Fairmount Shacket & Sweater Mashup

I am SO excited to share my Fairmount Shacket by Hey June Handmade (sizes 35-63″ hip). I immediately bought this fabric after seeing this pattern release at the end of 2021. I didn’t get around to sewing it last year, but I’m so glad to have made it now! My inspiration for this was a wool shacket from Ba&Sh that Stephanie Trotta shared around the time this pattern was released. I got the look really close, and I’m so happy with it! (Comparison below)

This fabric is a plaid wool blend from Style Maker Fabrics. It’s not very soft and too itchy for bare skin (in my opinion), so I was worried that if I didn’t add some type of lining then I wouldn’t wear very much. I ended up getting some black Bemberg lining to underline the inside of the sleeves only.

For the underlining, I basted it to the main sleeve pieces and treated it all as one piece. I decided not to line the inside of the cuffs, but that’s been fine since my hands and wrists aren’t as sensitive as the rest of my arms. I’ve worn it a few times now, and I’m so glad I decided to add the underlining so that I can still wear short sleeved shirts and it easily slides on over sweaters. I can still feel the wool a little bit through the lining when I have a short-sleeved shirt on, but with a long-sleeved shirt I can’t feel it at all.

I made a straight size 12, which is pretty in line with my body measurements. I lengthened the sleeves by 2″ and the bodice and plackets by 1″. I changed the pockets to have square edges instead of angled. I also used some leftover crinkle cotton for the pocket flap linings and the undercollar. I had seen a lot of other people in the hashtag use a lighter weight fabric for those areas and thought it was a good idea. I don’t have any photos showing it, but it helped things lay a lot nicer and not be too thick.

I’m not sure why I only buttoned two buttons in these photos, because I definitely could have buttoned the bottom ones. The gray weather is really getting to my brain. Haha. I really like these 1″ black buttons that I found on Etsy, and I plan on using them for my next project too.

The pattern was great and easy to follow. On step 13, during the burrito method, I didn’t read the instructions and was only following the illustrations, and they were backwards. So, I unpicked and looked up the Cheyenne Tunic instructions to double check, and the illustrations were different. So just make sure to follow the written instructions and not the illustrations on that step. (I did send a message Hey June.)

The only part I struggled with a little bit was the front of the collar. I’ve never done a convertible collar before, so I should have followed the tutorial, but I didn’t. I ended up finding some matching thread and reinforcing the front area to make it more secure. But don’t be like me! Click the link in the instructions and follow the tutorial. 😉

I can’t write this post without mentioning the pattern matching. I really strategized while I was cutting this fabric, and I was determined to get those pockets and flaps just right. I learned a pattern matching trick from Karen (@intostiches) at a retreat a couple of years ago and found a Youtube video that explains it in under 2 minutes. So, check it out, and prepare to be amazed!

I also sewed this this sweater using a beautiful waffle knit that I bought from Meg (@meg_____makes) when she was de-stashing her fabrics last year, and I love it! I used a few patterns for this sweater, so here it goes: I used the bodice and sleeve pieces of the Astair Tee by French Navy, the crew neckline of the Jarrah Sweater by Megan Nielsen, and the cuffs and hem band from the Page Hoodie by Chalk and Notch. I was going to just make a Jarrah, but I don’t wear my other ones very much and I realized it’s because the shoulders are SO sloped. The Astair is perfect though, and I really like the width of the Page cuffs and hem band. My goal was for this to be something I wanted to wear all the time, and I think it’s mission accomplished!

Our weather doesn’t show signs of warming up quite yet, so I’m looking forward to wearing these for another couple of months. I have one more Marlo Sweater that I want to make, and then I’ll start making lighter weight things for spring. Have you started thinking about sewing for spring yet?

As always, let me know if you have any question or comments, and happy jacket sewing! xoxo