Chalk and Notch Joy Jacket

Have you seen Gabriela’s new pattern from Chalk and Notch, the Joy Jacket?  Of course you have, unless you’ve been buried under a Nor’easter like we were last week!  If you follow me on Instagram, you saw my progress, which included hand-stitching the opening in the lining from bagging the coat during our two+ day power outage.

I had the opportunity to try out some of the beautiful Tencel twill fabrics from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.  I chose the navy since that’s a perennial favorite of mine and I knew it would make for a jacket I’d reach for over and over again.  I selected from their rayon challis fabrics to make it easy to slip my arms into the sleeves.  You’ll see the lining further down, but I chose their in-house printed diamond geometric design and I love the two fabrics together!  I received these fabrics from Raspberry Creek Fabrics at no charge, and I thank Diana for her generosity!

The Joy Jacket is sized for women 0 to 18, or full bust sizes 32″ to 44″.  My full bust is 44″, so I made the size 18.  It features two views – View A has a wide collar, and View B has a hood.  I made the hooded version.  There are two pockets which can be used on either view – a square pocket and this angled pocket.  I am definitely one to walk around with my hands in my pockets (anyone else start humming Alanis Morissett’s One Hand in My Pocket?) so I chose the angled pockets for ease of hand shoving.

Here’s that beautiful lining fabric, and showing off all the lovely facings inside the jacket.  This pattern is top notch with all the bells and whistles.  Every marking, every section interfaced where needed, twill tape across the back neckline to make it nice and stable, and I could go on.  I tried something new on this jacket based on Gabriela’s recommendation – tricot interfacing which is typically used on knit fabrics.  I think the idea is that the stretch of the tricot works better with the mechanical stretch of these fabrics so it stays adhered better.  It certainly seems to be working well, as my facings are beautiful without a ripple or bubble in sight.

I bought my zipper through Amazon, but now Gabriela has hardware and trim kits that include zippers to match a variety of recommended fabrics she swatched.  Read this post to see the zippers matched up with fabrics.  My zipper worked beautifully with my jacket, but I would have loved to used matching antique brass grommets instead of buttonholes.  I had recently ordered a variety of cording, also through Amazon and happily had gotten several yards of navy that worked perfectly with my new jacket.

I love the shaping on the shoulder you get from the two-piece raglan sleeve.  Gabriela drafted this seam with a 1″ seam allowance to allow for adjustments.  I was under a little bit of time pressure to get this done and didn’t make a muslin.  I think the fit is excellent straight out of the envelope for this.  Honestly I don’t think I would have made any adjustments even if I had made a muslin.

I feel I should confess to the photo situation you’re seeing here: I totally creeped over to one of my neighbor’s houses and took advantage of their awesome deep porch.  I kinda know the couple who live here from our annual Block Party, but they weren’t home and I figured no harm, no foul.  The weather the last couple of days was decidedly uncooperative for photography, either being dazzlingly bright or completely overcast.  The deep porch gave me the open shade I needed during the bright afternoon sun.  I had both kids with me and Arden stood in as my remote, pushing the shutter button while the camera was on the tripod so I didn’t have to use a handheld remote.

The hood is nice and deep but not obnoxiously oversized.  The drawstring is optional; I added it both for function and aesthetics.

This jacket is truly a marriage of fabric and pattern.  The Tencel twill has a wonderful feel – it actually feels a lot like a sturdier, more stable rayon challis which made the pairing of those two fabrics even more perfect.  And similar to rayon challis it behaved very much like it for cutting and sewing: a little shifty while cutting, so be careful to get the grain straight and that the fabric doesn’t “grow” as you cut it, but once cut the sewing is very straightforward.  My jacket has a lovely weight and heft, with a soft, brushed texture.

I got my Joy Jacket pattern through UpCraft Club, and I think there is a sale still going on today if you act quickly!  I really can’t recommend it enough, grab it and get you fabrics from Raspberry Creek Fabrics – tell Diane I sent you!

Outfit Detals:
Pattern – Joy Jacket by Chalk and Notch sourced from UpCraft Club
Fabric – Tencel twill and rayon challis from Raspberry Creek Fabrics