When this pattern cam out a few years ago, I KNEW it was something I wanted to make. But at the time, I really didn’t have the confidence to tackle my nemesis – welt pockets. But the Audrey denim jacket is not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. I believe that if you can sew a straight line and have a little bit of patience, you too can sew this jacket! Best of all, the white stretch denim I had in my fabric stash was perfect for this project.
Prep Before Starting
The pattern is a PDF. I know many of you don’t like those, but there is an option for copy shop printing if you prefer. There are layers for the pattern so you only need to print the size (or sizes) that you want. While it’s about 43 pages, I did this and assembled it in about 25 minutes. Honestly, that was another reason I took years before I made this 😂.
Knowing that there would be a lot of topstitching, I prepared two full bobbins. That was not enough for me. I ended up using about two and a half bobbins. That’s my first suggestion. Prepare at least two bobbins with your thread of choice before starting. It really does make things so much easier. I don’t use special thread for the jacket or when I make jeans. Regular thread and a triple stitch are fantastic for giving you that traditional jeans look. I prefer that the topstitching thread blend in to the fabric color, so no contrasting thread was used for this.
Garment Construction
Seamwork has provided a video sew along for the whole process. I did watch the video on making the welt pockets. The written instructions are very good, although the order of construction varies slightly from the video. Video order may be a bit better just in case you make a mistake in attaching the welts.
Overall, this is a great project if you are short on time to sew. You can sew sections together (as the instructions show) and then put them together. Next thing you know, the Audrey denim jacket is done!
I did use a walking foot on my machine to topstitch the front bands, cuffs and waistband. That way there was no rippling of the top layer of fabric.
Conclusion
I chose this pattern over some similar ones I have because after looking at the finished garment measurements, this one seemed like the best fit. Personally, I have noticed that with some unisex patterns, I don’t get as good of a fit as I would like. For some things that’s fine, but for this, I was very particular about what I wanted.
This is the second Seamwork pattern I’ve made to good results. I’m a member so I have unlimited access to their patterns, etc. I actually find all of that quite useful.
Here’s a link for the Audrey Denim Jacket pattern: click here!
My video on the Audrey denim jacket is here…
