New Pattern: Cotton Time Jacket

Hello All, I have a new zero waste pattern to introduce.

It’s a short sleeved jacket, published in the Japanese magazine Cotton Time.

Here’s a preview of this lovely magazine, and a little flip through:

This opportunity fell into my lap via Mirai Pattern, who license and translate my zero waste patterns into Japanese. Last year, Cotton Time featured a zero waste pattern by Birgitta Helmersson and it was very well received, and they wished to offer another one.

The design brief was:

• zero waste
• single size to fit a Japanese size M woman (but we ended up doing size L, which is conveniently the same size as me)
• to fit on fabric 110cm wide and doesn’t require much yardage.
• a simple on-trend piece such as a vest, tunic, or lightweight jacket. Something suitable for the transition from late summer to early fall.

I was required to provide the pattern and basic instructions, then Mirai would translate them and sew the samples for the magazine, and unseen hands at the magazine would do the diagrams (those famously easy-to-follow ones that the Japanese are so good at).

Oh, so uncomplicated to create a single sized pattern! I submitted a long-line vest and a cropped jacket, and they chose the jacket. Submitting zero waste patterns takes a little longer than regular patterns, as I cannot just do a pretty sketch – I have to create a pattern and partly sew it to see if it’s going to work okay.

This is part of my submission:

The jacket is cut from a rectangle, using the bog coat/one seam cut. If you’ve read Zero Waste Sewing, you’ll be familiar with my thoughts on the versatility of this cut.

The proportions for this jacket are a Big Deal, and I spent much time getting them right.

Cotton Time is available on Amazon.jp, and in Australia at the Kinokuniya bookshop in Sydney (an awesome bookshop).

I can see a lot of ways to wear this jacket. Come back next week for a styling post!