Sarah's Sorrento Jacket

A denim jacket is one of those staple items that every wardrobe needs, and for a long time I have had my eye on the popular Sew Over It Sorrento Jacket. 


This pattern appears in one of the SOI ebooks - Summer Dreaming, alongside a selection of other lovely patterns, and is a classic denim jacket available in the full size range (6-30). It has a familiar silhouette, with front and back yoke, chest pockets and waist tabs as well as the traditional top stitching.

In many ways, getting started on this project was pretty daunting. The pattern consists of many pattern pieces, as well as endless rows of top stitching and once you complete that, you have the addition of metalwork to look forward to! However, I have seen so many gorgeous versions of Sorrento on the hashtag (including Jenny's pink version) that I couldn't resist any longer. 


I decided to go for a classic design, with blue denim and golden top stitching. I selected the 9.75oz Premium Denim in dark blue which was perfect for this project. Jenny selected not only the perfect thread to match, but also the exact shade of top stitching thread that my jacket required (that's Gutermann Topstitch 968 FYI). I also selected one of the Kylie and the Machine Denim Jacket Metalwork kits in matte gold to complete the look. 

The cutting out takes a little while, but the pieces are all fairly small so it isn't too bad. The construction is really satisfying - it was interesting seeing the garment come together in to that recognisable denim jacket design. 

The instructions have been arranged to minimise how frequently you need to switch between the denim and top stitching needles and threads. You still have to switch fairly often, but the process is well thought out and the instructions are easy to follow. The popularity of the pattern also means that there are plenty of resources out there to assist you on your way. 

The top stitching went from being a source of worry to almost being therapeutic. It wasn't as tricky as I thought it would be to keep the lines of stitching in parallel, as long as I took my time, and it adds such a lovely design feature to the jacket. 

The only stressful moments were adding the buttons - they actually went in fairly easily, but it is always scary to be hammering away at your lovingly made garment in the final stages, as well as adding the buttonholes with top stitching thread, which my machine did not enjoy one bit! 


The fabric ended up being the perfect choice for a classic denim jacket - really easy to work with and in a lovely deep shade of blue. I ended up not interfacing most of the pieces (specifically the collar) and this did not cause any problems. 

The fit is pretty good - in future I might add a tiny bit of space to the bust to allow for layers to be worn underneath, but otherwise I am really happy with it. It sits at a nice length - slightly cropped - which means that the proportions are perfect when worn over my summer uniform of a flowy midi dress with trainers. 

It also passed the ultimate test, in that nobody will believe that I actually made it! I will definitely be looking to sew up another version in a different colour for next summer.

Sarah used the denim hardware kit from Kylie and the Machine which has sadly now sold out. a good alternative would be the jeans buttons from Prym, available in the jeans hardware section of the shop.

Pattern : Sorrento Jacket by Sew Over It. Available as part of their Summer Dreaming e-book.

If you're looking for a stand alone paper alternative, Simplicity 8845 is a good option.

[Disclosure: Sarah was provided with the materials for her project free of charge and received a gift voucher in recognition of the time spent on her project.]