After making the Kelly Jacket, Patti from Simple Blessed, had asked me if I was going to do a comparison of the Lonetree versus the Kelly. I had been comparing them every step of the way of making them, so I thought it would be a fun post to do! I love both jackets, so it was hard to pick a “winner” so I decided to lay out some categories and talk about each!
Before I jump in, I wanted to let the pattern designers describe each of the jackets (aka I pulled it off their website) so we can see where they’re the same and where they’re different:
picture and description from the Indiesew website
“The Lonetree Jacket and Vest is a lightweight outer layer for chilly weather. View A features a full-length, two-piece sleeve with cuff. View B is a vest with armhole facings. Both views include a collar, front and back facings, optional hood, and patch pockets with snap or button closures. The Lonetree Jacket pairs well with a blouse and jeans for a casual, utilitarian look. Dress up your Lonetree Vest with a fitted knit dress and wedge heels.”
picture and description from the Closet Case Pattern website
“Style meets function with the Kelly Anorak; a classic shape with a modern cut, this simple coat is the perfect choice for transitional weather.
Lightweight and unlined, it features a two piece cuffed sleeve, optional drawstring waist, gusseted flap pocket and a zipper placket with snap buttons. View A will keep you warm and dry with a roomy three piece hood, while View B features a classic stand-up collar.”
Design:
Both the Kelly and the Lonetree are utility/anorak jackets with utility pockets, a drawstring waist, a two piece cuffed sleeve and lots of snaps. But while they are similar, they are different in a lot of ways. The Lonetree is a shorter jacket than the Kelly which I think makes Kelly a “colder” weather jacket and the Lonetree a more warmer weather jacket.
The Kelly and the Lontree both have two views. The Kelly has a version with a three piece hood and a version with a classic stand up collar. The drawstring on the Kelly is optional on both versions. The Lonetree has two versions as well – a vest and a jacket. The Lonetree makes the three piece hood optional in either view.
The Kelly has a zipper placket (making the zipper not visible once complete) and snaps while the Lonetree has an exposed zipper. I prefer the zipper placket because I really love that the zipper is hidden – I think it looks more professional.
My favorite feature of the Lonetree is the collar, which the Kelly doesn’t have in the version with the hood. My favorite feature of the Kelly is the hood which is much larger than the hood of the Lonetree.
Which design did I like more? I think they’re tied – but for different seasons/weather. The Kelly I think is a great fall/winter jacket while the Lonetree is a great spring jacket!
Fit:
Both jackets have a similar fit to them, but I had a little bit of a different fit on them from making the sizes I did. Maybe I needed the make the size smaller on the Lonetree, but I found it to be more roomy and not give as much of a fitted jacket look.
I made the medium of the Lonetree and an 8 in the Kelly so I did a comparison of the measurements:
I found that the arms of the Lonetree were very roomy and the cuffs were very roomy where the Kelly was much more fitted through the sleeves. That might have been resolved with a smaller size in the Lonetree, but it did match my measurements exactly! I chose the 8 for the Kelly as that’s the size I chose for all of my Closet Case Patterns, so it was a no brainer there!
Winner? I think I prefer the fit of the Kelly more!
Pockets:
I think the biggest visual difference on the Lonetree and the Kelly are the pockets. The Lonetree features 4 utility flapped pockets. The Kelly has two gusseted “3-D” pockets. I love the look of the Lonetree, but from a functional standpoint, the Kelly pockets win out here. The Lonetree pockets do not allow you to put your hands in your pocket or put your phone/keys/a credit card in your pocket. Heather intended to make the Kelly pockets to fit all your things and mentions in her blog post that: “When I started working on the Kelly Anorak pattern I knew right away I wanted, big, deep, roomy pockets. I take the pup out for long walks a few times a day and I like being able to carry everything I need without lugging around a purse (like treats, keys, my phone, aaaand let’s be honest: an old droolly tennis ball).”
Winner? Kelly pockets for lugging around purposes!
Hardware:
I added this to the list because I actually used the hardware kits that both Indiesew and Closet Case Patterns sell on their website. As a new-ish sewists, I love when things are sold in a “kit” it takes the guess work out of everything – I buy almost anything that says “kit.” Fabric stores and pattern designers, you win!
The Indiesew kits include fabric, a metal zipper, cord stops, and snaps (including the snap tool). The Closet Case Pattern kits are just hardware kits, but include spring snap buttons, snap tool, grommets, grommet tool, black cotton drawstring, spring cord locks, cord stops, and zipper.
I had a really really hard time with the Lonetree snaps. While attempting to install them, I broke two and then didn’t have enough and had to order more on Amazon. I did really like the zipper, cord stops and the drawstring from the Lonetree kits and I like since they’re sold with the fabric, they match the fabric perfectly!
In contrast, I really liked the snaps from the Kelly jacket. There are a lot more snaps on the Kelly (because of the zipper placket) so I was glad I liked those snaps better. Also, unless I did something wrong, it included some extras because I ended up breaking one and I still had some extra. I did not like the drawstring included in the Kelly kit though – I felt like a more tone on tone instead of the black one provided in the kit. Because the kits don’t come with fabric, it’s understandable that the black is a neutral option, but I ended up swapping out my drawstring for one that I ordered from Indiesew ironically.
Winner? I think based solely on the snaps, the Kelly kit wins this round.
Sew Along:
The Lonetree has a full sew along where the Kelly has just some blog tutorials. As a sewing newbie, I need all the help I get, so I always appreciate a full sew along. Allie from Indiesew, has walked through every step of the process in her sew along and in places where I was confused by the instructions, I could go online and follow along on the sew along.
The Kelly blog posts were SO helpful – I don’t think I could have installed the hardware or done the 3D pockets without it, but I wish it was a full sew along. I do think that the instructions on the Kelly were a little bit easier for me to understand and some of the finishes were easier to sew than the Lonetree so that made up for the lack of full sew along.
Winner? The Lonetree – A full sew along makes this newbie’s sewist’s heart sing!
Conclusion:
Both jackets are absolutely amazing – and make you feel like a sewing super woman when you finish them. I can’t pick one over the other, but I thought it would be fun to look at the different aspects of each jacket and what I liked or didn’t love as much. Allie and Heather put together amazing patterns – so no matter which one you choose, you’ll love your new jacket!
Anything I missed? Phew that was tough!
Dang, girl, so comprehensive! What a great comparison of the Lonetree and the Kelly! You’ve got me wanting to make another Kelly, even though it’s supposed to be 85 here in Chicago today…
Right?? Like how silly was I that I waited until Memorial Day weekend to make one. I keep leaving it in my car – in case it rains, or suddenly gets freezing, so I can wear it!
This was an amazing post Lara! So much detail although I think you missed one which is really a game changer for me…if I’m not mistaken the Lonetree is only available in PDF whereas the Kelly is a printed pattern. If at ALL possible I avoid PDF. It’s getting to the point where that is becoming with Indie designers which is a shame because it will mean a drastic decline in their sales to the those of us older sewists especially. We might not be in their market targets however 🙂
Thank you! Ahh – that is true. I do think Allie from Indiesew is working on printed patterns! I used to really dislike PDF patterns, but now I really like them – and usually opt for the PDF instead of the paper. What do you not like about PDF patterns?
Thanks so much for this – really helpful
Both look so professional; well done!! You are much braver than I am. I think based on what you have here I will be going with a Kelly, when I get through my massive pile of projects currently in waiting! I think the zipper placket adds to the professional looking finish.
This is a brilliant review, thank you! Both your jackets are stunning, what impressive makes.
I’ve also attempted both jackets (though I never finished either one, yikes!) and think the Kelly is more difficult to sew. That zipper placket is confusing and those pockets took some puzzling and time as well. I’m glad she has some tutorials on her blog but when things aren’t intuitive for me and I have to do a bunch of scrolling around on a screen, I get frustrated. The Lonetree felt more familiar to me. I do prefer the details of the Kelly, though! Hopefully one day I’ll tackle all those snaps and finish one or the other.
Really great post. I have been thinking of which one to make and now i think I will try Kelly. Thanks!
I think you’ll love it! The Kelly Anorak is by far my most worn “me made!”