How to make a hanten (japanese padded jacket)

1. Materials & tools

Materials (women's size)

• Main fabric (Japanese-print cotton, chirimen or flannel) — about 110 cm wide × 250 cm (43 × 98 in)
• Lining fabric (lightweight cotton) — the same amount
• Medium batting — about 200 cm (79 in) if you are padding it
• Optional: ties or a decorative cord for the front

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Adult clothes” → “Hanten (Japanese padded jacket)” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter panel width, length, sleeve length, sleeve width and finished collar width. Presets cover child, women's and men's sizes.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Check the measurements
   Body, sleeves and collar are all straight lines, so mark them straight onto the fabric from the guide sheet rather than printing.
2. Cut
   Cut two body panels (front and back in one; the middle line is the shoulder), two sleeves and one collar. The front half of each body panel is narrower on the inner edge by the neck-opening width, which leaves a step at the shoulder line — that is where the neck goes.
3. Leave the front open
   The body is two panels, left and right. The inner edge is the center back on the back half and the front edge on the front half. Sew only the center back; the front edges stay open.
4. If padding
   Cut the batting to the same dimensions as the body and sleeves.

4. Sewing

4-1. Sew the center back

1. Place the two body panels right sides together and sew the center back seam from the hem up to the step at the neck opening. The shoulders are folds, so there is nothing to sew there.
2. If you are padding it, layer outer, batting and lining now and quilt a grid across them to lock the layers together.

4-2. Make and attach the sleeves

1. Fold each sleeve in half along the shoulder line (the fold), right sides together. Leave the upper edge open up to its notch (the armhole join) and the lower edge open up to its notch (the cuff); sew the rest of both edges and the underarm edge opposite the fold.
2. Sew the open part of the upper edge to the top of the body side, from the shoulder down to the notch, matching the sleeve fold to the shoulder fold. Both edges are straight, so if the notches match, the seam matches.

4-3. Sew the sides

1. Sew each side from below the sleeve opening down to the hem, reinforcing where the sleeve meets the body.

4-4. Attach the collar

1. Fold the collar in half lengthwise and sew one edge to the garment in one run: from the hem of one front edge, around the back neck opening, to the hem of the other. Match the collar notches to the center back and the corners of the neck opening. The collar is cut to exactly this length.
2. Turn it out, fold the remaining edge under and slip-stitch or topstitch it down.
3. The collar goes on as one straight line — there is no curve to ease it around.

4-5. Cuffs and hem

1. Turn the cuffs and hem under twice and stitch. If it is padded, hand slip-stitching handles the bulk better than a machine.
2. Add ties at the front if you want it to fasten.

✏️ If you are padding it, do not skip the quilting grid. Batting that is only caught at the edges shifts to one side in the first wash and never comes back. A grid every 10–15 cm (4–6 in) fixes it permanently.

5. Tips & variations

• Do not print the pattern: it is all straight lines. Ruling them straight onto the fabric is faster and more accurate.
• Skip the padding: in flannel or fleece as a single layer it becomes a light spring jacket.
• Child size: the child preset makes the version worn for festivals and shichi-go-san.