Ummm, so my name is Beck and in case you don’t already know this about me, I’m a total Closet Case Patterns fan girl. See, here’s proof!

Which makes it not surprising that I felt the need to jump onto Closet Case’s latest pattern, the Sienna Maker Jacket, the moment it was released!

This pattern actually came along at an opportune moment for me.

Sewing for mental health

Here’s a bit of real talk.

I work full-time in a stressful job. I have a 4 year-old who, thankfully, is wonderful and healthy and happy but also very time-consuming! Apart from my lovely hubby, I live on the opposite side of the world from my immediate family. And sometimes I get overwhelmed by it all.

Sewing is a major coping mechanism for me. It calms me. It allows me to concentrate on something that is, well, frankly, all about me. It lets me recharge my batteries in peace, surrounded by textures and textiles and objects which are extraordinarily beautiful to me.

The day the Sienna Maker Jacket was released, I had finished the afternoon sobbing in my boss’s office as I told him that I felt that I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t take a few days off.

Not my finest moment but, actually, you know what, f*@k it. Sometimes I get so stressed that I cry at work. I’ve been sufficiently conditioned to feel embarrassed by this but, you know what, it doesn’t mean I’m not good at my job.

Anyway, I digress…

So when the Sienna Maker Jacket was released, I felt like, “that’s what I need”. A nice substantial sewing project to really sink my teeth into for a few days of sewing immersion.

And so that is what I did.

My Sienna Maker Jacket

Seeing the Sienna Maker Jacket also sent me down a bit of a chore jacket Pinterest spiral, in case you’re in the mood to join me in a rabbit hole…

I already had this denim in my stash.

It’s a relatively lightweight cotton/linen blend denim that I purchased in person at New Craft House when I was there for the Jeans Sewing Workshop this summer. Yes, linen and denim in the same fabric. How dreamy!!!

The fabric makes a great partner for the Sienna Maker Jacket – it really is not too heavy, but not too light. The denim has a rather distinctive variegated, almost linear, pattern on it. I have played with this by placing the pockets in a contrasting direction.

It’s the maker mash!!

I wanted my Sienna Maker Jacket to be something of a view B and view C mash up.

Here’s what I ended up doing.

I’ve used the basic shaping and pattern pieces of view B, including the waist shaping and THOSE POCKETS! I’ve shortened my Sienna Maker Jacket, 6 centimetres from the length of view B, which still makes it considerably longer than the more cropped view C. From view C, however, I have taken the button front, rather than the tie belt. I also added in a tad more room around the hip, after comparing the view B to view C pieces.

I have also, obviously, used the sleeves with pockets from view C. Because, SLEEVES WITH POCKETS!!!

No idea what I will ever use them before, but I couldn’t say no to trying out a new type of pocket. (BTW, when I first saw Closet Case’s sneak peek photos of the Sienna Maker Jacket I thought that the sleeve pocket may have been a detachable sleeve and the idea of making a version with a detachable sleeve is still bouncing around in my head!! It really wouldn’t be that hard)

Doing all of this sew-mashing meant that I did basically have to assemble both views B and view C of the pattern (which I even did in PDF since I was in “unplanned emergency mental health sewing mode”)!

Which took a while!!

Then I basically played a bit of pattern jigsaw with the view B and view C pattern pieces until I had what I wanted!

I added in the internal chest pocket from views A and B and skipped any kind of vent or placket at the back. It wasn’t necessary for this length

An unexpected benefit of my mash up was that, as I went through the pattern instructions, I kept finding myself unexpectedly able to skip the slightly tricky steps in the instructions. Bound hole for feeding through the belt – don’t need that. Button placket vent – don’t need that in my version! Finding a d-ring – not for me!!!

My styling choices actually made this a pretty quick sew!

Sizing my Sienna Maker Jacket

My Sienna Maker Jacket is a straight size 14 throughout. As I definitely wanted to be able to wear a sweater underneath, I exceptionally took my body measurements wearing a light sweater, which put me squarely in the size 14 of the size 0-20 range.

BTW, yeah to Closet Case releasing the Sienna Maker Jacket as their first pattern in a more inclusive size range! My size means that I can fall into both the 0-20 size range and the new 14-30 range (when you purchase the PDF pattern, you get access to both). Since the larger size range is drafted for a larger bust than mine and since I have always found Closet Case to be a good fit for me, I stuck with the 0-20 size range.

The one area where sometimes I have to modify Closet Case patterns is my upper arms, where I have needed a full bicep adjustment on a few patterns. Fortunately, it wasn’t actually necessary here and I find my Sienna Maker Jacket, without modification, sufficiently roomy in the upper arms, even with a layer underneath.

Sewing breeze

I found this a pretty easy and accessible sew which actually came together pretty quickly.

It included some techniques that I hadn’t used before, such as the under collar piece being cut on the bias, as well as the collar construction technique in general being different from the one I would most commonly use. But all of it came together well.

The one step where it really didn’t feel like I was doing things correctly was placing the facing over the internal breast pocket. The internal breast pocket piece is really large and you actually end up making it smaller because you have to sew the facing over the top of the inner pocket. The instructions make it pretty clear that ‘yes, you’re supposed to do this’ (confession, I still have like a 2% doubt as to whether I have misunderstood something here!!), but I was left a bit bamboozled as to why.

My best guess is that if they made the internal pocket smaller so that it fitted without any overlap with the facing, the shape of the stitching visible from the right side would be odd? So it’s likely a cosmetic choice, as well as one which makes a strategic determination as to the best place for the bulk of pocket edge to end up?

Anyway, despite me being a tad confused here, this inner pocket is one of my favourite things about the jacket. I feel like Inspector Gadget!

Quick tip here. Unless you add in a lining, where you stitch the internal pocket in place is going to be visible from the outside. I found that a great way to make my stitch line blend in as much as possible was to attach the pocket to the jacket using a bobbin thread which matches the colour of the right side of my denim and an upper thread which matches the colour of the inside of my denim.

I reckon you can really only see the stitch line if you know it’s there. What do you think?

I find, in general, that matching top-stitching thread to the wrong side of your denim, where possible, can be a good way to get a nice coordinating, yet contrast, colour.

It was also quite fun to use some of the generic skills I honed sewing the Jasika Blazer earlier this year while putting together this Sienna Maker Jacket. Things like pressing technique, the importance of precision in sewing a notched collar and top-stitching tips all came bubbling up to the surface of my mind.

It’s always fun to realise that you’ve actually been learning stuff over the course of your sewing projects!

Other tips and tidbits

Of course, sometimes the most fun part of a project is making it your own.

Most of all, I thought that my Sienna Maker Jacket should reflect the making practice which sustains me, so I included this lovely top-stitched sewing machine which makes me smile every time I see it.

On the marketing photos, I really loved the look of the Sienna Maker Jacket with rolled up cuffs, so I decided to add in a little sleeve cuff tab, to really emphasise the roll. I used the pattern piece from the Fairfield Button Up, just to make sure I got the proportions reasonable.

I love this detail, although the length looks best with nothing underneath. When I have a sweater underneath, it looks a bit silly rolled up. If I want it permanently rolled, I may have been better off lengthening the sleeve by an inch or so, in retrospect.

I also added in a small strip of interfacing at the top of each of my pockets as I’m quite afraid of denim pockets stretching out over time. We’ll see how that goes!

Sienna Maker Jacket: Verdict

I have been wearing this Sienna Maker Jacket pretty much non-stop since I finished it. From cover-up running to yoga class to proper wear, I find it extremely chic and practical. Not sure if this will make much sense, but I feel rather fashion-y when I wear it!

I also enjoy the fact that, with so many roomy pockets, including the very secure internal one, I feel that I can actual venture outside without a bag. Which is a wonderful kind of liberation. It’s really nice to have two entire hands free to deal with whatever life might throw at me! (These phrase bring to mind the mental image of me karate chopping a dragon that jumps out from a rubbish bin. Don’t ask me why….)

Spending a couple of days immersing myself in sewing this Sienna Maker Jacket also really brought me back to, well, me. It helped me find my calm and focus and gave me a sense of balance which I hope will help me get through to the end of the year.

So this jacket represents my making practice, a passion that drives me and a sense of inner peace. You try finding that in a RTW garment!!!!

Oh and, finally, a little P.S! If you like to get your blog hits through Bloglovin’, feel free to follow me over there: you can find me here. And you can find me on Instagram here.