Category: prym snaps

Anorak adventures

~ velosews ~ Leave a comment

This little anorak is this month’s Minerva Crafts project with lots of Prym products. It’s been perfect for all sorts of reasons.

I decided to try the Kelly Anorak by Closet Case.

Would you believe I based this project on the Prym products?

Prym products

I’m enjoying testing Prym products and am learning new skills. This project has given me new insights about of how Prym understands what makes a useful and long lasting product.

Firstly their products are well designed and engineered to reduce fatigue.

There was no reason for me to panic when the zipper didn’t open easily.

The zipper packaging has a handy diagram that indicates it is an open ended zipper.

The zipper also ‘clicks’ when you’ve closed the zipper properly when you’re zipping it up!

Finally the snap packaging lists the codes of the snap tools you need and the closures are so sturdy. They look fun but they stay in place and feel secure.
Prym has YouTube videos that guide you on using their snap tools successfully. I did a test snap and the rest of the snaps were inserted so easily. I’ve been roughly handed these on the jacket and they’re securely in place.
See the rhinestone gecko on my sleeve?

This is Prym iron on transfer or sleeve tattoo.

The ironing process and sleeve placement was a breeze.

Anorak adventures

This mild-mannered anorak has been worn a lot this month: to work; out shopping and to Parkrun. It’s been folded up and still springs back to life with no creases.

This jacket is the right length to ‘waltz’ into the gym and still look properly dressed.

With all the tailoring I do, I love the details the Kelly jacket provides.

I even added reflective tape as it blends into the jacket design.

The way the instructions are set up, you can effectively sew this jacket up in unique stages. That’s important when you’re time poor. Once you start making this jacket, you can work on different parts for an hour at a time. Having said that the instructions are not easy to follow and I still don’t understand why. 

Cutting this jacket out took a bit of time. The front zipper tabs are cut separately so I had to make sure I cut these out last and I cut them at the longest length because the reviews indicated these pattern pieces didn’t match up.

The only pattern adjustments I did was the forward shoulder adjustment.

The first stage I sewed up where the sleeves. I did this because I wasn’t sure if the sleeve length would work with the fabric I chose. The sleeves are long but they give me room to wear at three layers underneath.

Then I sewed up the hood. I’ve seen a few anoraks with contrasting fabric to line the hood so I took my time to experiment with this feature of the anorak.

I decided to apply the elephant trim to the seams and especially along the hood and zipper seams. This is my first go at using elephants on my clothes. The clothes hook is something I added and is not in the pattern.

The idea of using snaps on this jacket was a bit hair-raising so I did a practice run. The results were good so by the time I applied these snaps to the jacket, my only challenge was making sure they were placed in the best spots. I did not follow the pattern instructions or snap placement.

There are many reviews of this jacket that warn others about the zipper instructions and their facings.

I kept these in minds and I ended up having a facing piece leftover. I’m not sure how that happened. The way the illustrations are placed in the instructions make it awkward to follow. 

I tried working through the online blog post but again, the instruction layout didn’t flow so I used a rtw jacket as my guide. 

The sleeve placket doesn’t sit well either. They only sit flat once you sew the sleeve placket down. I expected the sleeve vents to lay flat but they don’t. 

The pocket size is really good. The flaps on the pockets are not a closure so that was a bit disappointing too. I’ll change that next time I make this jacket.

I was able to make the sleeves sit on my shoulder point by reducing the shoulder seam by 1.5cm.

To be honest, with all the challenges this pattern had, I wear this jacket a lot but the instructions will do your head in.

You can see how it’s too easy to wear this jacket when there’s so much to do each weekend.

This is the most glam sleeve tattoo I’ve ever had.

Thanks Minerva Crafts and Prym! I’m glad I based this jacket on Prym’s products. Follow(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s);js.id = id;js.src = “https://www.bloglovin.com/widget/js/loader.js?v=1”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, “script”, “bloglovin-sdk”))

A coat with colour

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This week Winter came to Sydney and my new teal coat using Minerva Crafts fabric is ready.

I call this fabric friendly coating because if you’re scared to make a coat, this fabric can be easily molded into shape as you sew.

The weave is firm, open and soft. It looks like a knit fabric but it’s woven.


When I needed to ease the sleeve into the jacket, the fabric was quite obliging and sat in across all the notches. Hand-stitching the lining and the press studs didn’t tire out my fingers and that’s why I felt this fabric is friendly.

Paisley lining
Minerva Crafts has recently purchased a huge range of paisley linings. Finding a matching lining for this coating would have driven me to distraction and this antique gold that was easy to choose from their website.


Butterick 6062 is a classic styled jacket but I prefer to use it for coats. There’s just enough shaping for my height.

Thick fabricThis coating is thick. Very thick so that can seem scary. How will my little sewing machine cope with sewing through 4 to 8 layers of this fabric?


The collar is where I had to sew through many layers of this coating. But I simply slowed down my sewing machine speed dial; took in a deep breath; relaxed; and started sewing slowly. Slower than usual.

This coating doesn’t fray so it held together nicely as I sewed through each construction stage.

Collar
I bet you noticed Butterick 6062 doesn’t have a collar? You were right. It doesn’t.


When I made the Burda jacket last month, the collar pattern was a simple rectangle folded lengthways and sewed onto the neckline. Such a simple concept!

That’s all I did.

Prepwork
While there are always constructions hurdle to tackle as you sew a coat, I love the detailing.
This is where I can add or subtract the details I want to add.


I really don’t like patch pockets. You have to be accurate and I’d love to find a patch pocket pattern where the lining doesn’t peek over the pocket opening.


Once I start sewing on the Berisford grosgrain ribbon, I got an idea of how the coat might look.

Interfacing
The pattern suggests minimal interfacing, but it suggests softer fabrics.
I wear coats and jackets all the time and what makes them long-lasting is using interfacing to keep it’s shape for longer.


There’s interfacing in the collar, on the facings and I’ve added interfacing across the front and back shoulders. 

The interfacing Minerva Crafts provided was a medium-weight iron-on woven. It irons on easily with some steam. The interfacing glue doesn’t seep onto my iron. 


The prospect of sewing welt buttonholes wasn’t in my plans because this fabric is quite thick so I chose these 15mm Prym snaps.

We don’t have a lot of Prym products in Australia so it’s a treat to be able to use these for this coat. They were easy to sew on too.

Thanks for keeping me warm again this Winter Minerva Crafts!