Lined bodywarmer with zipper - tutorial

Lined bodywarmer with zipper – tutorial

In this extensive photo tutorial, I’ll take you through the process of making a lined bodywarmer with zipper.
I use the Junna vest pattern for this, for which there is now a free add-on availabe to turn it into a bodywarmer.

Find the Junna pattern for adults here.
Find the Junna pattern for kids here.

It was Helena, from fabric store ‘De Stoffenkamer‘ (which translates as ‘The fabric room) who had the idea to hack the pattern and add even more possibilities to it.
I went to the drawing board, worked out Helena’s idea, and now it’s available as a free download using the links below:

Free add-on for the Junna adult pattern.
Free add-on for the Junna kids pattern

My machines and used zipper foot

For finishing the seams, I always use my BERNINA L 890
All sewing happens on my BERNINA 480 with Three-Sole Walking Foot with Seam Guide #50 and zipper foot #4.

Three-Sole Walking Foot with Seam Guide #50

With three soles for sewing, quilting and topstitching ✓ Perfect fabric feed and even stitch formation ✓ Seam guides help you sew with precision ✓ Materials that are stretchy or tend to stick ✓

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BERNINA 480

The B 480 is made for all sewers and hobby tailors who love beautiful design but also sophisticated automatic features. A brilliantly simple machine.

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BERNINA L 890

The L 890 is perfectly suited for working with all types of fabrics, including knits as well as wovens. With One-Step BERNINA Air Threader ✓ Intuitive operation via touch screen ✓ Fast, precise & quiet ✓ Manufactured by BERNINA ✓ 100% designed and engineered in Switzerland ✓

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Requirements

-Junna pattern or similar + free add-on
-main fabric and lining -see pattern for quantities
-zippers – see pattern for details
-fusible interfacing

Preparations

Are you going to work with the Junna pattern?
Then cut the back piece separate from your front piece and add 1cm of seam allowance to the side seam.

Cut the back piece from outer fabric and lining fabric.

For the add-on, you will need the following parts for each option (side pockets and or breast pocket):
-front: cut 2 mirrored from main fabric and 2 mirrored from lining fabric
-collar: cut 2 on fold
-side pocket – small pocket piece: cut 2 mirrored (from lining fabric)
-side pocket – large pocket piece:cut 2 mirrored (from lining fabric)
-rectangle for side pockets: cut 2
-breast pocket: cut 1
-rectangle for breast pocket: cut 1

Reinforce 1 collar piece with fusible interfacing.
Use fusible interfacing to reinforce the zipper location from the side pockets (if adding side pockets).
Reinforce the rectangles for the side pockets (if adding side pockets)
Reinforce the indicated zipper location for the breast pocket (if adding a breast pocket)
Reinforce the rectangle for the breast pocket (if adding a breast pocket)

Tutorial

1.Sewing side pockets

Not adding side pockets?
You can skip these steps and go to step 2.

Take your front piece, on which you have reinforced the zipper area.
Draw the indicated rectangle on the interfacing and mark the corners with basting thread.

Take your separate rectangle for the side pocket.
You have already reinforced this, and also marked the lines indicated on the pattern piece:

Pin the separate rectangle to your front piece, right sides together.
Pin each intersection of rectangle exactly on a basting thread in the front piece.
On the back of the front piece, check that your pin goes exactly through the corner as well.

Then pin the lines neatly together as well.
Stitch the rectangle in place.

Cut the rectangle in the middle toward the short sides.
Stop at about 1.5cm from the short side.

Now cut toward both corner points, stopping just before your stitching.

Fold and iron the rectangle to the back of your front piece.
Depending on your fabric, this may take some “fiddling,” but it will certainly work 😉

Is your fabric ‘pulling’ a bit in the corners?
Then try cutting a little closer to your stitchings.

Your front piece now looks like this:

Place your zipper nicely in the center of the rectangle.

Pin in place, using enough pins so that the zipper stays nicely in place.

We are not going to stitch the zipper in place yet, but first pin our small pocket piece to it.
In the picture below, the small pocket piece is right side down.

Place your pocket piece on the zipper, right sides together, as shown in the photo below:
In doing so, the edge of the pocket piece lies on the zipper piece farthest from the side seam.

Pin into place with the pins you used to pin your zipper.

Stitch in place on the front, 2mm from the edge of the rectangle.
Start 2mm before and stop 2mm after the short sides of the rectangle.

The small pocket piece is stitched into place.

Fold and iron the pocket piece away from the side seam.

Now put your large pocket piece onto the small pocket piece, right sides together.

Pin it to the zipper piece closest to the side seam.
Do this again by using the pins you used for your zipper.

Now continue stitching around the rectangle at the front, 2mm from the edge.

Front view:

Back view:

Your pocket is almost ready.
Continue pinning the pocket pieces together and stitch the edge so that the pocket is completely closed.

Ready, great job!

2.Breast pocket

Take your breast pocket piece onto which you applied interfacing for the zipper.
Draw the indicated rectangle on the fusible interfacing and mark the corners with basting threads.

Take your separate rectangle piece for the breast pocket.
You have already reinforced this, also draw the lines that are on the pattern piece.
Overlock the edges, I forgot for these pictures but did it during the sewing process ;-).

Pin the separate rectangle to your pocket piece, right sides together.
Pin each intersection of rectangle exactly on a basting thread in the pocket piece.
On the back of the pocket piece, check that your pin goes exactly through the corner as well.

Continue by pinning the stitching lines together too.

Stitch rectangle into place.

Cut the rectangle in the middle toward the short sides.
Stop at about 1.5cm from the short side.

Fold and iron the rectangle to the back of your front piece.

Is your fabric ‘pulling’ a bit in the corners?
Then try cutting a little closer to your stitchings.

Your pocket front now looks like this:

Place your zipper nicely in the center of the rectangle.

Pin in place, using enough pins so that the zipper stays nicely in place.

Stitch all around at 2mm from the edge of the rectangle.
Use a zipper foot to do so.

Do you want to add a label to your pocket?
Now is the time 😉

Iron all edges of your pocket 1cm towards the back.

Pin your pocket in the desired place on the front piece.

Stitch all around at 2mm from the edge.

3. Shoulder seams

Pin shoulder seams of front and back piece together, right sides facing.
Stitch and press open.

Repeat for the lining pieces.

4.Attaching collar

Pin the reinforced collar piece to the neckline of your bodywarmer from main fabric.
Stitch in place and iron the seam open.

Pin the non reinforced collar piece to the neckline of your bodywarmer from lining fabric.
Stitch in place and iron the seam open.

5.Inserting zipper

Place your front pieces from lining fabric onto the front pieces from main fabric, right sides together.

Pin and stitch the bottom edge.
Start at center front and stitch towards the side seam, stopping about 3cm from the side seam.

Now fold your lining toward you, away from your bodywarmer from main fabric.
They are now lying like this, right side up:

Take your zipper:

Open it up.

Pin zipper piece with the slider to center front on the right of the jacket when it lies in front of you.
Pin the other zipper piece to center front on the left of the jacket when it lies in front of you.

Pin right sides together.

The bottom of your zipper exactly matches the seam between outer jacket and lining.

The zipper stopper is pinned to the top about 1.5cm from the top edge of your collar.
Make sure the stopper is the same distance from the edge on both sides.

Stitch into place (at 1cm from the edge) using your zipper foot.

Let’s attach the lining to the zipper and stitch both collar pieces together.

Fold your front piece from lining back up so that the right sides face the right sides of the bodywarmer from main fabric.
Your zipper will be between both front pieces this way.

Pin lining along center front.
Also pin the top edges of collar and lining collar, right sides together.

Start stitching at one corner, stitch upwards along the zipper, along the top edge collar and along the other zipper section back down.

Trim the corners at the top of the collar.

Yay, your zipper is in!

6.Armholes

Pin the armholes of your bodywarmer from main fabric and bodywarmer from lining right sides together.
Make sure the shoulder seams are neatly pinned together.

Stitch the armholes and clip the curves.
This way your fabric won’t ‘pull’ later on.

Turn your vest right side out.
To do so, pass your hand between lining and main fabric of the back piece and pull the front pieces through the shoulder seams.
Iron the seams flat.

7.Side seams

Put the side seams of the main fabric right sides together and pin.
Be sure not to pin the lining yet.

Keep on pinning, you will automatically reach the side seams of the lining, pin
them right sides together too.
Your seams will curl a bit, but that’s totally normal 😉

Stitch the side seams together in one continuous seam.
Start at the bottom of the main fabric and continue to the bottom of the lining.

Iron seams flat.
Your bodywarmer now looks like this:

Almost finished 😉

8.Closing the bottom

Turn your vest inside out again through the opening at the bottom.

This way the hemline seams of outer vest and lining vest will face each other, right sides together.
Pin the hemline seams together and stitch into place.
Leave an opening of about 10 to 15cm to turn your vest again.

Turn your vest right side out through the opening you left.
Press all seams nice and flat.
Close the opening at the bottom by topstitching the seam or with a blind (hand)stitch.