We’ve just pushed the release button on core 1.8.0. That bump in minor number is typically because we have a new pattern, but in this case, there’s two reasons:
- The Jaeger Jacket is now available
- We’ve gotten rid of the across back measurement
Read on for the details.
Announcing the Jaeger Jacket
For my refasioners entry last year I designed a jacket pattern that I intially wanted to release alongside my make. It didn’t work out that way, and I asked for a bit more time to get the pattern out the door.
Turns out that when I say a bit more time it means 6 and a half months, so please forgive me for the delay, but here it is, the Jaeger Jacket.
Jaeger Sport Coat is not an alliteration
Jaeger is a sport coat style of jacket. As in, a single-breasted jacket with a 2-button closure, and patch pockets.
In other words, this is a garment that’s typically worn on jeans or other trousers, and not as part of a suit.
Options galore
Jaeger comes with 38 options, so you can change a lot about this pattern.
No need to worry though, it also comes with sensible defaults, so you can just as well ignore all those choices.
The across back measurement is no more
Speaking of sensible defaults, Jaeger is not the only new thing in freesewing core 1.8.0, which is out today.
We’ve also gotten rid of the across back measurement.
The across back measurement was cause of a great deal of confusion among our users. More often than not, when someone contacted us because their pattern looked wonky, an unrealistic across back measurement was to blame.
The roots of the across back measurement go back to a time when, instead of the shoulder to shoulder measurement we use now, we had the shoulder length measurement. That one was also source of some confusion, so we phased it out in favour of the shoulder to shoulder measurement.
The thing is that if we know the shoulder to shoulder measurement, we can guestimate with reasonable accuracy what the across back measurement will be. So, instead of asking you for it, we simply assume now.
But you’re dumbing down the pattern
In case the this pattern comes with 38 options bit above wasn’t enough of a giveaway, we’re pretty committed here at freesewing to give you all the knobs to tweak your drafts.
Replacing a measurement with a value calculated based on another measurement may seem to go against that, but there’s no need to worry. We’ve made sure you can still muck about with your across back.
Patterns that used to require the across back measurement now have a new advanced option: the across back factor. It allows you to tweak how we calculate your across back measurement, but does make sure to keep it within boundaries that are sensible.
As such, we feel we’re preventing mistakes for the casual user, without taking away power from you, the pattern option guru.
Or to put it differently, you can still muck about with your across back, but by default, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.