THE Q & A SERIES

how to add a drawstring channel to the hove jacket

Hello,

I just discovered your patterns. The Hove jacket looks to be what I am looking for. I do have a question about the hood. Is there any mechanism to make sure it stays on in the wind and rain? (Possibly wet snow?)

Would appreciate having your thoughts. And if nothing is currently in place for that, could it be hacked to add a tie in the facing/lining of the hood?

When closed, where does the zipper stop line up at the neckline? Pictures make it look rather low. I would perhaps want to extend to zip up to the neck, again for inclement weather.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Now must investigate waterproof fabric and whether they have drape suitable for the pleats.

Thanks,

Sharon

Ontario, Canada

Hi Sharon,

I am thrilled you have recently discovered our patterns and are interested in making the Hove jacket.

These are fantastic questions, and I think with a few minor alterations, you could make a fantastic winter jacket with this pattern.

Firstly, I'd suggest you sew it with a longer zip. As it is, the zip comes to the neck, but I'd imagine you would want it to come up to your chin, or higher. The hood piece for the opening is a gradual curve, so you could definitely just use a longer zip. I just tried on my Hove and measured that with another 15cm the zip would reach my chin. This would mean using a 70cm (28") zip. See the photos below with a pin at the point I suggest. You could also go higher if you wanted. I held it closed up to this point and it still sat nicely.

There isn't a mechanism for keeping the hood in place, but as the hood is already fully lined, I think it would be very easy to sew a channel with buttonholes or rivets so that you could thread a cord through. See marked-up photo below.