Made a barn coat with magnetic closures for my mom and the magnets work better than I expected

Did something similar for my husband two years back when his tremors made regular buttons impossible on his winter vest. I used those sew-in purse magnets, the flat rectangular ones about an inch long, and they were plenty strong for a quilted cotton outer with flannel lining. I learned the same lesson about bulk, though. My first set went right where the facing folded over and the hold was so weak he gave up on it. Shifted them to flat single-layer spots and they closed themselves if they got within an inch of each other.

One thing that helped me was making a test swatch sandwich before cutting into the good fabric. Scrap of the actual lining and shell fabric, a slit cut, a magnet dropped in, then I could feel the pull before committing. Took five minutes and saved me from seam placement mistakes like the one you caught.

The pockets are a smart addition. I added a hook-and-loop tab on the inside of his pocket flaps instead, but it caught on things in the wash and peeled up after a season. Wish I had thougth of small magnets for that, they would have held better. Only warning I would pass on is to keep the magnets away from anything with a magnetic strip, his hearing aid batteries and a credit card both took a few trips thru that vest before we figured out why they kept acting up.

For my dad I skipped magnets entirely. He has a pacemaker and his cardiologist told him to keep strong magnets away from the chest area, so a front closure was out. I ended up putting wide hook and loop tape, about two inch wide strips of the Velcro brand stuff, down the front of his chore jacket instead. Cut a little longer tab on one side so he could get a pinch on it, since his fine grip is the first thing to go. It took some fiddling to get the landing right. If the strips met perfectly he could never line them up, so I made the soft side slightly wider than the hook side, maybe a quarter inch overhang, and now it closes anywhere in the zone. Sounds minor but it made all the difference for him.

Zippers were the other fight. I sewed a leather loop off the slider, just a scrap from an old belt with a hole punched in it, so he can hook a finger through and pull. His tremor makes a flat zipper pull impossible but the loop gives him somthing to yank. The pocket idea is smart though. His jacket has no closures on the pockets and I cannot count how many times he has come home and his phone is just gone. Might steal that with a small strip of the hook and loop.

Made one of these for my uncle after his stroke left him with one good hand. Only thing I'd add is reinforce behind each slit before you drop the magnet in. Mine went a season and the little cuts started stretching out and the magnets wandered. A small square of fusible interfacing on the back of the placket fixed it and took ten minutes. Also space them out on the pattern pieces. Mine were close enough that the front stuck to itself when the coat hung folded over in the closet, and he'd grab it and get smacked in the face with a half-closed jacket every morning.

The interfacing tip is spot on. I made a fleece jacket for my neighbor after her shoulder surgery and skipped that step, and within a couple months the slits on the front placket had gone from neat little cuts to little ovals. The magnets woud drift toward the edge of the opening and the closure felt mushy. I stitched small squares of tight-woven cotton behind each one from the inside and it tightened everythign back up. I also learned to stitch around each slit opening twice, once to close it and once more a hair outside, which seems to stop the fabric from working loose around the magnet.

Update: took the interfacing suggestion and pressed little squares behind every slit before installing the rest, and the openings stayed crisp through a whole winter of daily wear. New problem is laundry. The coat goes in the wash fine but the magnets clank around and one started showing rust at the edge. Do you all remove yours before washing or just let them go?