Minoru or I MADE A JACKET!

Helllooo Minoru!

This jacket was so much fun to put together. I participated in Tasia's sewalong over at sewaholic and that made each step super easy, and encouraged me to take my time, which was great as taking my time has been a huge challenge for me with sewing.

I started this jacket January 30th, a bit behind the sewalong schedule. I fell a bit behind again when I tried to install in-seam pockets WITH zippers. I did do it, but I am not sure if I like how they turned out. More on that in moment. This is a google search I lead over and over again with no results. If I ever get a handle on that, I will be attempting to make a tutorial.

Things I like about this jacket: the raglan sleeves. The feminine gathering. The gigantic collar. The nipped waist.

Things I don't like about this jacket: topstitching for days and days. Okay, so it's not that I don't like the topstitching, just that I am lazy! Be warned, this takes up more than 2 spools of thread, if you are topstitching and assembling in the same color. Tasia even ran out of thread partway through the sewalong!

So, as I was saying. I fell a bit behind during the sewalong. Then something happened and all the sudden I was nearly finished, except for the hem.

That sound - that sound is what I hear in my head every time I think about hemming something. You guys, I made this Vogue #9771 THREE YEARS AGO and it it still remains hemless. Now, granted, it is a bias cut top so it's not unraveling, and I have washed it a bunch with no problems but that isn't the point.

The point is that I hate hemming and it is the bane of my existence. So this jacket sat. For maybe 3 weeks? It just sat there. I made the sailor outfit, traced off numerous patterns, made a colette violet. Picked my nose, I don't know what else. And my friends kept asking me, "Soooo are you done with that jacket yet?"

"Oh, no, I think I'm going to make some more modifications to it."
"Oh, no, I'm super busy right now (*ahem DOWNTON ABBEY ahem*) but I'll get to it."
"Oh, no, I'm just preparing for a trip to outer-space, don't think I"ll be needing a jacket there." (You will, it is cold.)

Last night, I broke two needles. I also didn't figure out why my stitching was all wonky, which eventually was due to the machine being threaded incorrectly unbeknownst to me. Apparently if you break a needle, you should double check the threading again. I'll be honest, the hem on this isn't perfect, but like a true renegade, i don't care.


Let's talk about that pocket business.

The pockets I installed feature fun kelly-green zippers. They bow out at the hips, making me look "hippier" than I am. Bad notion? Bad placement, possibly. I think the pockets are too low, which I'll take into consideration on my next version.

Hello bell shape!

Interior? I only have bad photobooth shots. But here they are.

Bright Green bemberg rayon for the sleeves!

Piece of gross-grain ribbon that says "blah blah blah", now standard on all my garments!

Next minoru? Yes. Another. It will feature no hood, better in-seam pockets (although I don't know what that means at this particular point, because I really love having zippers in those pockets) and a different set of interior pockets.

I already have the fabric for it, darlings!

I don't know what kind of fabric this is. It's woven, obviously. It's not scratchy and doesn't smell weird.

The body will be lined with either this:

Ikea Britton Nummer

Or possibly this:

Ikea Julita

Did you make a minoru? If you are unsure, GET ON THE BANDWAGON. You seriously will not regret it, this is a great pattern.

*Edit*
It seems I made a mistake in cutting my pattern. After a few wears, I really wish I would make a larger size. Any ideas aside from buying the pattern again?

Featured!

I'm long overdue in posting about this, but the burger dress was featured on everythingburger.wordpress.com!

Click here for the full post!

In the meantime, I've joined Sewaholic's Minoru Sewalong! I'm a little behind, but so far, so good.

I ended up hand basting the main jacket pieces together, to ensure fit, and I'm so glad I did - it made piece of mind attainable, and kept my pieces from shifting when I finally sewed them together.

Hand basting!

I've made it to roughly the third post. I've sewed the raglan sleeves to the front and back pieces, pressed and done my topstitching. I used a triple stitch and preferred to do the topstitching before trimming the remaining allowance.


Last night I put the hood together, and set in a lining.

Hoods are funny!

I'm really excited to see this jacket come together. This is the first sewalong I've participated in, and I am enjoying it quite a bit. There have been many questions that have been easily answered - and even though I'm behind the posts are still there. If you're considering joining, do it!

I'll leave you with a parting shot: my hood plaid pieces match, but it was not through action I took. I need to figure out *how* to match plaids, if anybody has a tutorial, send it my way!

*edited*
To add: I found a tutorial by the Selfish Seamstress here, but I'm still not clear on matching pieces, for example, on the Peony dress. The bodice, waist, skirt and optional sleeves would all need to be matched. How can I ensure the plaid matches at those intersections as well?