Blooming Bomber Jacket - a review

What a riot of colour?
This is the Blooming Bomber Jacket. It is a design by Katie Jones and the pattern is available free on Love Crochet. I first saw this in Little Treasures blog a few weeks ago and knew that it would be my next make.

The recommended yarn was Paintbox yarns Arran weight. I managed to get all I needed for less than £20 - which is just what I had left of my Christmas money.

This pattern is classed as intermediate, but a confident beginner could handle it as it's not difficult.

I really like the finished jacket - it came up a little bigger than I was expecting, even though my tension was spot on and I think I might be tempted to use a DK yarn and a slightly smaller hook next time - I'd also like to see it made in Cotton or bamboo yarn.

So what drew me to this? Firstly the colour. I love bright colours and I am trying to embrace it in my clothing too. I love that the design is inspired by Frida Kahlo who is one of my favourite artists. I also loved that the pattern has statement sleeves and huge 3D floral motif pockets - what's not to love?

This was a very quick make (after the months it took to make my Eastern Jewels blanket), taking just 2 weeks to make.   I spent most evenings doing a bit and it came together very quickly. I'm sure this was helped by me using the time while my daughter was at drama rehearsals to get this to progress quickly.

So how easy is it?
The construction of the jacket is very simple and the challenge comes on the cuffs and the pockets. I did find the instructions a little sparse, as I'm very visual I like to see pictures and understand how what I'm doing relates to the garment. I think I'd been spoilt as the Persian Tiles instructions for the Eastern Jewels blanket were incredibly clear and well presented. The Instructions weren't difficult for the Bomber Jacket, just rather brief.

I like to know which part of the garment I'm starting with and the order of construction. The diagram for the pocket was clear and did help, but I spent the first few rows of the jacket wondering which bit I was starting with and working out how it was going to work. For those who need to know - it's the underarm point.

I also had to look up what crochet tapestry technique was - you use this for the popcorn stitch on the cuff. It wasn't hard, but it was terminology I hadn't come across before and I found a couple of youtube tutorials which made it clear. There were more complex stitches in the Eastern Jewels blanket, but they were explained more clearly. That being said, I have a jacket that looks like the one in the photo and I've worn it quite a few times. It looks great with my black Jeans and Docs and I can see me wearing it with my next Minerva make - which is very bright. All hail colour!!!!!!