Knock it Off - you & mie

I'm such a huge fan of today's guest, Cherie, from you & mie!  Her retro, yet modern creations have been inspiring me ever since I was first introduced to her in the Project Run & Play sew along several seasons ago.  And it seems everything she makes is heightened in cuteness when worn by her adorable daughter, Yuki.  Thank you so much for being here today, Cherie!

Hello! I'm Cherie from you & mie and I'm soooo excited to be here sharing this knock off tutorial with you today! I love sewing all sorts of things, but sewing for my daughter is my absolute favorite.  I'm also a huge fan of Heidi's and I think this series is absolutely brilliant - I mean, who doesn't love a good knock off?!

But I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be to pin down just ONE thing to knock off!  There are soooo many awesome store bought outfits out there just waiting to be made at home.  I checked out some of my favorite knock-off inspiration pinboards (here, here, and here) and consulted with my favorite idea girl, Kristin, and with her help FINALLY decided on this Mini Boden Quilted Jacket.

I love that the jacket is super stylish, warm and comfy and the bias tape finishing actually makes the construction really quite simple.  I also love unisex patterns AND, get this, it can be reversible!!  The most time consuming part is the quilting, but it goes quickly once you get going (or you can buy pre-quilted fabric).  So let's get started!

You'll need:
- Main fabric
- Lining fabric
- Batting
- Double fold bias tape
- 4 buttons (or 8 if you're making a reversible jacket)
- Chalk or fabric marking pen
- Coordinating thread
- Walking foot (optional)

Draft your pattern:
To draft your pattern, start with jacket or top that fits well and draft the back piece on the fold.  The jacket has a slight A-line shape, so draw a slight slant from the bottom of the armhole to the bottom corner of the pattern.

I need to mention that my jacket turned out quite snug on my daughter and I'm wondering if the batting had something to do with that.  I'd suggest giving your pattern some extra wiggle room when you draft it.

To draft the front piece, trace the shoulder, armhole and side and bottom of the back pattern.  The neckline should scoop lower and the center should extend past the back piece (mine extended 1.5 inches) and round your edges.

Using your well-fitting jacket, draft a pattern for the sleeves, a 3 piece hood and a pocket.

Cut your fabric:
Here's what you'll need to cut . . .

*If you want to make the jacket reversible, cut 4 pockets of the lining fabric as well.*

When I cut my batting, I pinned the main fabric to it and just roughly cut around it in case the batting shifted.

Quilting:
Now, we quilt!  We're only going to quilt the main fabric to the batting.  Because I'm sorta anal, I wanted to center my diamonds.  So first mark a line down the center of the pattern piece.  Then make another line at 45 degrees.  I decided to make my lines 1.75 inches apart, so I cut a piece of cardboard of that width to help mark the rest of the lines.  Once you have your lines marked, sew along each line, using a walking foot if you have one.

To center your diamonds, draw a 45 degree angle going the other direction making sure to cross a point where the center line intersects with one of the lines you already quilted (red dot).  Use your cardboard ruler to mark the rest of your lines and quilt.  Trim the excess batting.

Repeat these steps to quilt all of your main/batting pieces.

Construct hood:
With right sides together, pin the curved side of the hood to the center panel and sew.  Repeat with the other side.  Press seams open.

Top stitch along the inside of your hood seams.

Attach pockets:
Position your pockets (right sides together) on the front and back pieces of the jacket, making sure they line up.  Sew along the straight edge.  Press open.

Attach shoulder seams:
Pin the front and back pieces right sides together at the shoulder and sew.  Press seams open.

Attach hood:
Line up the center of the jacket back with the center of the hood and pin, right sides together.  Pin the hood along neckline.  You want at least 2-3 inches of the jacket front to extend past the edge of the hood (I had to trim my hood back a little bit for it to fit).  Sew the hood on and press seam open.

You'll have the extra seam allowance along the top edge that extends past the hood.  Trim that down and round the edge (I think this will make more sense as you're sewing).

Attach sleeves:
Pin the center of the sleeve to the shoulder seam and then carefully pin the rest of the sleeve along the armhole, curving the fabric as you go.  When sewing, start from the shoulder seam and work your way down to the bottom of the armhole slowly.  Then start back at the shoulder seam to sew the other side of the sleeve.  Repeat with second sleeve and press.

Top stitch along the inside of the sleeve seam.

Side seams:
Turn your jacket inside out and pin the sleeves, sides and pockets together and sew.  Clip corners.  Flip your jacket right side out (your pocket will automatically be turned in) and press seams well.

Construct lining:
Follow the same steps to construct your lining, omitting the top stitching (if you are making a reversible jacket, add the pockets as you did previously.  If not, skip those steps).  This should come together really quickly and easily this time around!

Attach lining:
Once your lining is complete, slip it into the outer layer of the jacket, wrong sides together.  Make sure to carefully line up the seams and edges.  Pockets should be pointed towards the front of the jacket and be hidden between the lining and jacket.  Baste along the outside of the jacket very close to the edge to attach the layers together.

Binding edges:
We're almost done!  To finish the edges, unfold your bias tape and starting from the bottom of the jacket, a few inches from a side seam, pin your bias tape along the edge of the jacket.  Make sure to leave several inches of bias tape free before you start pinning.  Continue along the entire edge of the jacket, being careful around curves.  You should have one continuous long edge starting at the side seam, up the front of the jacket, around the hood, back down the other side and along the bottom.  When you get close to where you started, measure where the ends will meet and sew the two ends of the bias tape together.

Sew along the crease of the bias tape closest to the edge.  Flip the bias tape over the edge of the jacket and fold the other edge of the bias tape back under.  Make sure to cover the stitch line with the edge of the bias tape and pin.  From the outside of the jacket, top stitch along the bias tape just next to the seam.

For the sleeve, measure the length around the sleeve and cut two pieces of bias tape one inch longer.  Unfold your bias tape and sew the ends right sides together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance creating a tube.  Press seam open.  Pin the bias tape along the edge of the sleeve and repeat same steps as before to attach binding.

Buttons and buttonholes:
Sew on your buttons and make buttonholes where desired.  If you are making a reversible jacket, sew buttons to both sides of the jacket.

And you're done!

I hope you can make your little one something warm and comfy this season.  Please feel free to visit me at you & mie some time and if you make a quilted jacket, please add it to the you & mie flickr group because I love to see your creations!

Thanks so much for having me Heidi.  I'm so glad I was able to join in on the knock-off fun.