Color me excited, you guys.  I no longer have to hack patterns into a jacket with a zipper….because Patterns for Pirates just released a pattern that is exactly that! WOOT!

Let’s talk about the Go To Jacket, shall we?

(^^Of course I grabbed the line drawings for the women’s jacket and I’m showing you the men and youth patterns, haha.  Figures, right?)

The Go To Jacket is drafted for the whole family.  It’s available in womens / men / youth versions, but the style is darn similar in all three.  There are two neckline finishing options: bomber jacket style and hooded.  Two pocket types: inseam and kangaroo.  And three ways to finish your sleeves: hemmed, cuffed, and thumbhole cuffs.  Lots of options, like always!  On top of that, we have provided step-by-step instructions to help hold your hand through installing a zipper AND we’ve got blog post with video tutorials on how to easily shorten your zippers.

Now comes the hard part.  Which man of mine do I share with you first?  Let’s go for Bennett — since he doesn’t get to show up on this blog as much as Louis and I.

I created the bomber collar version for Bennett, with kangaroo pockets and hemmed sleeves.  The pattern includes lengths for short/average/tall heights…and while Bennett is 5’10” (which doesn’t fall into the tall category), he gets all of his height in his torso and the tall length of P4P shirts are necessary.  I love that Judy drafts this for those heights, so it takes the guess work out of adjusting for height.

Each of the patterns comes with a chin guard, to help keep those uncomfortable zippers off of you directly.  It’s especially useful for the hooded versions, since that collar comes up a bit higher.

I love that Judy drafted the men and women’s sleeve pieces to be off the fold.  It helps with those thicker arms of the guys to have a slightly different grading to the front and back of the sleeve pieces, even with knit fabrics.  She also has different sleeve pieces for the three heights she drafts for…I used the average sleeve for Bennett and it’s perfection.

For Louis’ jacket, I wanted to make sure to cover the other options that I didn’t in Bennett’s.  His features a hood, cuffed sleeves, and inseam pockets.

Judy likes to switch things up when she creates new patterns, and this is a good example of just that.  The hood on all three Go To Jacket patterns features 3-pieces…which makes my wheels turn and all I can think of is how cute animal ears could be on them.  Right? Does anyone else think that immediately?

Louis has been super excited about his jacket since I first threw it on him for a fit check.  This will certainly become my next favorite jacket type to make for him.  While the pattern doesn’t call for it, it’s easy to line and create a double layered version.  I AM ALL OVER IT.  Watch out winter jackets for next year!  I’m coming for you!

If you’re wondering where my jacket is…it’s coming.  My serger caught on something and I bent one of the pieces, throwing it completely out of whack.  I’ve been down a machine all week and luckily my Momma gave me hers to use.  So I’ll be back up and running soon.  But for now…nada.

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Pattern:Go To Jacket – Men’s / Go To Jacket – Youth  by Patterns for Pirates
Fabric: Blue Black Tiedye Sweaterknit Fleece / Blue Heathered Sweaterknit Fleece from JoAnn Fabrics [/otw_shortcode_info_box]

**As always, you’ll find some affiliate links scattered within my post, which means I receive a small amount of compensation if you end up purchasing something I’ve recommended.  Thanks for helping to feed my sewing habits!