Minoru Jacket, Finished!

Yes, indeed, I have finally finished the Minoru jacket! And despite all the kafuffle I quite like it, and so does my hubby!

What kind of kafuffle, you ask? Well, I made a second muslin because the first was too snug, then made more slashes for greater back ease and a forward neck tilt. But after I got the entire shell sewn together (attached the collar, sleeves, plackets, to the body, and side seams) I tried it on…and there was *too much* room!!! Aaaargh! So, out with the seam ripper, whereby I ripped out the entire collar topstitching/seam up to the plackets and removed the extra fabric I’d added to the top of the back and sleeve tops. This is also when I decided to line the hood. In hindsight, I think the cause of all my problems was the cheap poly/cotton I used for making the muslin; it just didn’t have the weight/body needed for the jacket. At least I now know where to get the real muslin fabric!

Here’s a quick summary of what I did.

Fabric:

• Outer shell in Canadian Mist (50% Micropolyester / 50% Cotton, bought at dragonfly fabrics), grey – perhaps a bit dull, but it’s a neutral colour
• Body/Hood lining in quilting cotton – I LOVE this fabric, makes up for the grey shell
• Sleeve lining in black rayon Bemberg
• Collar lined with black Bemberg (on the zipper side)
• Outer side seam pockets in the quilting cotton and black Bemberg

Alterations:

1. Cut size 10-10-8 (B-W-H), according to the pattern measurements
2. Shortened the sleeves by 3 1/2 in
3. Widened the sleeve by 1/2 in along the entire length
4. Dropped the front neckline by 1/2 in for a forward neck tilt, and adjusted the front seam on the sleeves to match
5. Widened the upper back by 1/2 in, from the armscyes up to the neck
6. Added side seam pockets, and topstitched on the front piece instead of the back. The bottom of the pockets is caught in the hem.
7. Lined the hood (yeah, I did this after it was all assembled! when I removed the collar)
8. Made deeper inside pockets to fit my smartphone (and raised the top of the pocket so it wouldn’t fall so low down the waist). Instead of folding over the top of the pocket twice and topstitching, I used grosgrain ribbon
9. Topstitched the lining as I didn’t finish the seams

 

Future alterations, and what I would do differently or try:

1. Cut the hips a size larger
2. Use a double-ended zipper
3. Cut the cuffs a little longer so they look more scrunched
4. Make front welt pockets; the side seam pockets are a tiny bit low and far back for comfort
5. Make the welt pocket bag the same shape as the bottom of the front section so it can be caught in the side and placket seams
6. Finish the hood/collar seam, maybe bind it, as it’s visible when the hood is out and down (see pic below)
7. Make an hidden inner pocket, with the opening in the placket/front seam
8. Make a wider inner pocket so the smartphone can sit sideways; it’s a little uncomfortable sitting upright
9. Add an inner placket/strip or zip guard; I noticed some others did this and it looks great

What I really like about the pattern and alterations:

• The snug waist elastic! Someone else said it felt like being hugged, and they’re right!!
• The big hood, and that it’s lined; if the outer fabric doesn’t have much body this really helps keep it up
• Hip length!
• Big, tall collar, it’s just so cozy!
• Wider sleeves for more ease
• Deeper inside pockets feel safer

I’m so glad it’s finished, and with the weather warming up so fast (it’s crazy, forecast says 21 C tomorrow!!!), I’ll be wearing this a lot earlier than I’d thought. I LOVE it!!

Next up, I need to make some sweatpants for Oliver since he’s outgrown the others. And then the new Jalie shirt pattern and T-shirt (w/o the nursing option) that I really want to try. If the weather keeps up like this I’ll need to work fast! At least these will go a lot faster than the jacket.

Pockets on My Minoru Jacket

I’ve been trying to follow along with Tasia (Sewaholic) on her Minoru sewalong, but it’s going in starts and stops. My first muslin seemed too small on the top so I traced another set of pieces, just about all of them, and made a second. More changes were made on this muslin to widen the sleeves and give more room across the back, but now I’ve got the fabric cut and the shell of the coat sewn up I’m not sure all my changes were a good idea! It looks like I’m going to have to bite the bullet and start ripping out the sleeves and collar and undo some of my alterations. Aaaarrragh!! The cause of my problem might be that I used a cheap cotton/poly to make the muslins and it’s not draping like the fabric I’m using, which is Canadian Mist (50% Micropolyester / 50% Cotton, bought at dragonfly fabrics). Should have used the real McCoy for a muslin! (Just found out that I can get it at Darrell Thomas’ for $7/m, which is way less than at Fabricland.)

So, to get back to the main point of this post, when I read about Amy’s side pockets on her Minoru jacket I had to do it too, cause I love pockets. How many times have I been asked to hold onto someone’s toy car/plane/rock/thing? Countless!!

The pocket pattern piece was borrowed from a summer dress I made last year (still to be posted about), and just expanded a bit more. Also, the important thing is that the bottom of the pocket should be no lower than the hem stitching line, at about 3 3/4 " (9.5 cm). I'm not sure about catching the bottom of the pocket seam allowance in the hem as it might pull the hem up when my hands are in the pockets, so I'm going to add a short piece of ribbon to the bottom of the pocket and then catch that in the hem. One of my fleece jackets has this.

The pockets are made from a layer of black Bemberg lining (which I also used for the sleeves)facing the outside, with the main lining on the inside so it’s slightly visible on the outside, kind of peaking out. Unlike Amy, I did topstitch the side seams above and below the opening, but on the front piece.

It might be a bit hard to see as my topstitching isn’t very bold. The picture above shows most of the side seam with the pocket closed. The bar tacks are more visible in the pics below.

 

It doesn't look too bad! And I like having the seams topstitched.

So, that’s it for now, as I’m going to go backwards and start un-sewing next week! This week is a right-off as I’ve been doing a long-awaited spring clean on the house in preparation for guests coming this long weekend. I’m beat!

Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up again next week, but I’ve also got big plans for making up a pattern for my Kid’s Tool Belt! I’m sooo excited about that I can hardly sleep!