You know what I did last Sunday?

Yes, we are all excited about spring kissing our cheeks. But I am behind schedule with my winter set. Luckily it is a Fall-Winter-Spring set (a travel set with 10 interchangeable pieces of clothing), and this was the last really wintery item on the list. It makes the hopefully short return of the 1-digit-temperatures more bearable:

Oh, don't say it... I know it. Santaclause, right? So what? I like the little bit of Santa-ness of this jacket, and I know I will love it when the next winter comes around. Somehow it's more of a before-Christmas garment.
I once bought a really great coat in the middle of summer, and it made the arrival of  winter so much better! On that note, this jacket has built in make-me-happy-power for next October.
I came up with the pattern myself. It's basically a circle. If you want to see how I did it, read on...


First I thought about the total length I want the jacket to be, then measured how far apart the sleeve openings have to be (upper back measurement). From that starting point I started fiddling around with a muslin, making darts and tucks here and there. Then I sewed it up. Easy. Originally I wanted a loosely knit fabric and actually thought about knitting myself. Well, there was no time for that, and yes, I want to finish this set by May at the latest... This is luscious wool fabric instead (I think it's knit fabric, but I am not even sure!...), not a bad choice at all, and I got it for such a great price...

Nothing precise at all at that stage, just trying stuff

These "pleats" were later sewn on the inside...

On the actual fashion fabric I did NOT cut out those darts. I only did that on the muslin, to transfer them more easily to the fashion fabric...

If you are interested, I can post exact measurements and a how-to, but I would love it if this inspired you to just go ahead and play with some fabric.
I really like this jacket and will definitely make it again, without Santa trim and a bit more edgy looking. I already have the perfect fabric in my stash for it, but it's a dark green and would not have worked for my travel set.
After making a "wearable blanket" once out of a basic square (posted here in my BurdaStyle studio) I find this one has even more potential. It actually would make a cute bathrobe, too...

For coolness, wear it open...

I like the shape in the back...

I really like it buttoned up...

I will present this jacket along with the other winter-set pieces when I have the blouse and shorts made up next...

The requirements for this jacket were:

• it has to go with all the other items of the set (no, duh...)
• it has to fit under the coat
• it has to work as an outside jacket for the days when the coat would be too much (like: now!)
• it has to be really warm...

I think I can check all that off. What do you think? Do you like the shape?