How to Sew a Cow Print Jacket Step-by-step

Baby Lock Ambassador Sara of the Sara Project shows us how to create an on-trend and versatile jacket using the intermediate level Frankie Jacket pattern. The Baby Lock Accomplish 2 is a pro at handling thick fabrics, and Sara counts on her Celebrate serger to finish garment seams perfectly. She notes some adjustments she made to improve the fit to her preferences. Make sure you have the supplies required below, and download her detailed PDF that includes additional images. Whether you're a country girl or a street style mogul, you'll love this bold look.

• Duck Canvas fabric from Hobby Lobby
• Kona Cotton Cream Lining
• Frankie Jacket Pattern by Small Museum
• Baby Lock Accomplish 2
• Celebrate serger
• Serger needles
• Sewing needles
• Sewing and serger thread to match

Hello everyone! I am so excited to share this tutorial with you! First of all, I love the Frankie Jacket sewing pattern, it is such a cool street style jacket that will elevate any outfit. Pair it with jeans, a skirt, over a dress- the possibilities are endless.

When deciding on fabric for this pattern, I fell in love with the cow print duck cloth I found at Hobby Lobby. Cow print is having another moment! I can't get enough brown lately, so this print really hit home, I love the brown and cream paired together in a really cool print. I feel like it's bold but also neutral at the same time. Hobby Lobby has a really great assortment of duck canvas to choose from, this fabric is a great weight for this project, leaning on the lighter side. I grabbed a kona cotton in cream for my lining.

*Pattern notes: This jacket is pretty cropped. I searched everywhere for other sewists notes but couldn't find a whole lot of information on this pattern. I cut out a size 2. I ended up adding 1" in length to the bodice and facing pieces. I ordered a 16" zipper instead of a 15", just from amazon. 16" zippers were easier to find, and this pattern is cropped, so I wanted a little more length.

I also ended up adding 1" in length to the hemline of my jacket, but this is something you can add while sewing the jacket, you don't need to add any extra length to the pattern piece. The finished hemline of the jacket extends beyond the zipper by a ½", and mine extends by 1 ½", so if you don't like that look but want to extend I would get a 17" zipper if you can find one!

The sleeve length is just right on me, but I tend to like my sleeves a little longer so I think I would add ½" in length next time. My arm length is 22" from my shoulder notch to my wrist bone for reference.

Let's get sewing!

Assemble the A4 pattern tiles.

• Cut out desired size. I chose size 2 and added 1" in length to the front & back bodice, front facing and front bodice lining pieces. See pattern notes for more details!
• I ordered a 16" zipper with the 1" addition in length. (this was easier to find anyways, even number zips are easier to find opposed to odd number zips.
• Cut out pattern pieces from fabric! Make sure to note pattern placement if you are using a patterned fabric.
• We're ready to sew! Please note, we will be using a ⅜ seam allowance per the pattern instructions!

Pin and sew the front bodice facing and front bodice lining right sides together.

Notch along the curbed edge and press the seam open.

Now we are going to apply the zipper. Place the zipper wrong side down on top of the right side of the front bodice, making sure the zipper top is 1cm down from the neckline.

Sew the zipper down along the tape using a basting stitch. You can also use a zipper foot here if you prefer.

Next, we're going to sandwich the zipper between the front layer and lining layer. Lay the prepared front lining right side down on top of the zipper, lining up the front edges. Sew in place.

Now open the jacket up right side out and press everything nicely.

Now take the assembled front bodice with attached zipper and place it on top (Lining will be right sides up) of the other front bodice lining.

Sew a basting stitch to secure the zipper.

Now, take the other front bodice piece and lay it right side down (wrong side facing up) along the front edge on top of the sandwiched zipper. Pin in place and sew.

Open the jacket up and press all the seams. Make sure the zipper tape shows evenly on both sides. Adjust if needed.

Now, let's assemble the rest of the bodice. Grab the back main bodice pieces, pin in place along the shoulders of the front bodice piece only (not the lining piece), and sew in place. Press seams open.

Now grab the back bodice lining and pin it to the front bodice lining right sides together at the shoulder, sew and press.

Now we will prepare the pockets! First, serge or zig zag stitch around all four edges of the two pockets.

Press and pin the top of each pocket down at 1". Top-stitch in place.

Press in the sides of the pockets at ¼" and then the bottom up ¼".

Now it's time to sew the pockets onto the jacket front. Make sure you are only pinning and sewing to the jacket front main fabric and NOT the lining. The directions suggest pinning the pockets 2" from the center zipper and ½" above the zipper stopper. Pin in place and top stitch around the two sides and bottom edge of the pocket all in one go using a 1/8th seam allowance from the edge of the pockets. I would also reinforce the top pocket edge by back stitching a few times for extra security.

Next, we will sew in the sleeves. Make sure to mark the center notch on all four sleeve pieces. First, take the main sleeve and match the center mark to the shoulder seam on the jacket, right sides together. From there pin the rest of the sleeve to the main bodice. Sew in place and repeat for the other sleeve. Press the sleeve open. Repeat with the other main sleeve.

Next, we are going to repeat the same steps with the lining sleeves. Match up the center notch on the sleeve to the shoulder seam on the lining, pin and sew in place. Press. Repeat for the other lining sleeve. *The lining sleeve is supposed to be shorter than the main sleeve, so no need to panic when/if you notice!

This next step may seem tricky, but it is super easy. We are going to twist the wrist of the sleeve main and sleeve lining each separately towards the back bodice piece and pin the sleeves edges right sides together. The main directions provide a great diagram if you need more instructions here. Sew, and press the seam.

Next flip the jacket right sides out and press the sleeve ends, the main sleeve will be longer than the lining to give a really nice faux cuff look.

Now we're going to finish the body of the jacket. Stick your hand in between the lining and main layers and flip the jacket right sides out.

Pull the lining away and pin from the main cuff to the main hem along the side seam, sew and press. Repeat for the other side. Clip into the armpit corner.

Repeat the above steps with the sleeve and body lining. Turn the jacket right sides out and stuff the sleeves in the armhole.

Unzip the jacket and turn it inside out.

Now we will prep the hem! I ended up adding 1" in length to the bottom of my hem for a little extra length. The jacket was a little more cropped than I wanted, but it worked great.

The instructions advise to pin the bottom of the jacket and draw a line ½" below the zipper stop. So, my line was 1 ½" below my zipper stop. The lining and main hemlines might not be the same lengths when pinned and that is just fine.

Sew along the line you drew and DO NOT TRIM, this is a great point to flip the jacket right sides out and make sure you like the length. Once you are satisfied with the length, go ahead and trim off the seam allowance.

Use a point turner to flip out the hem and give everything a really good press. *Please note the finished hem is meant to hang ½" below the zipper when finished, with added length mine extends 1 ½" past the zipper. This added just the right amount of length for me.

*I drew my line 1 ½" below the zipper stop.

We're almost finished! Grab your collar pieces and interfacing. Apply the interfacing to one of the main collar pieces (this piece will be the underside of the collar and will not be shown when the jacket is worn).

Baste the lining and main neckline together.

Now take the interfaced collar piece, and line up the center notch of the collar to the center back of the jacket, pin in place. Pin the rest of the collar in place, it will be about ¼" longer than the neckline on each side.

Sew the collar. Sew as close to the zipper tape as you can! Flip the collar up and press the seam.

Now grab the other collar piece and pin it right sides together to the collar piece attached to the jacket. Sew in place around the side edges and top of the collar only, pivoting around each corner slowly.

Trim off the corners of the collar and flip everything out, give it a nice press.

Press the unfinished collar edge in at 1 cm and pin to cover the previous stitches.

With the inside of the jacket facing up, carefully topstitch around the edges of the collar to finish! Give the collar a good press.

Congratulations, you did it! I hope you love your new jacket as much as I do! Thanks for following along, happy sewing my friends!