For the pattern I used Jalie 2769. It is a sporty jacket with raglan sleeves, a stand up collar and front pockets. The pattern has quite a lot of detail compared to what I normally sew, but was not difficult to sew.
The softshell fabric from extremtextil is a three layer fabric: on the outside it is a little bit shiny from polyamide with lycra for stretch, polyester fleece on the inside for warmth, the middle layer is a membrane to make it water-and windproof while breathable, and it is impregnated with polyurethane. Perfect for outdoor activities in cool wet autumn or april weather. It looks a bit like neoprene diving suit.
I am a European size 38 on top and 42 at the bottom, I made size 40. The fabric I used has a little less stretch than the recommendation. It is not too small at the hip, but quite roomy on top. I think the excess fabric under the sleeves is intentional because it is a sports jacket. If I were to make it again I would go down a size at the upper part of the jacket.
I especially like the pockets, the yoke and the topstitching. The sleeves are nicely long and narrow at the cuff. There are many decorative dividing seams, but not all are functional, the yoke does not function as a bust dart, and in the back there could be more shaping in the dividing seams. I don’t routinely sew in zippers, and unpicked the front zipper once because the dividing seams did not align. Still not perfect, I think that was a cutting mistake. The fabric is quite thick and I should have cut from a single layer. Sewing this fabric was surprisingly easy.
For the pockets I used polyester lining, I used waterproof zippers, polyester thread and a jersey needle. I did not zig zag the seams because softshell does not fray. The sleeves are not lined but maybe that would not be a bad idea.
I am very happy I finally made this. I had kept the bill in the box with the fabric so I could see how long it took me to start this. By the way the fabric cost about 25Euro, with all the notions and the pattern it was maybe 50 Euro. Now I am already thinking of making another one, maybe in brown, with reflective piping, in a lighter quality…
