I’ve been seeing oversized plaid jackets EVERYWHERE lately and I wanted to make one for myself! Make sure you check out my YouTube video below in addition to the instructions in this blog post to get the full details 😊

Below are the materials I specifically used and are not inclusive of every size. I purchased fabric for my size – 31″ bust, 35″ hip which may or may not be enough for you. I also go over “formulas” to create the jacket to your own size!

Materials:

• 1.5 – 2 yards fleece
• thread to match fabric
• 4 buttons (optional)
• scissors
• pattern paper
• pencil
• ruler

Pattern Instructions:

1. First, grab your pattern paper, a ruler, pencil, measuring tape (if you don’t know your measurements) and a slightly oversized cardigan that has a placket with buttons. (If it has buttons, it probably has a placket).
2. Button the cardigan and fold in half with the front facing inside. Lay this on your pattern paper and trace the basic shape of the body. Mine is a giant rectangle so that’s okay if yours is, too. From the shoulder down to the hem I made mine 29″ and it’s 11″ wide. one of the hem length sides (preferably the left) will be on the fold so you won’t add seam allowance here. Add seam allowance to the top and other hem length side (I used 1/2″ SA). For the hem, I added 2″.
3. Repeat this for the front.
4. I will be adding a 1.5″ placket for buttons so this is the formula I used.
   • Divide the width of the final placket size in two – 1.5 / 2 = 0.75.
   • Subtract your answer from the “fold” side of the front jacket and draw/mark the line.
   • Add your seam allowance after this marked line.
   • Cut excess paper away.
5. Since I want to fold over my placket so both sides are neat, I want to double the final width. So 1.5 * 2 = 3″. So my placket pattern will be 3″ x the front length of the jacket. Right now mine is still 29″ but I want to leave it like that for now. The bottom hem of the placket should only have the regular seam allowance and not the 2″ hem we added to the jacket front and back.
6. For the sleeve, I used another sweater that had a baggier upper arm so I could wear a sweater under the coat if I wanted to. This upper arm was 16″. Going back to the original cardigan I used to make the front/back, I measured the length of the sleeve minus the cuff. Mark this measurement down the middle of the upper arm measurement. So for mine I marked the length down the center at 8″ in. Now, I knew I didn’t want the cuff to have a 16″ circumference because that would be WAY too big. I went down to 12″ which is another nice, even number so I marked out 6″ on either side of the length line that was evenly marked 8″ in on the 16″ upper arm measurement. The sleeve will probably look a bit short and odd, but since the jacket is oversized, it’s okay. My jacket is 2″ past my shoulder. Finally, connect the top right upper arm to the bottom right wrist then do the same with the left side. Add your seam allowance and you’re done!
7. The cuff is super simple. I took the wrist circumference measurement and drew that out to start. I knew I wanted the finished cuff to be 2″ wide and if I want it to fold over, it needs to be doubled. So my cuff is 12″ x 4″. Then just add your seam allowance.
8. For the pockets I measured the ones on the cardigan and also just used the placement and marked it on the front pattern piece.
9. At this point, tape or pin the front and back pieces together and try it on. Now you can mark where your neck is and how deep you want the front neckline to be. Mine is 7″ in from the side seam and the neckline is 3″ down from the top. Before cutting, add seam allowance. Measure the center front length from the new neckline to the hem and adjust the placket as necessary.
10. Now that we’ve done the front neckline, we need to adjust the back. Since my neck is 7″ in from the side seam, that is the first mark I made on my back piece. Then I marked 1″ down for the back “neckline” and added a curve and seam allowance.
11. For the collar, make sure you watch my video for a visual! Measure your back and front necklines. This is how long your first line will be. I want my collar to be 3″ so my rectangle is 3″ x 10″. The 10″ is how long my combined front and back necklines are. The fold will be on the left 3″ so from there, mark where the back neckline ends. My back neckline is 4.5″ so on the 10″ line I made a mark at 4.5″. On the other 3″ end, I marked 1/2″ up and then another 1/2″ up from the top. At the top mark I also marked 1″ out away from the collar. From the back neckline mark, curve to the first 1/2″ mark. For the tip of the collar, curve from the first mark to the 1″ over and then down to the top of the collar. Remember, the video has a better visual!

Sewing Instructions:

1. Serge or zigzag stitch all edges to prevent fraying.
2. Sew the cuff to the sleeve at the wrist with right sides together for both sleeves.
3. Fold and sew down patch pocket seam allowances (shown better in video) and top stitch sides and bottom to jacket front on both sides.
4. Sew the front jackets to the back with right sides together at the shoulder seams.
5. With right sides together, line up the sleeves to the armholes (again, better view in video) and sew.
6. Fold the jacket down so right sides are facing and the sleeve was folded in half lengthwise.
7. Starting at the cuff, pin and sew from there to the armpit, sew a slight curve to reach the side seam and sew down to the hem. Repeat on the other sleeve & side seam.
8. With wrong sides of the sleeve facing out, fold half the cuff to the inside and pin with the seam allowance from joining the cuff to the sleeve facing towards the cuff. You might have to transfer pins to the outside, but stitch in the ditch on the right side to secure in place. Or you can totally hand stitch 😉
9. Repeat step 8 for the second sleeve.
10. For the collar, with right sides together, sew two sides closed. Clip the corners and flip right side out. Serge/zigzag stitch the open edge. Then attach the shorter length to the right side of the neckline. It might be best to top stitch here so the seam allowance stays down.
11. The process for attaching the placket is the same for both sides. Right sides together place one placket along the CF of one front jacket.
12. Fold placket in half and sew short ends closed. Clip corners and flip to right side.
13. Stitch in the ditch so the back of the placket isn’t open.
14. Evenly space out where your buttons should go on both sides of the placket. In general when wearing the garment, the female button holes go on the right because the right goes over the left and the old saying is “women are always right”. It can go either way, that’s just the way the fashion industry does it!
15. Now just make your button holes and sew on the buttons and you’re set!