Merchant & Mills x Paynter Field Jacket

In my last post I touches briefly on how the fast pace of modern life (and social media) had encouraged me to sew simple, quick dopamine boosting projects. But I've realised that what I really crave and brings me satisfaction is getting stuck into a big complicated sew and trying new things. So I wanted to share with you my favourite complex project from last year. The pattern for this jacket was a collab between Merchant & Mills & Paynter for making your own version of their field jacket. As soon as I saw it I wanted to make one - Paynter jackets always have interesting details and Merchant & Mills' patterns generally have thorough instructions with well thought out construction techniques.

It did not disappoint! Just the cutting and preparation took me ages, there are so many pieces and markings to transfer. But I loved slowing down, using considered techniques like tailors tacks for all the markings and focusing on getting the details of this just right. I treated myself to the paper pattern which is unusual for me (I'm in the last minute PDF download camp when the urge to sew strikes!). The Merchant & Mills' patterns are so aesthetically pleasing with lovely illustrated instruction booklets that it felt like the right decision - plus with this pattern you get two beautiful Paynter labels to sew into your jacket. Too tempting to resist. I love the label with the sun and the moon, even more so because it was designed to represent time and getting lost in the process of making.

Definitely pay close attention to the fabric suggestions if you make this one. You don't want to choose anything too thick/heavy as in some areas (the pocket flaps with button tabs and the hip pockets) you are sewing through A LOT of layers. I played it safe and went for one of Merchant & Mills' own suggested fabrics - their 8oz sanded twill in 'Sowing Green' which is one of my favourite colours. The M&M fabrics are a treat kind of price but I think good value for the quality. A lot of work was going to go into making this so I knew I wanted to get the fabric choice just right so I wound up with a garment which would last and I'd get a lot of wear out of.

To negate some of the fabric thickness issues I used some scraps of block print cotton I picked up in India last year for the underside of the button tabs. This has worked really well and I love the unexpected flash of colour that peeks out here.

The buttons I deliberated over for ages. I'm usually a fan of a wooden buttons which felt kind of appropriate but after laying some out to look at I realised I wanted something which blended into the green more. At which point I realised that this is a very tricky green to match! Plus you need two sizes of the same button...My final choice were these from Totally Buttons. I liked that they had a classic horn appearance but didn't break the bank as you need 17 buttons for this!

For the first time possibly ever I traced the pattern as I figured I’d possibly want to make a large man's size in future (if any of the men in my life are very nice to me!). I'm glad I did as I needed to make a lot of adjustments. It's a unisex pattern covering a fairly wide range of sizes but the difference between each size is 4" - which is a lot! 2" is more standard and I've even seen some patterns with a 1" difference which helps get a more accurate fit. This is quite an oversized style so fit is more flexible but that is a big jump. I fell bang on between the XS and S. Rather than cut the S I drew out my own size in between the two. It was pain but I didn’t want it to feel big when it’s already a boxy cut.

My one gripe with the pattern is that whist it's described as unisex, if you're female and on the smaller side you've got a fair amount of adjustments to make before you can get started. If there are any fellow runners reading I have the same gripe with 'unisex' race finisher t-shirts - they're designed for male proportions so aren't unisex at all - too big in the shoulders, too long and too small in the hip. Anyway, I digress! I opted to reduce the length of the pattern by 12cm. The recommended reduction for women is 8cm, but I'm 5ft3 so I measured some of my other jackets to compare and decided I needed a little more. The pattern says to adjust at the lengthen/shorten line between the breast and hip pockets which sounds straightforward but if I reduced by 12cm I'd end up with overlapping pockets. I was also concerned about the pocket proportion looking odd on a shorter jacket. In the end I decided to take 2cm off the hem, shorten by 10cm at the marked line, and I made the breast pockets 2cm shorter so there was still a reasonable gap between the pockets.

It is also recommended to short the sleeves by 6cm for women but again I measured another jacket and decided to take off 8cm. I wasn't sure whether I needed to reduce the size of the elbow patch as there was no advice in the instructions about this. It did look quite large so I removed 3cm of length from this piece. I needed to move the top placement mark up by 3cm and the bottom one up by 6cm to ensure it was actually covering my elbow. In general I'm really pleased with all the adjustments and it was worth the work. I probably could have gone a fraction shorter with the sleeves but was being cautious! 

There are so many interesting details and small elements to construct. In particular I absolutely adore the two-way access bellows pockets on the hip. They have a three dimensional roomy shape and they have a pocket in the top (under the flap) AND in the side. So cool, and felt a bit like origami to construct.  A fabric which presses well definitely makes getting a good finish easier, particularly the folds of these pockets.

As well as the breast pockets there are two internal patch pockets - so the jacket has eight pockets in total. The little button tabs under the pocket flaps are a lovely touch that really elevate the design, and there are adjustable button tabs at the cuffs and back waist too. The concealed button placket down the centre front is another great feature that was fun to make. This jacket definitely tests your topstitching skills and there are loads of bar tacks too but the combination gives a really sharp, professional finish. I think it would look amazing with contrast topstitching and love the denim sample, but I couldn't find a colour that I really liked with the green so opted for a matching thread in the end. 

If you fancy a challenge but are a little daunted by the more complex elements of this jacket, Merchant & Mills have posted a YouTube video about the construction of the placket and hip pockets.

Overall I love this jacket and am looking forward to seeing how it wears in over time. I'm going through a phase of saving lots of unique touches to my Pinterest at the moment and the elbow patches are screaming out for some subtle embellishment - I'm thinking some green on green embroidery, what do you think?

P.S. Photos coming to you from my very nearly almost complete sewing studio! Wearing a pair of Daughter Judy Brier Pants in natural bull denim with the jacket. More on those soon!