time to talk about the minoru! finally! for those of you who don’t follow (the… three of you? ever?), tasia of sewaholic patterns recently dropped her 4th pattern, a darling sporty jacket called the minoru. i was chosen to be a pattern tester (out of 600!! geez louise!), which was awesome, except for the part about dropping all my sewing fun-times for 2 weeks :). this was also during the dark month that my truck had died & i hadn’t replaced it yet… so i actually rode the bus to the fabric store. it took an hour (for maaaaybe a 14 mile drive?). that is some dedication, y’all!
anyway, a few of the pattern testers have already posted theirs, so i will follow suit and post mine.
i’d actually been toying with the idea of making a cycling jacket – something brightly colored, to increase visibility now that the sun is setting earlier & earlier. when i saw that the pattern we were testing was going to be a sporty jacket, it was like god himself had sent the pattern down to me from the heavens. i initially wanted to make my jacket in a bright yellow corduroy, but the fabric store was lacking (and i didn’t have the means to shop around), so i stuck with white. in retrospect, this was not the best idea i have ever had – it gets dirty faster (duh!), my patterned lining shows through, and it is hard as shit to photograph. btw, i think i took over 150 pictures of this jacket. it was that hard to photograph.
anyway, the pattern itself was a total breeze to work through! tasia has it labeled as intermediate, but i think an advanced beginner could easily tackle this. the instructions are great & the pieces lined up nicely! i did have to make a few changes to get the pattern to work for me – the big one was a full bust adjustment. since these patterns are for the pear-inclined, there is not a lot of room up there! i had a bit of trouble since this jacket doesn’t actually have any darts in the front, so i had to add my own dart & then slash and spread from there. i also shortened the jacket, as the original length overwhelmed my short frame.
one thing i wish i had done was interfaced the collar – it doesn’t call for it in the instructions, but it is also assumed that you are using a heavier fabric. my corduroy was very fine & lightweight (hence the see-thru), and my collar just flops. i considered interfacing it while i was making the thing up, but i wanted to stay as true to the pattern/directions as possible so i could offer better feedback. so there’s my feedback – use a sturdy fabric, or use interfacing!
anyway, i love my jacket and i love all the fun details that make it so special – the topstitching (btw – buy 2 spools of thread. you will need them!), the fine gathering, THAT ELASTIC WAISTBAND THAT IS BEAUTIFUL AND GENIUS (sorry, i got excited for a second there), the inside pockets, the collar. i will definitely make this again – in my preferred yellow, with an interfaced collar 🙂 and a hood. i think i missed out by not doing the hood.
anyway, pictures!
lovelovelove the back
i am including this picture bc it cracks me up. i was trying to show the lining & i sneezed!
pockets!
and some detail shots…
ALSO one last thing…
minoru & bike.
you jealous? 🙂
LLADYBIRD 
That is one cool jacket. I can’t wait to make mine!
You are brave to do white but it looks great on you!
I pre-ordered and have already bought my fabric. I am waffling about the size. I am a true pear, the sizing is perfect for me. As I read the finished dimensions, it sounds like a lot of ease. But, I’ve looked at all of the testers that I can find that have posted so far and it looks like the perfect amount of ease. My issue is: I want to do a button-out lining to push it into three seasons. Would you go up a size if you were to do that?
ah, that is a good question. i sewed mine up in a size 4, although next time around i may go down to a 2. i wanted this one to be roomy enough to allow for layers underneath. i would keep it true to your suggested size, unless you plan on wearing tons & tons of layers with it.
Thank you for the advice!
The lining is too die for! I love it!!
NICE. I’ve pre-ordered the pattern but still undecided about fabric. I really want a plaid jacket but Tasia said the pattern wasn’t suitable for plaids… do you have a sense of whether or not I could get away with it? I like your idea of corduroy in a fun solid color, too.
i really don’t think you can get away with a plaid – not for the outside, anyway. all those gathers! the plaid would never match (unless that doesn’t bother you lol. it bothers me, but i’m picky ;). you could always do a nice solid color & hide a plaid on the inside like molly did! maybe even make the collar & cuffs plaid. oooh.
would you think about doing a tutorial on how you did the fba? i want to try this pattern and am very busty myself, but i’m a beginner and have never tried to make either a fba or a jacket! yours looks great!
i actually thought about this while i was adjusting my pattern – there doesn’t seem to be a lot of info on how to do this online (a fba without an existing dart, i mean). so yes, i will totally post a tutorial, closer to the time of the jacket sew-along that tasia is hosting 🙂 it’s a *really* easy adjustment!
my favourite minoru yet! (but yeah, tbh the prospective fba is keeping me away from the pattern).
i’ve had a couple of people ask me if i’d be willing to post a tutorial on the dart-less fba, so i’m planning on it 🙂 watch out for that closer to the time of the sew-along. the fba is suuuper easy, don’t let it scare you!
FABULOUS jacket! I love that you made it in white–it’s very edgy and sporty at the same time. I just adore the gathers on the back and the big collar!!!
Is it a cotton corduroy? Perhaps you could dye it if you thought it might equate to more wear? It is a great casual jacket though! I also adore your bike, I have an old Raleigh that is going to get a spruce up come summer, I was thinking a shade of blue just a bit darker than yours!
Yep, I’m jealous!! It’s a gorgeous jacket and I love the colour (although it’d be grey in a week in my house, what with a toddler and all…). The lining is seven shades of amazing! I’m interested in how you do your dart-less FBA, I wonder if we use the same technique?
Cheeky question, does the lining / facing seam lend its self to being piped do you think? And thanks for the tip about two spools of thread!
probably! i used the bit outlined in “fit for real people,” which adds a dart (you can clearly see them in the flat-on-the-cutting-board photo).
are you talking about the side of the facing seam that connects with the lining? yes, i think that could be piped! but you might be asking the wrong person… i tend to pipe everything 😉
The white looks good and I love that lining! I’m really looking forward to making this. I’m thinking red!
Pretty! Great collar.
I LOVE it! It fits you really well- I love the color – love the lining. Great job!!!!
It’s really cute! I like it in white (and the plans for yellow) and I LOVE the matchy-matchy with the bike!
Exceedingly jealous young lady. Thanks for the pre-emptive tips on thread and interfacing. Loving your jazzy lining with the white – v. v. cute. Really looking forward to the sewalong now x
Your jacket looks really great on you! I get all your posts via e-mail so that I don’t miss any (some weeks I don’t get through the blogger dashboard much), I really love everything you’ve made!
I’m glad a bustier gal has made this up and showed the results. I have already pre-ordered mine, so I’m glad an FBA without a dart is possible. While the white may be hard to photograph, it looks great on you, especially seeing the fun lining you chose.
thank you! i am going to try to post a tutorial on adding a dart to make a FBA for this jacket, so check back for that during the sew-along in january 🙂
You know what? Tasia chose you wisely. Because I really had no interest in making this jacket until I saw this one. I really love it!
I love your Jacket. Great job! I think the white is nice, even though it might show the dirt a little. I have my pattern already, but am holding out for the sew along in January. Should give me time to finish some other sewing first!
Sorry, I didn’t mean for the above post to be anonymous!!
I love your Jacket. Great job! I think the white is nice, even though it might show the dirt a little. I have my pattern already, but am holding out for the sew along in January. Should give me time to finish some other sewing first!
i love this version! thanks for the tip on the interfacing in the collar. i think another tester also thought it needed interfacing. i’ll definitely remember that when i try the pattern.
Yes. Yes, I am jealous. Looove your bike too.
Nice job. And how cool being asked to test this pattern (like you said, out of 600 WOW, what a comp to your skills). I am psyching myself up for the making of my first Minoru. Sew excited here.
This is the second time I’ve read of a FBA. I was hoping I would not have to “go there”. But, as a “D” woman from reading your article I had better. Now to find out how to do one on the Minoru. Thus far I have only tackled a FBA for a princess seam.
Cheers,
Lyric
https://www.sewlyricallyvintage.wordpress.com