Finished Object. Goal Accomplished.

Well lookee here. I sewed myself a coat!! Early on in my sewing adventures, Gertie hosted a sew along for the Lady Grey coat & I was entranced. I couldn't believe people could actually sew their own coats. While mine isn't a tailored masterpiece, per se, it is definitely my proudest sewing accomplishment to date.  Here's the facts. And only the facts. After the facts I will ramble. Proceed with caution.

Pattern: Sewaholic Minoru

Fabric: Stretch twill from Fashion Fabrics Club
Notions: Thread & 2 zippers. Huge shout out to Zipperstop. I mailed a swatch of my fabric to them to match on Friday & had my zippers on Tuesday. Amazing customer service.

Size sewn:I muslined both a size 6 & 8. In the end, I sewed the 8 since I underlined with flannel & will possibly be wearing under bulky-ish sweaters.
Alterations/Design Changes: Added welt pockets. Shortened (at hem) 1.75". Raised elastic 1". Added .75" for broad back alteration. Omitted sleeve cuffs. Instead I made a self facing by lengthening outer sleeve fabric 2". I also graded down to a size 4 at the hips & probably could have gone down to a 2.

Also, instead of stitching the ditch for the collar, I hand sewed it. I just couldn't' get my stitches just right on both sides.
Likes: Loved the process. Love the finished product.
Dislikes: I do wish it had outer pockets, but there's about a billion different ways to add yoru own pockets, so it's no big deal. 
Time to Complete: I cut my fabric out on October 2nd, and wore my finished coat on the 20th. I didn't sew every day, and I took my time getting things just right.
New Techniques: Welt pockets! Separating zippers!
Total Cost: $57.85
Fashion Fabric $11.85. Lining fabric $27. Zippers $11. Thread $8. I'm not counting the pattern cost because I bought it almost 2 years ago :)

Alright. Let the rambling commence!  I actually pre-ordered this pattern when Tasia first released it. I was all set to participate in her sewalong and then I discovered I was pregnant. So it got set aside. For a year and a half.

With Fall approaching I decided to get this baby sewn. I muslined a size 6, which fit perfect. But in the end I decided I wanted a bit more ease to accommodate the flannel underlining & bulky fall sweaters.

The welt pockets were a major cause for concern. I've never constructed them before, but I also needed to figure out where to put them, what angle to have them & how deep to construct the pocket bags...without having them interfere with the hem or plackets. All in all, I'd say they're just right.  But I left the internal pockets just in case my welt pocket design was lacking.

I lined the hood, removing 3/8" to account for the seam allowance rather than a hem allowance. I also tacked it down by hand along the center seam so the lining wouldn't bag out.

The lining itself is a horrendous polyester; you know the type. It frays if you look at it wrong.  So even though the seams were all enclosed I was really diligent in zigzagging (and sometimes fray checking) my seam allowances. 

Instead of stitching in the ditch at the collar seam (couldn't get it to all line up just right even though I hand basted first) I just sewed it by hand. It took a little extra time, but all in all wasn't too bad. 

I omitted the sleeve cuffs, but I didn't want my lining to peek out at the wrist, so I created a self facing (I might be making that term up) by lengthening the outer sleeve pieces by 2 inches. This gave it a really nice, clean finish & if I sew another hooded Minoru, I'll likely use the same method on the hood.

In conclusion, I love this coat. A lot. And it was a good sewing exercise for me, too. It's the first 'Intermediate' pattern I've sewn (not counting bras) and I'm really happy with the results.

Minoru fabric choice

Left: Organic Canvas Cotton from fabric.com  Right: Magenta Pink Stretch Twill from FFC

I ordered 2 different fabrics for my Minoru. I never do that. But I wasn't positive either was what I wanted. I ordered on the same day, moments apart, and of course, my fabric from fabric.com arrived a week earlier than that from Fashion Fabrics Club.

Once I received the twill (from FFC) though, I was glad that I had waited to cut into my fabric. The canvas looks quite dull compared to the twill. But what really sold me on the twill was the price. The Organic Canvas Cotton cost $40 while the twill was a steal at $18 (including shipping). 

Since my sewing room makeover put a halt to all sewing for a couple weeks, I'm really looking forward to getting started on this! As it turns out, Pattern Review's Lined Jacket Contest starts today, so I'll be able to participate in that, too! There seems to be a number of us who are planning on sewing Minorus.

Minoru Muslin

I got my muslin all sewn up & I find myself putting it on just to wear around the house. I love it that much. It is quite fitted, which I wanted, but I'm thinking I'll need a little extra ease in my final version since I'll be using a bit thicker fabric & I'm also planning to underline with flannel for extra warmth. I'm toying with the idea of just sewing with a smaller seam allowance at the side seams.

I did make some minor adjustments that I'll transfer over to the final pattern.  Here's what I've done:

Shortened 1.5" at the hem
Raised the waist elastic 1"
Took it in at the hips 1" at each side seam (My hips are a size 4 according to the pattern measurements, rather than the size 6 that I cut out)

I'm also feeling some tightness in the back when I stretch my arms forward, which is actually really common for me in jackets. But I never associated it with a broad back.  Fit For Real People recommends cutting & slashing the pattern down the back for a broad back alteration in a Raglan sleeve so that's probably what I'll do. I just need to figure out how much to slash. I DO have a raglan sleeve sweatshirt I can measure & compare to the pattern.

Sewing mostly knits, I've never really went from fitting a muslin to transferring the changes to the pattern pieces and on into the fashion fabric. It's quite daunting :) I'm just taking it nice & slow and tackling it one alteration at a time. 

I'll also be adding welt pockets to the outside.  This is something I've never tried before so I'm really excited to delve into something new! 

I'm still awaiting my fashion fabric & once I have that in hand, I plan on sending a swatch to zipperstop.com so they can send me the closest matching YKK zipper.

Grand Plans: The Minoru

I've loved the Minoru since the first time I saw it. When Tasia released it, I bought the pattern right away. And then I started planning on participating in the Sewalong. I traced my pattern and then...

I found out I was pregnant.

And that pretty much put a halt to any jacket sewing plans I may have had. Until now, that is.

I was planning on entering the Mini Wardrobe contest over on Pattern Review, but I have doubts that I'll be able to see it through the the finish & I'm pretty determined to keep my fabric stash down to a minimum. As in, muslin a pattern, buy the fabric, sew the fabric. Lather, rinse, repeat. No stashing. Anyway, I could see myself buying fabric for all 4 wardrobe pieces & only sewing 2 or whatever. And plus also, sewing a jacket will fulfill one of the goals I've had since I started sewing. So that's cool.

Anyway, when I initially traced my Minoru, I traced size 10; my measurements ranged from sizes 8-12. Now, my measurements are in the 4-8 range. So I'll have to retrace. I'll start out muslining the size 6. I made the Renfrew in size 8 & it was a bit on the too big side, so hopefully I'm on the right track.

For the outer fabric, I'll be picking up a purple cotton canvas.  And I've chosen a leopard print satin for the lining. I plan on including a flannel underlining for additional warmth & I'll add some sort of pocket on the outside, either side seam or patch; I'll decide once the muslin is all sewn up.