Sewaholic – Minoru Jacket

I don’t know if you all remember Sewaholic Patterns. When I first discovered the online sewing community, about 10 years ago, it was one of the first Indie Pattern companies out there, along with Colette Patterns. I learned so, so much from their blogs and pattern instructions and honestly, I miss those blogs!

The creative genius that started Sewaholic is Tasia Pona who, unfortunately for us, decided to take her professional life on a different path. The Pona Jacket from Helen’s Closet was named after her, and she is also one of the models for this pattern!
The Sewaholic Patterns are still available as pdf’s, though!!! They are specifically made with a pear-shaped figure in mind so they fit me really well.
A few of Sewaholic’s iconic patterns include the Renfrew Top, the Cambie Dress, the Robson Coat and the Minoru Jacket. (I have quite a few more in my collection and am still planning on getting around to making all of them.)

Today I want to show you my new Minoru Jacket. The Minoru is a pattern that came out in 2011, almost 10 years ago, but it still looks as fresh and modern as it did back then!

A few of my favourite versions from over the years are this waterproof version by Kim and this green version with some sheep fleece in the collar and hood by A Happy Stitch.

For me, this is my second version of this pattern. I made my first version back in 2015, in some grey boiled wool, and I still use that jacket today. It is, by far, still my favourite winter coat and without a doubt my most worn handmade piece of clothing ever…

PATTERN DESCRIPTION from the envelope

Weekend jacket features a wide collar, raglan sleeves and a flattering elastic waistline. Jacket is fully lined. Interior patch pockets have optional velcro closures. View A has a hidden hood inside the collar, View B has a regular stand collar.

2020 version

My new version of the Minoru Jacket is a summer version. I bought the outer fabric last year on a fabric trip to France. It is a coated cotton fabric, so while it is a little water repellent I don’t think it will be up for more than the occasional summer shower. This jacket is more thought up of as a windbreaker. The lining fabric came from my stash and is a delicious Birch Fabrics organic cotton with mermaids all over… I liked the idea of having some girls swimming above and below the water…

This time I also added the zipper to the collar to be able to tuck the hood away.

Changes made to the pattern

I didn’t change anything about the sizing or the shape of the pattern. I made a straight size 10 and it fits great! Also, I usually cut straight into my tissue paper patterns, so unless I buy the pdf-version of the Minoru Jacket, I only have size 10 available.

I did however change quite a bit of things in the details:

• I lined the hood and I made a little casing to thread an elastic through.
• I added a zipper guard. Originally I also wanted to do a little flap to go over the zipper on the outside with some snaps, but I didn’t have enough fabric for that. Instead I went with only the zipper guard on the inside of the jacket.
• I added 6cm to the length of the interior pockets and installed a little metallic snap instead of velcro. I cracked the screen on my phone when it fell from the interior pocket of my previous version and I was not about to let that happen again… I also made 2 interior pockets instead of just 1.
• I added exterior pockets. I had the idea to make patch pockets with a flap but, again, I didn’t have enough fabric to make that a reality. Instead I went with welt zipper pockets, without flaps, to give the jacket a little retro vibe. The pocket lining is made out of pink stretch mesh that I had lying around. The pocket linings are secured in place in the front facing and in the hem.
• I omitted the elastic in the sleeve cuffs and resized the pattern piece so there wouldn’t be any gathers.
• I added a lining to the collar.

Lining and elastic casing for the hood

The great thing about the hood of the Minoru Jacket is that it is huge! I can wear my hair in a messy bun and I can still wear that hood comfortably. My winter version even gets worn with a hat with a pompom on it…

For this version I decided I wanted the clean look of a lined hood, and with the option of tightening the hood so it doesn’t blow off.

To make the lining and the casing for the elastic for the hood, I just cut the pattern pieces from the lining fabric and then traced a facing for the lining from my exterior fabric. This facing was cut 9cm wide and runs parallel to the outer edge of the hood. I folded the visible edge under 1,5cm and glued it temporarily in place. The outside edge of the facing was lined up with the outer edge of the hood lining and basted in place.
I sewed the 2 hood lining pieces together and put the eyelets in through the lining and the facing.

Next, I attached the outer hood to the lining, stitching at 2,5cm (the pattern tells you to fold the edge at 2,5cm, fold it under again and then stitch in place) seam allowance.
Sewing the tunnel was next. For this, I sewed close to the edge of the facing of the hood, through all 3 layers of fabric and then 1,5cm from this line, creating a casing.
I then proceeded to thread my elastic through the casing, positioning the adjusters and basting the elastic to the lower edge of the hood.

Zipper guard

The zipper guard is made of lining fabric, although you can just as easily make it from your exterior fabric. The zipper guard is a rectangle of 8cm wide and 4cm shorter than the zipper placket. I interfaced the zipper guard and quilted a diamond shape pattern. I am a pretty lousy quilter because my lines are not at all parallel to each other…

Interior pockets

Not much mystery to the adjustments made to the interior pockets. I added 6cm length and then I positioned the upper edge where it is marked on the pattern. Adding a snap with my pliers was a breeze. I did interface the lining and the pocket edge where the snap was going to go.

Exterior pockets

I based the placement of my exterior pockets on another jacket of mine. My pocket openings are 18cm long. First I sewed the opening of the pocket in my exterior fabric, opened up the welt and finger pressed the raw edges towards the back of the fabric. The zipper was sewn in next. I then made the exact same opening in my mesh pocket lining fabric and glued the raw edges towards the back as well. I then very carefully glued the pocket lining in place over the zipper and stitched in place, painstakingly following the stitching line of my zipper installment.

When I write it down here, it seams pretty straightforward and easy, but this took me about a full sewing day… I didn’t do anything else on my jacket that day…

Sleeve cuffs

I absolutely hate elastic in sleeve cuffs. I just cannot stand it! So for my Summer Minoru, I repeated my adjustment from my Winter Minoru. I measured the circumference of the sleeve and adjusted the length of the cuff piece. I like the width of the cuffs. They are snug but not tight.

Collar lining

Now honestly, if you are not a perfectionist sewist, this is totally unnecessary. But as I was constructing the jacket, I thought it would be a pity if the collar was the *only* part of the jacket that remained unlined, so I cut the pattern pieces of the outer collar from the lining and installed it. Like I said, totally unnecessary, because no-one is ever going to notice, but I know it is there… 😉

In short, I love this jacket!

The elasticated waist gives some nice shaping, the hood is fenomenal, I love the detail that you can hide the hood in the collar and the length is perfect.

I believe truly amazing patterns are those that stand the test of time, and the Sewaholic Minoru Jacket is definitely one of those. I’ll probably make another one 5 years from now…

Details

Pattern	Sewaholic Patterns – Minoru Jacket
Fabric	Coated cotton fabric from Mondial Tissus in Biarritz Organic cotton Mermaid fabric from Birch Fabrics from my stash
Notions	one 80cm zipper two 20cm zippers one 50cm zipper round elastic two rose gold elastic adjusters two metal snaps interfacing