Roman loves Peter Rabbit. He actually has 2 Peter Rabbit softies, one named Peter, the other named Michael. In the photo above, Peter is on the left, Michael is on the right. I think Michael just wins out as the favourite, but if Michael isn’t around, he’s happy to hang out Peter.
For a while now, I’ve been planning on making him a jacket to match ‘the boys’ and when Kids Clothes Week popped up, I started to get my supplies together.
There were quite a few steps involved in making the jacket. First off, I bought the French Terry fabric online (thanks Lee Bee), but the colour turned out to be a fair bit lighter than it looked on the computer, so I dyed it a few shades darker. Thankfully, the colour came out just right! It’s always such a risk plunging a piece of fabric into the dye. I don’t think I dissolved the dye quite enough though as there are a few spots on the fabric from dye granules. When I cut out the pattern I made sure to put the worst ones on the lining.
I drafted the pattern myself, using the Heidi & Finn Urban Hoodie (see my previous version here) as a base and following this diagram which shows how to draft a shawl collar onto a regular top. I left the back and sleeve pieces as is. It worked out really well and wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. I pinned the paper pattern pieces together and folded it over to make sure it was the right size before cutting out the fabric.
The jacket is fully lined, so I left a hole in the lining side seam for turning through. Because the fabric is a knit, I stabilised either side of the hole with some interfacing to stop it stretching when I turned it through. This worked really well, so I’ll have to remember it for next time.
When it was all put together, I took a look through my button stash but didn’t have anything quite right. Ros, from Sew Delicious came to the rescue and gave me the perfect buttons from her collection! Thanks again Ros!
I think Roman is pretty happy with the jacket even though he had to be bribed with snacks to put it on for the photos. I think the hardest part of KCW is always trying to get action shots!
Toni-Maree from Sew Jereli says
The jacket turned out awesome! The colour is a great match. Does he love it? Everything is just right, lucky Ros had the perfect buttons. 🙂
He is such a cutie. 🙂
Anna says
Love it!!
Heidi says
Love this jacket…love the inspiration! So nicely done! That colour is perfect.
ST says
That is the cutest thing I have ever seen!
Laura says
It is absolutely perfect, what a wonderful jacket. You should have put Roman in some rabbit ears for the photos 😉
thingsforboys says
Haha! I don’t think ears would have lasted more than 5 seconds on his head!
Ann says
I’m so impressed with this! Such a good idea, but the execution really takes it over the top.
thingsforboys says
Thanks Ann! I’m so happy with how it turned out…just how I pictured it in my head.
Olga (Kid Approved) says
love the jacket! Your son looks adorable in it!
thingsforboys says
Thanks Olga!
Cassandra says
I really love it Abby! You’ve done a terrific job 🙂 That’s one cute little man you’ve got there!
thingsforboys says
Thanks Cass!
Roslyn@Sew Delicious says
Ooh it looks so great! So glad to have had the perfect buttons for you!
feelincrafty says
This is totally adorable!!
Jenny Young says
Oh wowzers that is AMAZEPANTS! So awesome! I am going to pin, share on facebook and every other social networking medium I can – actually I may even shout from the rooftops how awesome this is! The photos are brilliant too! Well done Abby!
Melissa (Melly Sews) says
So cute! Just pinned.
Hope Lum says
So precious. I pinned the first picture to my pinterest board “character-inspired outfits.” My kids love Peter Rabbit, and they love to dress up as their favorite characters from books and tv shows.
Erica Guadagnoli says
Oh I love the jacket! It looks wonderful! My 3 year old son loves The Naughty Bunny by Richard Scarry so we were googling The Naughty Bunny and Peter Rabbit to see what clothing patterns came up. He really wants a suit like the Naughty Bunny and I thought a Peter Rabbit jacket would be perfect too.. (if you google the naughty bunny make sure kids aren’t around because some very inappropriate things come up! I had to have the kids go away and have them come back once I clicked open the image) Was it very difficult to change the pattern from a hood to a neck? I have never altered patterns before.. Thanks! 🙂
abby says
the naughty bunny is rather cute! I followed this diagram to make the alteration (http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4970/understanding-the-basic-shawl-collar-pattern) it was pretty straight forward. I did it on pattern paper and then after I’d cut it out, folded the collar the way it would sit in real life to make sure I was happy with the shape. I hope that helps!
Stephanie says
Hello! Ive been searching for the past 8 months for a Peter Rabbit jacket for my 4 year old nephew. Yours is adorable! Do you sell them? I’m not a sewer!
abby says
Hi Stephanie, no I don’t sell them, but any accomplished seamstress should be able to follow the directions to make one for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Stephanie says
Hello,
I love that jacket, will you have the full pattern of it please.
I hope you can help.
Thank you
Regards
Stephanie
abby says
Hi Stephanie,
No full pattern unfortunately as I simply modified an existing pattern and added the collar.
Thanks,
abby