Hampton Jean Jacket Blog Tour!

October 10, 2017

Hampton Jean Jacket Blog Tour!

I was so excited when Alina from Alina Design Co. asked if I’d be interested in participating in her upcoming Hampton Jean Jacket blog tour. I’ve been wanting to sew up this jacket and this was the perfect opportunity! A jean jacket is really an ideal wardrobe piece for me, since I currently live in San Diego and don't need a coat, but do need a light jacket for mornings and evenings, especially as we get later into the fall. My style is classic and laid back- basically a jean jacket is something that is not only very practical but ideal for me!

The blog tour kicked off yesterday with Helen from Helen's Closet. She shared how she underlined her Hampton jean jacket. I totally love the flannel on the inside. Helen's blog is so enjoyable and full of fun tips- definitely take a peek. Below you'll find the entire schedule!

Hampton Jean Jacket Fall 2017 Blog Tour

October 9: Helen's Closet

October 10: A Closet Handmade and Tabi Made

October 11: Straight Stitch Designs

October 12: Match Makes Clothes and Merritts Makes

October 13: Well Fibre

What is awesome is Alina is offering a coupon code as part of her blog tour! There couldn't be a more perfect time to scoop up this awesome pattern! To get 15% off, use the code:

"HAMPTONSFORALL"

I will admit, I was initially overwhelmed at the thought of a traditional jean jacket as I am very aware there would be a lot of pieces. However, once I got the pattern and was able to look over Alina’s very clear directions, as well as utilize her amazing sewalong, all my anxiety melted away and I was left feeling so excited to get going!

I fell between sizes but Alina helps by giving tips on what measurements are most essential for a good fit. In the end, I cut a straight size 6. My denim was prepped but was still much darker than I wanted so once my pieces were cut they went into a bleach bath. I think my bleach to water ratio was not high enough because the color did not want to pull from this denim. Eventually I got the color to where I wanted it- dark, but not so dark it looked black. I did this process with the cut pieces and I had some issues with fraying, which I had anticipated when I selected the size to cut.

Hand embroidery is something I really love and lately I can’t seem to get enough of simple designs on denim. There is so much ready to wear inspiration this season. I was itching to tackle the challenge, so I decided to embroider the back yoke of the jacket. If I’m being honest, I had a terrible time deciding on a Sashiko (Japanese stitching technique) design. Once I did decide on one I was about 80% of the way done when I realized it just wasn’t for me. As devastating as it was, I cut and pulled out all the embroidery- being very careful to not to do any permanent damage to the yoke. At this point I went with the design that had been in my heart all along: a crane.

The final design was three cranes and various blue tones. And once again I hit an impasse when I realized the last crane was just a bit to dark. As you can see above, its pretty much impossible to see the third crane even with a bright flash or direct sun light. So again out it came and I re-did it one last time. This wasn't as painful as you might imagine- I have to say, all the trial and error definitely increased my stitches per hour. Having done the crane three times already I was confident in my ability to get it done again, and get it right.

I will have a full separate blog post tutorial on how I like to transfer embroidery designs. In the end all the time was totally worth it. I’m beyond pleased with the yoke and don’t have any regrets about pulling out the other design or the extra time spent on this jacket.

As the Hampton Jean Jacket came together I knew I’d have to do some blending of sizes since my measurements weren’t falling perfectly into a single size. The only adjustment I made was to the side seams. I removed about an inch of excess as I moved from the underarm to the waist (I didn’t mess with the arm cycle because I didn’t want to alter the sleeve and I know I have larger shoulders and biceps and didn’t want the sleeve to end up snug.

Following along with Alina’s sewalong I was able to distress the jacket enough to show off the seaming and the way its pieced together. I did this by sanding the jacket with 600 grit sand paper. I used a finer sand paper since I knew my fabric was a bit softer- its not 100% cotton but a stretch denim. I also distressed the jacket once it was complete, focusing on the upper back (of course I avoided my top stitching and embroidery), the backs of the arms and elbows, and front sides where your hands go into the pockets. Its worth mentioning that both the distressing and bleaching are covered in Alina's sewalong in-depth! This was not only super helpful for my Hampton Jean Jacket but also information I'll be incorporating into my next pair of jeans.

Can we just about the welt pocket? How can something that can be so tricky be made so clear. I really can’t stress it enough - the sewalong makes you feel like Alina is there holding your hand! The pockets had been something that I was intimidated by, but in the end I was thrilled with them. The whole jacket really comes together so easy as I followed along with the sewalong. My daughter did make a push for me to leave it as a vest at one point- she wasn't convincing enough. I do think you could hack the Hampton Jean Jacket into a vest, which is on trend this year.

Since I had embroidered the yoke I did make the decision to line. Not only protect the embroidery but hide any messy embroidery floss. I chose to use a navy and white stripe shirting. I totally love the way it came out. I think it has such a clean feel. To do this I simply cut an extra yoke piece from the shirting, basted it to the yoke and then proceeded as normal. In Alina's instructions you can either flat felt or serger your seams. I have a serger and was happy to do it that way especially since I had experienced fraying after the bleach bath and my fabric was a bit softer since its a stretch denim. I did take the time do to a flat felted seam at the bottom of the yoke. You can see it peeking out of the picture below.

Beyond the beautiful aesthetics of the Hampton Jean Jacket it is also so comfortable. The fit on the pattern is great, it's flattering without being tight. It's not boxy while still giving you enough room. This jean jacket doesn't restrict your movement- especially in the shoulders and arms- which is something I tend to find as a problem in other jean jackets. This is just a great pattern from the instructions, to the fit and of course the sewalong. I took my pictures over the weekend and found myself wearing it all day. I even was stopped to ask where I got it- I was so happy to tell her it was the Hampton Jean Jacket - and I had made it!

I hope you'll continue to follow along on the blog tour for the rest of the week. I know I'm so excited to see what the other ladies do with their Hampton Jean Jacket. Of course don't forget that as part of this amazing blog tour there is the following promotional code to get 15% your Hampton Jean Jacket:

"HAMPTONSFORALL"