Bear print Jackson pullover (and pattern review)

sewing pattern reviews

For Christmas I made my husband this super cosy pullover with the Helen’s Closet Jackson Pullover pattern, in this HILARIOUS fur-backed sweatshirting from Minerva. It’s such a fantastic print, there was no chance of me not buying it. Look at those cool bears dressed like James Dean!

This is actually my fourth time sewing the pattern, but I’ve never done the same view/size combo twice - as it’s so versatile I’ve used it for different applications each time. And that’s not even including the hoodie expansion pack that I just noticed they released (which I’m very tempted by).

Here are the other versions I’ve made:

T-shirt for him
T-shirt for him
Pullover for me
Pullover for me
T-shirt for me, out of scraps
T-shirt for me, out of scraps

The two t-shirts I’ve made from this pattern have been great. Really straight forward to sew, and I love the boxy fit. It’s a t-shirt - not a huge amount to say. But I’ve found the pullover version ever so slightly more tricky, and I wanted to share my thoughts.

Pullover sizing

If you’re making the pullover, you definitely want to choose your size carefully. Your pullover size is probably one or two sizes bigger than your t-shirt size. This is noteworthy because the pattern covers two garments with different ease requirements - so you can’t just go by your body measurements for both views. A pullover wants more ease than a t-shirt; you should be able to wear the pullover on top of the t-shirt.

This is definitely a case where you want to pay attention to those finished garment measurements. Helen’s Closet patterns do a great job of being super thorough with the measurements they provide - and you should definitely use them! There are also some diagrams in the pattern showing how it fits if you go up or down in size.

I didn’t think this through when I made my pullover - it’s a bit on the snug side. I can wear it, but it gets a bit suffocating if I wear layers underneath. I used the same size pattern for the t-shirt, and that fits perfectly.

For my husband’s pullover, I went up one size from his t-shirt size. I think it looks great:

Christmas bears!
Christmas bears!

Sleeves

My husband felt the sleeves were about an inch too short, and I don’t really think he has comically long arms. I, on the other hand, do have comically long arms, and I had increased the sleeve by 2" on my pullover. But it’s not really a surprise to me that his sleeves needed lengthening too, especially given it wants to be a cosy fit.

I replaced his cuffs with new ones that were longer by about 1". Next time, I’ll lengthen the sleeves themselves.

The new longer cuffs
The new longer cuffs
The bigger grin means he’s happy with the longer sleeves
The bigger grin means he’s happy with the longer sleeves

That hem band

Look, this might just be me, but I think the hem band is really small on this pattern, and the blousing is out of control. This could be personal taste, but I widened the hem band on both my version and his version.

For me: I made the size 6, and had to cut the hem band in a size 10 to get a comfortable fit. And my hips are smaller than the size 6 measurement! In fairness, that fabric was not super stretchy, but it was stretchy enough according to the pattern.

For him: I measured the pattern pieces, and at size 14 there is 20cm of ease between the body and the hem band! Comparing the fit to other garments of his, I ended up adding 2.5cm to both the front and back waistband pattern pieces - a total of 10cm. That’s still 10cm of easing, so there’s still blousing going on, but it’s a lot more within my tolerance, and I’m sure it’s a much more comfortable fit too.

In conclusion

I do really like this pattern. I will make it again and again because it is such a great basic. I like that it’s simple, that it’s genderless, and that there are so many views (6 when you add the hoodie expansion, which I am now certain I need to buy). I’ve had some issues with it, but ultimately they’re minor and I’ve still managed to get 4 brilliant garments out of it successfully. And there will be more. I’m jealous of this fur-backed fabric.

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