How to make a kids' jacket

1. Materials & tools

Materials (one jacket, 120 cm height)

• Main fabric (corduroy, Oxford cloth or canvas) — about 110 cm wide × 125 cm (43 × 49 in); allow a little more for napped fabric
• Fusible interfacing (for the front facings) — about 20 × 45 cm (8 × 18 in)
• Buttons, 15 mm — 4 (3 for the 100 and 110 cm sizes)
• Sewing thread

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 “Kids' clothes” → “Kids' jacket” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter the chest, length, shoulder width, sleeve length, neckline width, ease and front overlap width. Presets cover heights of 100 to 130 cm. The sleeve length is measured from the shoulder point to the cuff.
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. Trace the pattern
   Lay the pattern on the wrong side and trace both lines. The back's center line is the fold.
2. Cut the pieces
   Back on the fold; 2 each (left and right) of the front, sleeve and front facing; 1 neckline bias strip, cut at 45° to the grain. With corduroy, keep the nap running the same way on every piece.
3. Transfer the notches
   Mark the underarm on the armhole, the center of the sleeve head and the button positions on the center front. Miss the sleeve-head notch and the sleeve twists.
4. Interfacing and edges
   Fuse interfacing to the wrong side of the front facings. Zigzag the allowances at the shoulders, sides, underarms, hem and cuffs, and the inner edge of the facings.

4. Sewing

Sewing steps in pictures 11 steps, one at a time

4-1. Sew the shoulders

1. Place front and back right sides together and sew both shoulders.
   See it in pictures
2. Press the allowances open.
   See it in pictures

4-2. Set the sleeves

1. Run two rows of long gathering stitches in the sleeve-head allowance, just outside the seam line.
   See it in pictures
2. The sleeve head is slightly longer than the armhole (the pattern note gives the amount). Pull the threads to shape the head like the curve of a shoulder.
   See it in pictures
3. Match the center notch to the shoulder seam and the ends of the sleeve to the underarm, then sew right sides together around the whole armhole.
   See it in pictures
4. Zigzag both allowances together and press them toward the sleeve.
   See it in pictures

4-3. Sew the sides and underarms

1. Place front and back right sides together and sew from the cuff to the hem in one run, matching the armhole seams.
   See it in pictures
2. Press the allowances open.
   See it in pictures

4-4. Attach the front facings

1. Place each facing on its front right sides together and sew the front edge from the neckline to the hem line.
   See it in pictures
2. Press the allowance toward the facing, turn the facing to the inside and press, rolling the edge about 1 mm to the inside so the facing does not show from the front.
   See it in pictures
3. At the neckline, baste the facing and front together inside the seam allowance.
   See it in pictures

4-5. Bind the neckline

1. Fold 1 cm under at each end of the bias strip and bind the neckline from front edge to front edge, enclosing the facings.
   See it in pictures
2. Ease the bias slightly as you go around the curve so the neckline lies flat.
   See it in pictures

4-6. Finish the hem and cuffs

1. Turn up 3 cm at the hem and cuffs and slip-stitch, or topstitch 2.5 cm from the fold.
   See it in pictures
2. Turn under 1 cm at the bottom of each facing and slip-stitch it to the hem.
   See it in pictures

4-7. Buttons

1. Work horizontal buttonholes at the notches on the center front, starting 3 mm beyond the center front toward the edge.
   See it in pictures
2. Sew the buttons on the center front of the other front, and the jacket is done.
   See it in pictures

✏️ The sleeve head is deliberately a little longer than the armhole so it follows the curve of the shoulder — this is called easing. Gather it first, then sew. Stretching the armhole to match puckers the sleeve head.

5. Tips & variations

• Snaps instead of buttons: easier for small hands to manage alone. Place them on the center-front notches.
• Neat without a lining: bind the shoulder and side allowances with bias and the inside looks finished too.
• Corduroy nap: cut every piece the same way up, or the panels read as different colors.