The Sanda Jacket by Merchant & Mills
- February 22, 2024
- 8:32 pm
The last Intermediate rated jacket/coat sewing pattern by Merchant & Mills I made felt a bit like a marathon. So in preparation for the Sanda, I took time to get in the zone before starting, oiled the machine, cleaned out all the lint, and put on a new needle. I was going to take it slow and steady. I did feel a bit like some kind of elite sewing-althete there for a moment.
I needn’t have bothered, the Sanda was a doddle compared to the wonderfully detailed Denham! Don’t get me wrong I love my Denham but there were some very fiddly bits that took some brainpower. The Sanda has none of that, it’s the ultimate boxy jacket with a few standout details that take it out of the ordinary.
In terms of an intermediate pattern, and especially if you make the unlined version, it is solidly on the beginner side of intermediate. The choice of a rolled collar makes construction so easy. There is surprisingly little effort needed to get it aligned and stitched on tidily. The dropped sleeve means no easing in, unless you make the lined version, but even then it all seems to go smoothly. There is a fair amount of hand-stitching involved if you are making the lined version, so settle in with something good on Netflix and for the evening.
Now I’ve made the jacket I am really itching to make a nice winter wool version. This is the kind of pattern you feel comfortable using your really good fabric on.
Fabric choice
Fit
I’m almost always a size 12 in Merchant & Mills sizing and decided to make the 10 for this one after seeing the completed garment measurements and knowing I was going to be using the most rigid of rigid denims I didn’t want too much excess fabric hanging around. Given it’s on the more cropped side, the waist and hip measurements aren’t so vital here, so based on bust alone I sized down and its still got plenty of room to wear something underneath.
Possibly in the coat version with a lighter and more fluid fabric I’d stick to the original size as it is meant to be a oversized coat.
Sleeve-wise, this one instructs you to hem the sleeves before attaching so you don’t know until it’s too late if they are too long. I highly recommend spending a bit of time measuring up the sleeve before you hem it and if you usually have to shorten arms, you’re going to need to with this one. I didn’t, but I will next time.
