The JamCat Fleece Project – Drafting the New Lower Front with Zippered Pockets

I have finished tracing off the pattern pieces and am now ready to re-draft the Lower Front.  This is an easy fix to get what I want.  So are you ready to follow along?

Once again, here is my inspiration, the Denali Fleece from The North Face:

Design notes: the Denali Fleece front side pockets are positioned on an angle and incorporate a zipper into the opening.  The opening for the zipper is a slashed style opening (as opposed to installing a zipper into a seam).  The teeth of the zipper are exposed and the top edge of the zipper/pocket opening is encased into the seam between the Lower Front and the Upper Front pattern pieces.  The lining of the pocket is a nylon tricot and is the same dimensions as the Lower Front pattern piece.

To re-draft the Kwik Sew Lower Front I combine the Lower Front pattern piece #3 with the Front Side Panel piece #5, matching up the large dots and overlapping the 1/4” seam allowances.

I draw an angled line for the new pocket placement, keeping the top of the pocket in the same position as the Kwik Sew pattern.

I mark a placement for the end of the zipper…

In a contrasting color (red) I outline the stitching line for the zipper…

I take another piece of tissue paper and trace the red outline, add 1 inch around the sides and bottom and draw in the top angle (no seam allowance needed at the top as that gets sewn into the seam between the Front Top and the Bottom Front).

 I cut this Zipper Facing piece out and then cut two of these from the black tricot lining fabric and two from a fusible knit interfacing fabric.  I fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the facing and transfer my markings. After transferring the markings I realize something about the zipper opening.  I only really want the opening as wide as the zipper teeth, about 1/4” wide.  My initial marking line was about 3/8” wide from center, so once sewn and turned, the opening would be about 3/4” wide.  That is nearly as wide as the zipper itself!

So I transfer over a line that is 1/8” each side of center.  That should give me an opening that is 1/4” wide.  Exactly what I want.

Stay tuned…I’ll be installing the zipper next!

~Cathy

Related articles

• The JamCat Fleece Project – Drafting the New Lower Front with Zippered Pockets (sewingforlife.wordpress.com)
• The JamCat Fleece Project – Installing the Lower Front Zipper (sewingforlife.wordpress.com)
• The JamCat Fleece Project – Lining the Lower Fronts (sewingforlife.wordpress.com)
• The JamCat Fleece Project – Sourcing Supplies and Stealth Reconnaissance Missions (sewingforlife.wordpress.com)
• The Next Project – The JamCat (North Face Denali Interpretation) Fleece Jacket (sewingforlife.wordpress.com)