FO: Mega Minoru

This project was bouncing around in my head for a few months before I was finally able to start it. I made a lightweight Minoru last year, and ever since I have wanted a wintery version with "extras."

I left out most of the elastic at the waist, and just used a few inches of 1/4" elastic to cinch in the center back.  Then I covered it up with a tab and buttons.  Who doesn't love covered buttons??? I also added a fixed hood, instead of the convertible collar/hood in the pattern. I altered the pattern hood to be a 3 piece, which fits my head better, and attached it by treating it like the collar in the instructions.

I narrowed the neckline slightly, since the one on my first Minoru has always felt a little wide to me, and added a placket behind the zipper for comfort. Rocket Sews describes how to add one here. This keeps the top of the zipper from rubbing my chin, and keeps the cold metal zipper off of my skin.  And it looks fancy.

I never ever use the inside pocket of my other Minoru, so I added welt pockets to this one using the Colette tutorial for the Anise Jacket here.  I'm so proud of these! And I also put in knit cuffs, instead of the elastic in the original pattern.  This was a fun way to combine knitting and sewing.  Most cuffs are a double layer, with the fold at the edge.  I didn't want that much bulk, so I re-created the folded-edge look with a tubular cast-on.  
I used flannel for the lining, which makes it nice and cozy.  The sleeves are lined in VERY pink rayon with a flannel under(inter?)lining to make the jacket easier to get on and off.  AND the flannel lining...

...has WHALES on it!!! Only on the back and in the pockets, because I knew that the front lining would show when the jacket was open, and I wanted to wear this to work.  While I think the whales are awesome, they don't exactly scream "professional."

The main fabric is a lightweight wool coating from Fashion Fabrics Club that I got for Christmas (thanks, Mom!).  It is very loosely woven, so I interfaced the whole jacket with a fusible tricot for stability and longevity.  This also added a little heft to the fabric, which is nice.  This also lead to my only gripe about this jacket - despite my best efforts, there are a couple of small spots where the interfacing did not want to fuse.  I'm using the good stuff (from Fashion Sewing Supply), and I've read about people interfacing some coat parts with tricot, so I'm not sure where I went wrong.  Hopefully it doesn't get worse and bubble all over.  I'll be dry cleaning, so that should help.  Right???
Other than that, I'm thrilled!  I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it.

QUICK FACTS:
Fabric: Wool from Fashion Fabrics Club, flannel from Fabric Frantic on Etsy, rayon lining from Mood.
Pattern: Sewaholic Minoru
Modifications: "Extras" above, plus the same size modifications as last time.  I also slimmed it down at the hips a little more than before.