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I made a cute DIY workwear jacket with big arm patches. It’s oversized and was much bigger than I thought.
I actually had to take it down a notch, literally. But that was after sewing and realizing it was the wrong size!
Simplicity S9239 Jacket Pattern
I liked the way the model wore this jacket in the picture, and that’s why I bought Simplicity S9239. Style-wise, it’s pretty cool.
It’s unstructured and unlined, with a boxy fit. The back has an inverted box pleat, which gives it some room.
You’ll have a couple of variations for the collar, pockets, sleeves, and length. There are flared sleeves with patches and button cuffs, or straight sleeves without cuffs.
Materials
Here are the fabrics and notions I used for this project. I spent so much time digging through my button collection!
Fabric: The first time I made this jacket, I used a light purple linen blend from Joann. I just love this color, and it speaks of springtime.Â
But it’s the perfect weight and type for warm-weather seasons.
Now the spice-colored fabric is heavier. It’s a stretch cotton sateen from Joann as well.Â
This one has such a soft hand, and the color is beautiful. This one is perfect for fall, and I finished it just in time for the cooler days ahead.
Suggested fabrics include broadcloth, canvas, chambray, chino, corduroy, cotton types, denim, linen types, pique, satin, stretch wovens, twill, and wool types.
Notions: I used 7/8 inch (0.875-inch) buttons. (Mine were a tad bigger.) I also used medium-weight fusible interfacing for structure.Â
Sewing the Workwear Jacket
The directions for this jacket were straightforward and pretty easy to follow. But so many things went wrong on this one!
By the way, I made variation B, and it’s hip-length on me.Â
I started with the linen version as my mockup and made it medium, but should’ve sized down to small.
On the envelope, it says you can use linen types, but it doesn’t hold shape. It came out looking like a shirt, not a work jacket.
Plus, you can’t really see the volume in the sleeves. I ended up taking out the box pleat in the back and added belt loops and a tie belt to give it shape.
It was some time later that I sewed my spice-colored version. Well, I forgot to write down notes about the fit.
So, I cut a medium again and didn’t even think about the sizing until much later!
Everything was flowing well when I started my second jacket. But as I was sewing it, I was thinking, this is looking a bit big.
So I tried it on, and then put it on the dress form. This thing needed to be taken in almost 2 inches on the sides!
After that, this jacket ended up in my UFO pile for a long time. I felt defeated and didn’t want to deal with it.
Well apparently, I must have marked medium last time and forgot to change my notes on the pattern envelope.
So, it sat for a couple of months. Then one day, I pulled it back out of the bag and deconstructed it.
After seam ripping, I recut the smaller size. Then I resewed the pieces and went on to finally finish it.
I added both front patch pockets and inseam ones. The inseam pockets were tacked in place so they wouldn’t flop around.
Oh yeah, I also ran out of thread, and this was annoying! So, I went to the fashion district and luckily found my exact color. Whew!
If that wasn’t enough, I have one last blip for you. When I was attaching the front buttons, I realized one side was longer than the other side!
So I deconstructed the hem and fixed that side. Then I re-adjusted the seam and sewed it.
Finally, I attached the buttons, and voila! All done!
Notes
My garment went unfinished for so long that it took a while to wash out all the water-soluble ink. There are some places where I can still see a little bit. Oh well.
I think my jacket came out cute. The style would go well with a mini skirt or even shorts.
I made so many mistakes, and this whole process just caused so many headaches. But I ended up with a lovely garment that I can finally wear.
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