I made a denim jacket: Simplicity 8845
Hey everybody! I am so excited to share this denim jacket! I was one of the first to grab Simplicity 8845 when it was first released, but to be honest, the thought was actually sewing it was a bit intimidating! I don’t know if it was all the topstitching or what, but this pattern stayed in my pattern stash until last week! I randomly decided I wanted a denim jacket and here we are!
The funny thing is it wasn’t hard, or difficult at all! Norris Danta Ford has an amazing step by step sew along for this pattern on YouTube and I followed it the whole way! I think once you understand that after every seam you sew, you have to do topstitching on it. It becomes repetitive and easier after that!
The only issue I ran into was with the topstitching thread. I had one machine setup with a denim needle for sewing the jacket and another machine setup with a topstitching needle and thread! Let’s just say the thread got hung up so bad in my bobbin, it twisted the entire bobbin holder and it jammed under the feed dog! That was my sign to switch! I didn’t want to figure out why it happened or how to prevent it, my concern was not damaging my machine. So after using it for the topstitching on the front pockets and seams, I switched to a similar color in a regular polyester thread. (Don’t let my issue stop you from using topstitching thread, if you’re sewing a project that needs it, just take your time and you’ll be fine! I plan to make jeans soon, so play around with the thread then).
For size, I cut the Medium and the fit is perfect! I was going back and forth if I should cut the Large, but I’m so glad I didn’t! The denim I used was already in my stash (I was holding on to it to make overalls lol) and it was the perfect weight for this! For the buttons, I was happy to find them all at my local Joanns. They also had silver so if you’re sewing a white denim jacket or another color and want silver buttons, hopefully you can find them at your local Joann.
I really enjoyed making this jacket! Overall it took me about 6-7 hours to make it, and I did it over 3 days. The first day I constructed all the details on the front (pockets, welts). The second day was all about the yokes (I added embroidery to one front yoke), back, and collar. The third day was the sleeves, cuffs, lower band, and buttonholes! For my seams, I finished them all with my serger, instead of the traditional flat felled seams for denim. Once I had them finished, I pressed them to one side and did the two rows of topstitching.
For the embroidery, I created a video here talking more about that using my HUSQVARNA VIKING DESIGNER EPIC machine. You can see the color I thought about using instead of the gold! Lol! So glad I went with the gold! The heart I used was already downloaded onto the machine as well as the lettering, so I was happy about that! I already thinking about my next project to embroider so be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel and stay tuned!
Well that is all for today! Thank you so much for stopping by! If you have this pattern or a project similar that may intimidate you, I want to encourage you to try it! It may take a couple days, a switch of thread, and a tutorial to follow along with but DO IT! You may just surprise yourself, build your sewing confidence, and create something you’ll love and be extremely proud of!
Until next time….
Blessings
