Cropped Hovea Jacket is done!

I finished my cropped Hovea Jacket! This was made with Nani Iro double gauze that was pre-quilted especially for Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley. They picked several lovely designs to pre-quilt and there are still several still available as of this writing, including the one I chose, Air Time – Ocean. I love the watercolor design on this fabric!

The Hovea Jacket is by Megan Nielsen Patterns and has six versions (available in two size ranges: 0-20 (max bust/hip: 46/48″, 117/122 cm), 14-34: max bust/hip: 60/62″, 152/157 cm). I made size 14. I’m wearing cropped version F with my Megan Nielsen Flint Pants in black linen and a jersey knit top made from the Japanese sewing book She Wears the Pants. The tweed cap is self-drafted. I’m wearing it backwards so it looks like a beret from the front.

I was nearly done last week but I had to make a little more bias tape to finish the sleeve hems. That bias tape is leftover Nani Iro double gauze from the Array Dress I made last year (fabric also from Stonemountain but sold out).

If you missed my post from last week on making the Hovea Jacket, you can read all about the construction details there (added length, Hong Kong seam finishing, extra pockets, and more).

I have really long arms so I added an inch to the sleeves. Megan Nielsen drafts for a height of 5’9″/175 cm (see my sewing pattern height chart) and I’m 5’7″/170 cm. I also like covering my wrists. The sleeves are likely long for others or just the right length.

Inside pockets

Here’s a look at the inside pockets I added to my cropped Hovea Jacket, which was a change I made to the pattern. You can also see my Hong Kong seam finishing on the inside.

And here’s the other side — showing how my cell phone fits in the pocket.

The only problem with putting my cell phone in a pocket is that it drags down that side of the jacket because the fabric is so lightweight — double gauze with poly batting. You can see how one side is lower than the other in this photo. I suppose you could put something of equal weight on the other side, maybe a wallet, to balance it out? Or just know that you will look a little lopsided.

In this photo, you can (sort of) see the label I attached to the inside left, attached to the Hong Kong seam, just above the pocket.

Here’s a close-up view of the Kylie and the Machine label, which says “You can’t buy this.”

Outside pockets

The seam just to the left of my hand is machine stitched along the pre-quilted line of stitching. My hand is on one side of the divided pocket.

In this photo, I wasn’t sure which pockets to put my hands in. The timer on my phone was about to take a photo so I just stuffed my hands in. As you can see, one hand went into the pocket closest to the front. My other hand went into the smaller pocket closer to the side seam.

More cropped Hovea Jacket views

This pattern has a lot of ease. In this photo, you can see the dropped shoulder, which makes it a great pattern for a variety of body types. I have broad, square shoulders and I didn’t need to make any shoulder adjustments.

Here’s the other side. I think in this photo below, my phone is in the inside pocket so that side is hanging a little low, which is why my sleeve looks extra long.

The jacket looks quite boxy from the back. Oh, and you can see the bill on my cap in this photo.

Inside out

This version of the pattern has the option of being reversible. But, as I said in my post on making the Hovea, I didn’t intend for mine to be reversible. So I opted for a Hong Kong seam finish instead of enclosing the entire seam allowance in one binding.

I took a couple of photos of my cropped Hovea Jacke inside out. Here’s the front…

… and here’s another look at the sleeve.

It is possible to sew this jacket up fairly quickly. For example, serging instead of binding your seam allowances like Emily Gutman did when she made her cropped Hovea Jacket. She made her jacket in an evening. In her Instagram post on her jacket, she said “I used pre-made double gauze bias tape which I machine-sewed closed, and I serged the insides, so the whole jacket was done in under a couple hours.” 

Here’s Emily’s Hovea, which she also made with Nani Iro prequilted double gauze.

I opted to take some extra time to make a lot of bias tape for a Hong Kong seam finish. And for the binding that goes around the outside edges and sleeve hems, I opted to hand stitch the bias tape in place rather than stitch in the ditch.

Here’s a closeup of the inside of the binding at the front of my jacket. All my hand stitches are hidden. If my jacket flaps open, you will see a neat and clean finish.

And here’s one last photo.

Have you made a Hovea Jacket? Which version did you make and what fabric(s) did you use?