Lekala #4398 for Elsa

Elsa is off to Ireland next year to work as farm labourer/ au pair and was advised polar fleece jumpers and t-shirts were the go!

Once again, we turned to trusty Lekala and #4398.
The polar fleece was purchased from Spotlight.

Elsa chose her least favourite fleece for the first one and I sewed it up, fitting it as I went.
Immediately we could see the pockets would not work to actually hold anything. The opening is at the bottom of the bag. (on my pattern, that is where the notches were)
We made note to lift this on subsequent jackets.

Elsa wanted quite a slim fit so I trimmed 3 cm's from the sleeve tapering down to a scant cm at the cuff.

All the panels help give the jacket a nice fit.

That is the beauty of Lekala, the custom fit.

Raising the pockets was a simple modification and worked well.
Elsa requested vinyl zipper pull tabs.

I was finding this a bit of a tedious sew, so I prettied up the facings with some bias.
I also interfaced all the facings and front strip where the zipper attached, for stability when sewing and when wearing.

A nice fitting sports jacket.
Ready for work.

~Elsa's Verdict~
The sweaters are warm and comfortable, they zip up nicely and are slightly fitted.
The sleeves are slightly shorter then my arms so the hem doesn't get wet while I work.
The colours are great and they will be perfect for work.

~My Verdict~
I am not sure why mu pocket notches were so low, on the diagram they are fine but for a $3 pattern, I am not quibbling.
The instructions were okay for this one, I just don't enjoy sewing polar fleece.


Thank you for reading.
xx N