottom, spaced every 1.5 cm.

12. Fold up the sleeve hems according to the notches by about 2 cm. Leave a small opening in the seam to thread thin elastic tailored to the child's wrist through. Stitch the elastic together and sew the opening closed. However, this is optional in our project—the sleeve can also simply remain hemmed.