U.S. Air Force Jacket

Living in the DC area means we’re surrounded by military and government contractors (my husband falls into the latter category!). When Affordable Fabrics and More announced the new military fabric round, I figured I would skip it, since we aren’t military (and the sample collection was originally offered to the military seamstresses in our group). Well, there ended up being slots to fill so my name eventually came up. Some of our good friends serve with the U.S. Air Force (and I do have a cousin and uncle serving in the Australian Air Force now that I think of it! – Allies!!), and I would have loved to have used this round to sew for them, but they just received their orders and moved this summer!

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The military collection includes prints and coordinates for all branches of the military -Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy!

I chose to make the MW Patterns Biker Sweatshirt* with these fabrics. I purchased this pattern during their first ever big sale a few months ago – I was very reluctant to pay full price, since it’s a pretty expensive pattern. It is on sale right now though!

The designer is Swedish, but the instructions have been translated into English. The drafting on the actual pattern seems to be pretty solid, though the instructions aren’t the easiest to follow. They also omit certain things such as when to install interfacings for the zipper tape. I found it complicated to make, especially the collar, and I wonder if there are some cleaner ways to make it. I’d especially prefer for the zipper to be sandwiched between the collar pieces, and will try to do that next time I make it.

I self drafted the pocket, which is inspired by a pants pattern I’d seen (I feel like it was a Max and Meena pattern, but I can’t find it right now! Maybe someone can tell me 😉 ).

Of course, photographs weren’t complete without a trip to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy Center)! Though, the kids were so excited to be there, posed photographs were super hard to get! They did get a ton of compliments on their outfits though. Oh yes… they… I was able to make something for each of my kids from 2 panels and 2 fat halves! Stay tuned and I’ll share the rest of the outfits over the next couple of days!

If you’re in the U.S. military, or love the military, then this collection is for you! There are also prints in this collection that are a little more generic such as planes, boats, clouds, and camo print – so there really is something for everyone!

Affordable Fabrics and More Military Preorder closes on August 5 August 12! Join their Facebook group for updates, order form and more inspiration!

(If you’re observant, you may notice the typo on the panel (missing a period after the S and a space between “air” and “force”). This has been corrected for the final printing. That is one of the critical pieces of receiving a “strike off” – checking for and correcting any errors!)

Fabric and Pattern summary:

• Air Force Clouds Coordinate – Affordable Fabrics & More
• Air Force Text Coordinate – Affordable Fabrics & More
• Air Force Logo Panel – Affordable Fabrics & More
• White Cotton Lycra – Simply By Ti
• Navy Cotton Lycra – NR Fabrics*
• MW Patterns Biker Sweatshirt*

*Affiliate link – making a purchase after clicking an affiliate link will earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you!