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Friday, January 2, 2015

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

Sweeping Rectangles Jacket

It began with the Sweeping Rectangles Tee.
Then, the Sweeping Rectangles Dress with Pockets. This is exactly the same as the tee top, just lengthened and pockets added to the contrast panel.
And the final installment in the series is the Sweeping Rectangles Jacket. The jacket is made up of 3 rectangles and it is so very easy to do.
The solid fabric is just a rectangular piece that forms a shrug. The piece that goes around the neck is another rectangle.
 The back view. The third rectangle is the sweeping rectangle portion, which is just another rectangle.
With the piece laying out flat, you see the shrug which is just a tube. With your arms stretched out, measure from one wrist to the other for the length. For the width, measure around your bicep and add at least 2" of ease.
In this picture you can see the rectangle that goes around the back. I used a 60" wide piece of fabric. Once the shrug portion has been sewn, try it on and measure from the bottom of the shrug to your desired back length and then use the full width of the fabric. If you are a little wider in the hips, you may want to put a seam at center back in order for your back panel to provide more room.
The back panel will be sewn across the back of the shrug, across the bottom and will stop at the seam intersection of the sleeve of the shrug. At this point, the remainder of the rectangle will hang free. In our next step we will attach it to the front panel.
The front panel is as I said, just another rectangle. Measure around the opening of the shrug across the neck from one arm seam to the other. Then measure the back panel that is hanging free. This will determine how long the front panel will be. I put a seam in my panel at center back. 
To determine how wide the center front panel should be,try on the shrug and measure from the seam at the armpit to the center of your chest. Double this measurement. So if your measurement from the armpit seam of the shrug to the center of your chest is 12", your front panel will need to be 24" wide. The front panel will be folded in half so that it is finished on both sides. Fold the panel in half and sew it to the back panel portion that is hanging free, across the neck area of the shrug and then down the other side of the back panel that is hanging free.
That's all there is to it!. Very simple and quick to make. Be sure to use a knit fabric as you will need the stretch for the shrug. The neckline rectangle and the back panel could be made out of a lace or any other fabric that has a nice drape.
The jacket can be worn with pants or a skirt. I made a matching skirt which is also just a rectangle with an elastic waist.

5 comments:

  1. This is pretty cool. I like this one the best :)

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  2. Simple but totally effective. Love the jacket with the skit too - classy

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  3. Rhonda you are a genius. It never fails to amaze me what you can do with a few simple shapes. I already have fabric choices rolling around in my head!

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