Hello everyone and a Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a happy celebration, tucked away with your loved ones, and here’s to 2021 being a better year than 2020 was. I just have a short and sweet post today with some pictures of the Seamwork Amari jacket that is one of the two new patterns in Seamwork’s January magazine. I actually ended up making two, because my mother-in-law liked mine, so I whipped up another for her. It’s such a fast sew, it didn’t take long.

The Amari jacket is a pullover with dropped shoulders, a yoke, a stand collar and a quarter-zip. Seamwork recommend that you use knit fabrics with at least 25% stretch and that they are medium to heavyweight. You really need this so the stand collar sits up and also so that the zip can be attached properly. I used a lighter French terry for mine, and a thicker brushed merino for my mother-in-law’s pullover and you can see the difference in the stand collar (see hers further down the page). Hers is nice and upright, while mine, although still perfectly acceptable, is a little softer. I wouldn’t want to use a fabric any lighter than that. The bonus version of the pattern has a hood and drawstring, which is a nice alternative.

Note: I’m a member of the Seamwork ambassador team, which gives me a chance to have some input into the behind-the-scenes workings over at Seamwork HQ, giving feedback on patterns, magazine articles, etc. In return I am subscribed to the service for free for a year. Nevertheless, I’m not under any obligation to write subjective reviews of Seamwork patterns and all opinions remain my own.

My version was a wearable muslin to some extent – the test version at least. I sized down a couple of sizes to a 12 because I know the dropped shoulder in a Seamwork pattern is a little large for my frame and there was plenty of ease, so I didn’t worry about the waist or hips too much. As you can see, there’s still plenty of room and I can easily fit a layer or two underneath. As always, Seamwork has a large range of sizes in two distinct ranges. You can see the sizing info here. My mother-in-law tried on my Amari and liked the sizing and fit, so I made her the same version.

The Amari is a really nice, fast sew. The only changes I made, other than sizing down two sizes as mentioned, was to shorten the sleeves two inches (a normal adjustment for me) and I also tapered the sleeves down to the end by about an inch in width. They’re still roomy and I thought I might taper them more, but actually I quite like them as they are. It’s worth noting that although I used the exact same pattern for both myself and my MIL, her sleeves feel more closely fitted because of the brushed, thicker fabric, so if you go down this route, I suggest testing the sleeve ease as you go.

My main adaption to the pattern would (and will) be to add pockets. I may even add a kangaroo-style pocket to my speckled version already. I don’t think it’s totally necessary (my skirt pockets were fine with this outfit), but I do tend to reach for them subconsciously.

I made my version in a fairly lightweight speckled French terry (I think from L’Oiseau Fabrics in Canada, but I could be wrong) and my MIL picked out a lovely thick brushed merino knit from The Fabric Store in New Zealand. I just love the speckles in my fabric – you can’t see them too well from far away, but here’s a close-up to show you.

The red merino is so darn cosy – my MIL is going to be toasty as a three-bar fire in that thing. There’s quite a bit left over, so I may even try and squeeze out another one, heh. Alternative, I could colour-block and the yoke on the Amari makes it very easy to do so. Indeed, some of my fellow Seamwork ambassadors made very nice blocked versions, so pop on over to the hashtag on Instagram if you fancy a gander. Perhaps I’ll try that next.

Overall, a very quick and practical sew, which is a cinch to make and easy to adapt. I particularly like the width of the stand collar – it’s a little wider than some others and I don’t really like a constricted feeling around my neck when fabric is bulkier, so it suits me well.

Talk to you soon!