Sound the alarm, I’ve actually sewn a winter jacket BEFORE winter hits!  Where are the balloons and streamers?  This is a big moment for me!!

If there’s one thing I love sewing the most, it’s jackets for my family.  I’ve talked about this recently, but it’s worth saying again.  There’s something so special about creating outerwear, it gives me an extra boost of energy when I go to the drawing board.  Louis’ jackets have always been the most fun to make, too.  I’m sure you can guess why.

If you follow along with me at all, it’s no surprise that I used the Lumberjack Shirt pattern from Patterns for Pirates to create this year’s masterpiece.  I actually had a MUCH different plan in mind, but after seeing this fabric while I was out gathering my supplies, everything changed and I immediately switched modes.

Seriously.  How could I resist this retro Darth Vader fabric, with a coordinating logo print?  I DIED.  I was overly excited and the JoAnns employee that was cutting my yardage for me was not even close to sharing my enthusiasm.  It’s cool, it’s cool.  There’s no need for everyone to geek out like I did.  I was doing enough for the other eight people in the store with me.

I really wanted to break up the fabric a little bit, so I added some stripes to the front bodice pieces, and actually included the back yoke this time around.  Often when I make the Lumberjack Shirt as a jacket, I omit the yoke because I like that continuous back piece.  This was one of the exceptions to the rule for me.  I considered using the logo fabric for the sleeves as well but ultimately decided that there needed to be as many rainbow colored Darth Vaders as possible on one jacket.

I think we can all agree that my decision was the right one to make.

This jacket should have taken me a lot less time than it did, except for the fact that I decided to quilt the entire thing.  Or at least my version of quilting.  I used a clear thread and ran vertical lines down the each piece.  It’s actually how I sandwiched the fleece inner lining to the outer jacket layer.  In my head it will make the jacket and fabric a little more steadfast for the wear and tear he’s about to put on it.

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Don’t look too closely or you’ll realize that I didn’t exactly make the lines straight or even.  Sometimes I just prefer to wing it.  The stitches were already taking me long enough, no one can stop this sewing train when it gets going.  I didn’t want to delay the end results any longer by doing things the complete right way, ha.

I ended up using a solid colored flannel for the inner lining.  I figured we had enough going on with the outer fabrics that just a good, bold red would do it’s job.  In total, he’s got 3 layers, two of which are actually going to help keep him warm, and the outer layer of Star Wars retro goodness.  Totally and completely happy with the end results.

Here’s a quick rundown of the alterations I made to the pattern:

• Added an inner lining of fleece, which was quilted to the outer layer with vertical lines
• Omitted the placket and added a zipper instead.
• Omitted the cuff + placket and used a knit cuff in it’s place.

Patterns: Lumberjack Shirt by Patterns for Pirates
Fabric: Darth Vader Quilting Cotton | Star Wars Logo Quilting Cotton | Red Cozy Flannel from JoAnn Fabrics