Some time ago, the new "Iam Divine" collection by Marie-Emilienne, the creator of the brand Iam Patterns, was released. Her duffle coat, her lovely pleated trousers, her dress, and especially her versatile little vest called Hathor, which I immediately fell for!

Indeed, I really like the concept of a body warmer, and on top of that, Hathor allows you to play with pockets, with or without a zipper, with or without a hood, or even to make a reversible version... In short, I was charmed when it came out, and for good reason... I had finally found the idea to upcycle a beautiful vintage embroidered fabric given to me by my mother-in-law. This fabric is somewhat of a little antique brought back over 40 years ago in a suitcase from a trip to Pakistan. It therefore has sentimental and heritage value. I absolutely wanted to do it justice!

For your information, this fabric is Pakistani-made in a very narrow width (+/- 90cm). It is a short-pile velvet and is completely embroidered with flowers, featuring a large central motif. I initially wanted to make a jacket with sleeves, but it was impossible to fit all the pieces... Hathor was perfect in my pattern collection because it allowed me to maximize the use of my coupon!

Come on, let me take you to discover Hathor and my upcycling adventure!

The Hathor pattern

Hathor is a timeless sleeveless jacket that easily fits into a sustainable wardrobe. This is what I call a body warmer that you can wear over a sweater/undershirt/long-sleeve t-shirt depending on the season or even over a light jacket. You just need to choose the fabrics and ease accordingly; it can be fitted or oversized depending on how you want to wear it.

Hathor comes in 18 versions thanks to:

• 3 neckline options
• 3 pocket options, and
• 2 closure methods.

It closes with snap buttons, a zipper, or you can also leave it open for a reversible version.

For the neckline, you can choose: a simple neckline with a nice curve, a collar, or a hood.

Finally, the pockets can be patch pockets, piped pockets, or no pockets.

The jacket is fully lined, but it is also possible to make it in a single layer by binding the seams (maybe for a future version 😂).

Sewing skill level required for Hathor

Beginners, enjoy yourselves! This jacket is ideal for starting garment making. You can choose the simplest version to begin with. Hathor will also be great for more experienced sewists in its version with a hood and piped pockets.

Available sizes

The printed version covers sizes 36 to 46. You can find it in the shop.

The PDF version, only available on the Iam Patterns website, goes up to size 52.

In the sewist’s basket

You can sew Hathor with a very wide variety of fabrics: quilted fabrics, faux furs, wool flannels, corduroys with wide ribs, short-pile velvets..., denims, gabardines, heavy twills, oilcloth cottons, fleeces...

For the lining, you can also have fun even though the printed pattern recommends light to medium fabrics like cotton voile, poplin, satin, viscose... but why not flannel or fleece.

The necessary supplies are:

• Outer fabric
• Lining
• Buttoned versions: 1 cm diameter snap buttons, 5 buttons for the version without collar and 6 for the one with a collar.
• Zipped versions: 1 separating zipper from 45 to 55 cm depending on the version
• Piped pockets: 35 cm x 25 cm fusible interfacing

My supplies

For my version, I had my embroidered short-pile velvet for the outside and I decided to line it with white fleece for a really warm version. I fully embrace the Santa Claus look of my Hathor with a red exterior and white inside 😂

I chose the hooded version to use my entire coupon of embroidered velvet but also because I thought it would enhance its delightfully quirky look.

I chose not to add pockets so as not to "disturb" the embroidery, for which I took the time to calculate the pieces so that the motifs would be as preserved as possible in the cuts and also so that the motifs would be well aligned once the jacket was sewn. For this work, I used mirrored pieces on the fabric surface (not on the fold as usual) and traced the outlines with my Japanese ruler using a water-erasable marker.

I also decided to leave it without a closure. I will see if it bothers me in use. If it does, I think I will opt for frogs to keep the jacket’s stylistic aesthetic.

Technical points

I would say the biggest technical point of Hathor (if you’re not used to it) is managing the "3D vision" of the lining. Indeed, you have to sew some parts of Hathor inside out (notably the armholes) and then turn it right side out (like you do with a pouch or basket). This can be confusing the first time you tackle a lining; however, if you carefully follow the booklet instructions, it poses no problem.

Another difficulty can be the fabric thickness depending on your choice. Indeed, I chose fleece and thick short-pile velvet. This creates a "good thickness," especially when passing the hood. The workshop machines handle this kind of thickness without problem, but keep it in mind if you have a machine with a "small" motor that doesn’t like thick layers.

For the rest, the technical points will depend on the options you choose for Hathor: installing the zipper, snaps, piped pockets... It’s up to you to play with them!

I overlocked all the short-pile velvet pieces.

I topstitched the hood before attaching it to the body of the garment.

Placement of the lined hood

Sewing experience

I really enjoyed bringing a coupon of fabric back into the spotlight and giving it a second life... that’s what we call upcycling. Upcycling is recycling but adding value to the recycled object... and I’m really proud of myself for using this coupon that otherwise would have ended its life in a closet.

I challenged myself with the placement of the pattern pieces. I wanted to preserve the embroidery, think about matching so that the lines are aligned on the fronts and the large flower is centered on the back. All while making sure it’s visible despite the hood.

Regarding Hathor, I really enjoyed sewing it. It’s simple and quick. It makes me happy to make such pieces from time to time before moving on to more complex projects.

I’m sure it’s a piece I will make again. Maybe a quilted version? Who knows...

Ready to pick up your needles?