Today, we transform what looks like a Ziggi vest into a Ziggi jacket! If you haven’t yet cut out the sleeves, I highly recommend muslining this area as StyleARC patterns tend to have slender arms (some have also noted that they are short as well) – once you begin sewing the sleeves, there’s no turning back so be sure everything fits well before you begin. Also, if you were unable to find 6″ zippers (I could only find 7 & 9), you’ll want to shorten them with this handy tutorial before you start (you will undoubtedly find that the notches on your jacket pattern call for a 5-5 1/2″ zipper as well).

For this section, you’ll be using the three remaining pieces: sleeve head (which you may have quilted), lower top, and under sleeve. As always, be sure to transfer all your markings and make note of which is the back and front of the sleeve – this will make the construction process go much faster (see photo on the right, the back of each pattern piece has been highlighted)! First, attach your sleeve head to the lower top, matching markings. Press your seam allowance toward the lower sleeve and topstitch through all the thickness if desired (see photo on left).

Now comes decision time: Do you want to follow the directions for the sleeve as prescribed in the instructions (you will find that the zipper pull will hang below the sleeve hem using this method) or create a ‘welt’window and gusset that will have the pull even with the hemline? If you intend on following the instructions zipper insertion (which is put in when you bag out the lining), all you need to do is is sew the back sleeve headlower front to the back under sleeve until the ‘first’ zipper notch (see photo on right), then sew the front seam in it’s entirety. If you chose the gusset zipper method, I recommend Communing With Fabric’s post – she developed the welt pocket tutorial we used earlier and this one is just as brilliant ( you will find this is a very similar construction to the pocket and should be much easier to put together this time around)!

No matter which zipper method you select, the next step is attaching the sleeve head to the jacket (make note of which is the front and back of the sleeve – inserting them correctly will radically change the way the sleeve will feel if not done correctly)! If you are using any material other than leather, you should create a row of gathering stitches on your sleeve head to ease in the fullness in this area. For leather, you will have to ease in fullness yourself: clip sleevejacket at markings and midway between each marking so you can visually gauge how much ease you need to create when sewing (most leather has some natural stretch to work with, just be patient!). I would suggest that you first baste your sleeve before permanently setting your stitches to make sure you don’t have puckers, etc. Repeat for your second sleeve and admire how awesome your jacket is looking!