Simplicity 8418 Review

Haven't done a sewing post for a little while and I wanted to get one up before the end of the month. In previous Monthly Favourites posts, I mentioned I had made a jacket using a pattern from Simplicity so that's the focus of this review. This review will be about the Simplicity pattern 8418.

Pattern Description
The pattern is described on the packet as a lined bomber jacket with fabric and trim variations. The pattern has two styles of jackets: View A is a jacket in one tone and View B is a jacket with contrasting sleeves and appliques. The neck, sleeves and bottom band are made of ribbing or stretchable knit fabric. The jacket has lining on the interior and I have seen some people on the internet make the jacket reversible instead of lining. It also has pockets which is always a plus!!

Sizing
The sizing of the pattern is 4 to 22 and comes in two packets (4-12 and 14 to 22). I made the size 10 of the View A pattern which was a good fit for me. Doesn't look super fitted but the arms are long enough for me and the bottom band isn't too tight.

Instructions
There is no skill level marked on this pattern like some Simplicity ones are and I would have to rate it as intermediate skilled as there are some tricky techniques. You could make it as a beginner if you had worked with commercial patterns before and understood the steps. I found some steps difficult to follow and the instructions weren't detailed enough. Step 18 is where I got stuck as you need to anchor the lower band seams together but when I had attached the lower band to the jacket in Step 14, I had pressed down the seam. So when you get to doing Step 18, the fabric wants to go upwards and a different direction from the way it currently is. The problem I was having was that the fabric was bunching in the front corner part and flipping over. The fabric I was using was quite thick and heavy so I guess if you used lighter fabric, you could easily press this down (however there is quite a few layers here). 

Alterations
The only alterations I made was not gathering the jacket bottom but this was due to the fabric I used. The fabric was kimino fabric and didn't like gathering at all (it would unravel the fabric). So I didn't gather the jacket or the lining which just meant I didn't have the stretch the bottom band too much in order to match seams and notches.

Fabric Used
For the jacket, I used this stunning oriental style fabric a friend gave me a long time ago. I had it sitting in my fabric stash for years originally planning to make a dress from it. But when I saw this pattern released by Simplicity, I knew I just had to use it for it! It's beautiful fabric however it frays like crazy. I had to work quickly and overlock most edges right away because it would fray so quickly. Even some sections I overlocked were still fraying underneath the stitches. You also need to be very careful not to catch anything on the fabric as it's quite delicate. The lining was just basic satin from Spotlight and the ribbing was from there as well. I had a lot of trouble finding ribbing initially but just settled with a white colour eventually. 

Likes & Dislikes
I enjoyed making this pattern and there wasn't any aspects of the design I didn't like. I think it's interesting that people have worked out you can make it reversible. Not sure if I'd try that yet, but I'd love to make a denim version and stick motifs all over the back. The main dislike I have for this pattern is the zipper instructions and Step 18 (which I mentioned earlier). The zipper was a pain for me because I brought the length I needed, then when I got to that step it was too long. The zipper I had brought was also not adjustable so I then had to go on an adventure to find a zipper. Visited heaps of sewing shops and eventually found the perfect one quite cheap. So I marked out where to put the zipper according to the dots you needed to match and I still needed to adjust it. Turns out the zipper has to be a bit shorter than what you think it needs to be. I had to adjust mine a few times however this was the first time I've adjusted a zipper so I might just be dumb at the whole thing.

Another dislike I have isn't particularly about the pattern, but more about Simplicity's customer service. I thought I would contact them for more information about Step 18 before I attempted it. Along the bottom of the pattern packet, there is a contact email for Simplicity. So I sent an email to that and turns out it's not even a real address! The email bounced back to me. Found that a bit silly listing something that doesn't work. Went on their website and used the contact us form instead. It took a few days to get a response and the responses just told me to follow the instructions. No mention of which ways the fabric should be going which was my actual question. Not very helpful really and I couldn't work it out in the end, so I just did it how the instructions said.

Conclusion
I've noticed other pattern brands bringing out similar or identical patterns to this one, so it seems to be a popular design. I quite enjoyed making this one and would do it again in a different type of fabric. It had quite a lot of steps to follow and it took myself  a while to finish as I had trouble getting the ribbing and zipper. Highly recommend this pattern if you want a stylish bomber jacket with pockets!