Finished: The Sewaholic Minoru Jacket

Yep, I "participated" in the Sewaholic Minoru jacket sew along. And by participated, I mean that I made my Minoru jacket at the same time that the sew along was happening. Only a lot quicker. And this is not a criticism of the sew along, but more of an issue of when I could actually sit down and sew.




Never mind that, though, and let's just get on with seeing the pictures and some observations. First, my fabric is a raincoating from Gorgeous Fabrics, and the lining is from fabric.com. With that out of the way, here ya go complete with observations:

• this is definitely not a beginner pattern. With the sew along, advanced begginer. Without it, intermediate at least.
• my semi-plasticky raincoating frayed a lot.
• if you look closely, you will see that the hem doesn't line up in the center front.

• I cut the size 12, and only made one alteration
• I shortened the sleeves by 2-1/2" inches!
• my cuffs look a little weird. I think that's more of a fabric issue.

• I love the collar with the zipper and hidden hood.
• did you read about my fraying fabric?
• I should have lined the hood, even with the finishing of the seam.
• it is quite possible to iron this raincoating fabric, even without a press cloth. From the line going horizontally across my butt, it appears that I missed a spot.

• I didn't add the inside pocket because with all the coats I've ever owned with inside pockets, I've never used them.
• I think I used the wrong side of the lining as the right side. It was hard to tell. Oops.
• my inside hem looks, well, pretty bad. Did you read about the uneven hem meeting in the front? All related.

• I did put outside pockets in the side seams. I can't have a coat without them.
• I put them a little bit too low.
• Can you tell that I'm actually wearing it in the rain?

• though entirely functional, I look dumb with the hood up, and this is the best pic I have of it being worn. None from the front.
• I love the length.

Conclusion: it's a great jacket pattern! I particularly like it in this lightweight version. If I were to make it with a bulkier fabric/lining, I would go up a size, and then make a better adjustment to the back length so it didn't get too bunchy.