This is a wonderfully warm and soft Tabula Rasa Jacket that wears more like a sweater than a structured jacket. Carrie made it from 3 pieces of felted wool that she gathered from Rae’s stash. Because the felted wool is a little bulky, Carrie lapped all of the seams and cut off the excess seam allowances as described in the section “Special Design Considerations for Felted Fabrics” of our booklet, Tips for Handwoven and Handcrafted Tabula Rasa Jackets. Both the turnback cuff and band are a single layer of felted fabric. One of the great things about working with felted wool is that it is so stable, no finishes are needed on the edges to prevent raveling.
The design and fabric placement was driven by the pieces of fabric available. Carrie had a limited amount of the wool paisley, but wanted to feature it on both the front and back of the jacket. Hence the creation of an angled yoke deep enough to capture a good bit of the paisley pattern. The front yokes come into the side seams at the middle horizontal balance line, enabling Carrie to eliminate the dart with careful planning. There was just enough paisley left over to make the turnback cuffs from Sleeve and Cuff Variations for the Tabula Rasa Jacket. Scraps of all 3 fabrics were used to create the flower pin to use as a closure on the jacket and anchored together with a flower-shaped button; click on the flower pin link to open a downloadable pattern.
