Much like your favourite bucket hat or pair of blue jeans, the century-old chore jacket hails from humble workwear origins. Utilitarian in detail (hello pockets!) and practical for layering, the Cobden Chore Jacket pattern from Muna and Broad offers us sewists the perfect chance to tap into those functional vibes from the comfort of home. This week we've sewn the pattern up in our Upcycled Denim - Lake. Read on for our review of this pattern, very kindly modelled by Zoe from our Auckland Store team!
Pattern Review
Muna and Broad — Cobden Chore Jacket
Friends Jess and Leila launched Muna and Broad in 2019, offering a range of beginner-friendly modern sewing patterns for plus-size bodies. We love the ethos of Muna and Broad, and jumped at the chance to review the popular Cobden Chore Jacket using our new range of Upcycled Cottons. Cobden comes in sizes A - M, which equates to approximately 40"-64" (102-162cm) in the bust and 41.5"-71.5" (105-182cm) in the hip. We chose a size C for Zoe, which matched her measurements well and sits close to our Make by TFS size 24. The project took 2.3m of our Upcycled Denim - Lake, x5 Matt Translucent Buttons - Pebble, 0.9m of Fusible Interfacing - Stretch Weft / White and a spool of Gütermann Recycled Topstitching Thread in colour 802.
We found the instruction manual well thought-out and easy to follow! Its packed full of useful information for a beginner sewist, such as cutting tips and sewing techniques, plus handy little highlights explaining sewing techniques like pinstitching and topstitching.
Most of the seams of the jacket were sewn with faux flat felled seams, which involves overlocking the inside seam allowance and pressing to one side, followed by outer top stitching. If you fancy trying a true flat felled seam, there is a generous seam allowance of 1.5cm, plus tons of tutorials online, like this one from Seamwork.
Overall we found this a super enjoyable and satisfying garment to sew, with the contrast topstitching being something that takes a little patience and accuracy (and sometimes a second or third attempt!). At times the thickness of the denim required some negotiation, especially when attaching the collar - something to watch out for if using a heavy denim or canvas.
Download the Cobden Chore Jacket from the Muna and Broad website here.
Fabric Recommendations
Muna and Broad suggest using medium to heavyweight fabrics for the Cobden Chore Jacket. Think thick cotton moleskin, denims, canvas, cotton twill and corduroy. We're loving how this jacket turned out in our Upcycled Cotton Denim colour Lake! This Guatemalan-made 12oz fabric has been densely woven in a classic denim structure, with a blue face and an identical blue weft reverse. It features a textured hand feel with a rigid structure, a matt finish, and naturally occurring speckled slubs throughout. Check out our Upcycled Cotton range online and in stores today. Denim colours from top to bottom below are Lake, Wave, Blue Fade, Pumice Speckle and Natural.
How cool are Zoe's jeans?! She used the Make by TFS May Jean pattern, and customised the front patches!
We'd highly recommend this project for a sewist with a little experience!
Muna and Broad have a YouTube channel sharing handy sewing tutorials, including steps on assembling the Cobden Chore Jacket collar and sewing a button with a thread shank.
Check out inspo with #CobdenChoreJacket, and don't forget we'd love to see your makes over on Instagram and TikTok!