Pattern Background

Full zip fleece vest with curved hem and inseam pockets, two hidden mesh pockets on the inside. The inside pockets are sized so that my iPhone 12 fits inside perfectly.

I was so happy when Jalie released this pattern last spring, as I had wanted to make a fleece vest since last fall.

Fabric and Notions

Suggested fabrics are medium to heavyweight fleece fabrics like Polartec 200 and sherpa/berber fleece. I used the winter fleece from The Green Pepper, purchased this month during their fleece sale. (I managed to get the last yardage of the charcoal color.) It is roughly equivalent to Polartec 200 in weight.

For my size Y the fabric requirements called for 1.5 yards, but I was easily able to fit it onto just 1.25 yards of my 60” fabric.

For the mesh for the pockets I used some athletic mesh purchased from Fabric Mart last summer.

For the collar I used needlepunch from The Green Pepper. My fleece is on the thinner side for this project and since I don’t really wear scarves anymore I wanted extra warmth in the collar. Would I do it again? Probably not, while it does add extra warmth it also adds extra bulk.

The zipper is a YKK #5 molded plastic separating zipper from Wawak. I removed the extra teeth with these pliers. I felt there was no need for zipper stops after the collar was sewn into place.

Size and Alterations

I started with a size Y. The only alteration I made was adding a total of 4.5” to the hip.

Be warned that the fit is quite boxy. Maybe the 6.5” positive ease works for a thick Sherpa fleece but for my fabric, which is about the weight of Polartec 200, it just felt huge! Not flattering either. The armholes are quite low as well, something else I didn’t really notice on the models until making it. They actually go below the fullest part of the bust. You can see just how low they are if you look at the young girl wearing the reddish orange vest in the model photos on the Jalie website:

I normally find Jalie ease perfect for whatever the style is, so this surprised me. But I will say when I measured the actual garment and then cross referenced the finished measurements chart in the pattern, the finished measurements given were accurate. It just seems like 6.5” ease is a lot considering that people generally use a fleece vest over a t-shirt or maybe a lighter weight sweater and not a bulky sweatshirt. I ended up taking in the side seams a total of 3” from armhole to hem, making it 3.5” positive ease. While it still is a bit roomy it also feels like a much better fit through my torso and gives it more of the semi-fitted silhouette I wanted. The modeled photos are either shown unzipped or with their hands in the pockets which doesn’t give a true sense of just how much ease there is.

I should note that I actually found the shoulder and upper chest fit really well and as expected. It was just the area from the bust downward I found too large.

Construction

The instructions were good. The pockets are probably the trickiest since there’s several pieces involved, but the Jalie instructions lay them out well.

I do recommend serging the inner seams whenever possible because it helps control the bulk of the fleece seam allowances.

I like how the collar is constructed. The section where the inside collar is stitched to the outer collar is completely folded to the inside, which eliminates a lot of bulk at the upper edge of the zipper. I know it is really hard to see with this fabric but I’ve attempted to capture it here:

After making this I feel it would be far better to trim off the seam allowance from the inner collar and tape/bind the inner collar edge instead of folding it under.

The pocket is cut so that the cut edge is against the fold of the hem to help eliminate bulk. Just remember that you should probably pin or baste before hemming to make sure it gets caught in the hem properly.

I finished the armholes and hem on my coverstitch machine. For the hem I think if you keep the original ease it would be helpful to sew a buttonhole on the inside and add shock cord elastic and cord stoppers or even just elastic to help gather in the extra ease. Before I took in the side seams I found the hem, which had been altered to fit my larger hips, was almost floppy.

Conclusion

I do recommend this pattern despite my displeasure with the ease. The cut works for just about everyone: women, men, kids, and adults. I feel it is well designed in that whenever they could, Jalie took steps to eliminate bulk. Just keep in mind that as drafted this is an oversized fit through the bust/waist/hips. Don’t do the hem or armholes until you try it on!