I really really liked this fleece jacket, KnipMode 12/2008 #21, ever since the issue came out, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to grab some bright fleece and make it ever since.
It uses lycra edging tape (which Pennine Outdoor thoughtfully stock in addition to all the right high quality fleeces and chunky zips!) to bind the sleeve and neck edges as well as act like a sort of piping-without-the-pipe along the princess seams and that top yoke edge.
Here’s some detail shots of the neckline and the pocket. Luckily, this is one of the selected patterns in this issue to have big, blown up diagrams of about half the steps involved, which made this an even easier pattern than I was expecting!
The pockets are nice and deep, the fit is great, and the high neckline means I don’t have to worry about a scarf or anything. In fact, the only thing I’d change here is to stretch the sleeve binding next time, as I kept it 1:1 with the sleeve edge here and it gets a bit drafty if I’m not wearing my mittens.
And then, since I had a bit extra, I decided to make it an entire cold weather running ensemble and make some mittens and hat to go along with the jacket and use up the fleece scraps. For the first set of mittens (left) I used BurdaStyle’s Elana pattern (which I first used last winter), and for the second (on the right) I tried the Purl Bee’s mitten pattern, though with purchased cuffing since I don’t knit.
The two patterns are quite different in the way they treat the thumb – in BurdaStyle’s there’s a two part thumb which has to be stitched into a round hole in the palm piece, and it’s really frustratingly tricky to get right, especially since there’s a 5/8” seam allowance there. On the Purl Bee’s, there’s a horizontal seam running across the palm that goes up over the thumb which makes it so much easier to sew, and their 1/2” seam allowance really makes more sense for something as small as this anyway. And theirs is free.
But I do really, really like the hat that’s included in BurdaStyle’s Elana pattern, snug fitting and long enough to cover my cold ears!
I was planning on sewing all this up for Pattern Review’s Activewear contest but I just couldn’t wait and sewed this up in December instead, so it’s ineligible. I’m just waiting for the go ahead from my doctors and I’ll be out the door with my running shoes like a shot!