This jacket has been on my ‘to make’ list since this pattern was released in 2019. I sincerely wish I had made it sooner because—my goodness—what a fun sew this was! I want to walk you through sewing with boiled wool today and show you how I changed the construction of Pona in order to sew overlapping seams.
I used Boiled Wool from Blackbird Fabrics. This particular one is quite beefy and has some serious weight to it. I actually ended up doing a really deep hem on this Pona Jacket because of that extra weight pulling the jacket allllll the way to the ground. I didn’t want to be dragging this gorgeous wool through our muddy, wet snow here in BC, so I just shortened the jacket.
Here are the changes I made to the Pona Jacket pattern:
- Lengthened front, back, and front facings 22″.
- Tapered the arms in 1″ at the wrist for a tighter fit.
- Added a center-back seam and a kick pleat.
- I skipped the interfacing on the neck facing and collar.
I decided to sew overlapped seams with this fabric because boiled wool does not fray and I love the way it looks when it is sewn like this. I first encountered this on my Tessuti Berlin Jacket. These seams almost look inside out!
Top tip for sewing overlapping seams: Do not clip notches! These will show on the final garment. Mark notches with chalk or other marking tool.
The most challenging thing about sewing overlapped seams is that you can’t see your seam allowance markings. I used lots of pins and sewed slow, with the side I wanted looking nice and neat facing up. The undersides of the seams are a little wobbly but that’s ok! I could trim them down but I won’t— I embrace the wobbles.
The other big challenge is what order to sew in. It all depends where you want the overlaps to sit. I thought this through as I went along, and I did unpick a couple of times to do things in a different order—it was like a mini design challenge!
One of my favourite features of this garment is the pocket placement. I decided to sew the front facing and back neck facing on the exterior of the coat to highlight these cool shapes. In doing so, I realized I could sandwich the pocket in between the facing and the side seam so I overlapped them accordingly. I actually trimmed some width off of my facing to make this gap larger so I could fit a good sized pocket in there.
Another feature I really like about this jacket is the little kick pleat I added to the back. I just made this up as I went along – cutting a little wedge extra at the bottom and then folding it onto the jacket to make this shape. It was supposed to be longer and it would have been if the jacket hadn’t gotten so weighed down by itself (to the point where I had to hem it 6″ shorter than I intended). Oh well—lesson learned!
You’ll notice that the collar and lapels also have raw edges and the collar is sandwiched in between the facings (now on the outside of the garment) and the body of the jacket. All of these layers together were hard to sew, I won’t lie. Basting stitches are your friend here! Baste by hand for extra control. Once you get things in place, then you can hit the machine.
The way the seams overlap is up to you! I like my back seams overlapping onto the front of the garment, but it’s just as good the other way. I chose to put my sleeve on top of the jacket, but you can put it underneath, too! The fun part of boiled wool and overlapping seams is how creative the process is.
Here is the order I sewed in:
- Sew center back seam and kick pleat.
- Sew body shoulder seams with overlap to the front.
- Sew top of the pockets with overlap on top.
- Baste pockets in place along jacket side front seams.
- Sew bottom of pockets to jacket front.
- Sew facing shoulder seams with overlap to the front.
- Sew collars together.
- Baste collar to jacket body with overlap on top.
- Sew facings on top of jacket body, collar, and pocket.
- Sew sleeves to jacket with overlap on top.
- Sew side seams with overlap to the front.
- Sew sleeve cuff with overlap to the inside (this will be on the outside when cuffed).
- Fold up the hem as much as you like to the right side and topstitch.
I didn’t add any waist tie to this jacket because I thought it might make it look a bit like a bathrobe. I do think a boiled wool waist tie would work great though, and you can find that tutorial here.
This jacket feels so luxurious and special. I love the light grey colour and it feels amazing to wear. It’s heavy and long and I think it makes me look very cool, haha. Due to its length, I don’t think ill be wearing it on long walks in the woods with the dog, but I do plan to wear it on special occasions or even just shopping at the grocery store!
Thanks for checking out this make! Happy sewing!
Helen
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42 Comments on “Lengthened Boiled Wool Pona Jacket”
I love the length of this but am not sure how you calculate how much extra fabric you’d need to make it this length? I live in fear (!) of under ordering the right amount of fabric!!
I like to look at the cutting layouts for my size to calculate this! If I am lengthening the jacket by 22″, I need to get at least that much extra, and possibly double or triple that if I can’t fit the pieces in side-by-side.
Hi Helen, what a fabulous jacket! I love the look of the overlapped seams. I was just wondering if this hack would also work with a wool melton?
Thanks Jane! Yes this process will work for melton too! Great idea.
I absolutely love this, can I ask when lengthing are you going straight down? So no extra width? I want to spend time and invest in this coat to love it for years great pics ❤️
Hi Susi! Yes, I lengthened straight down from the hem for this one!
yes, you do look cool! the seams! the length! the pleat! i always look forward to your mods and hacks.
Thank you!!
BRB off to check if I have enough coating to do this! Looks amazing and warm 🙂
Yay! I hope you have enough!
That is a really beautiful coat! I especially like the deep hem at the bottom and raw edges. Thank you for the post explaining what you did and why.
Thank you for checking it out!
Love, love your new version! It’s the best and you look great in it. Definitely the one that inspires me to make it.
Thanks so much!
Gorgeous!!! Love seeing all of your hacks for each of your patterns. Really opens my mind to using any pattern to create multiple looks with fairly simple alterations.
Thank you! I love hearing that!
What were seam allowances? Did you trim seam allowances before overlap sewing or sew and then trim? Thinking if 5/8 would be easier to overlap if i trimmed each seam edge to 1/4″ seam allowance before overlapping and sewing.
Great question Donna! I actually did not alter the seam allowances so this version ended up a little bit larger overall. Since it is oversized, I don’t mind. If you want to trim them down to 1/4″ to keep the pattern ease as-designed, that works too!
Love this hack, it doesn’t look heavy at all. Is it step #9 That gave the look of a yoke on the back of this coat? Placing the facing on the outside of the coat?
Hi Linda,
Yes, exactly! I also added a center back seam so I could have a kick pleat. There is a back neck facing included with the pattern and I sewed it on the outside to get that cool effect.
Is the center back seam under the back facing as well? I may try this but piece the shape out of the back so the back seam ends at the ‘yoke’. I love the lapped seams. I have been wanting to do this with wool for some time. It seams as if this particular version, with no curved seams, would make it a great candidate for lapped seams!
Hi Linda! The back seam does go under the yoke/back facing, yes! You could totally piece it together instead so there are fewer layers there 🙂
This is definitely fabulous!
To be honest, I didn’t give the pattern much attention when it was released. But it’s fantastic what you did with it. I’m very inspired. It’s so muc more special than the original. It’s on my wish list now.
Thanks Susan!
This is exactly the look I have been wanting. I am thinking of doing it in denim. Look out for the picture 🙂
I can’t wait!
I always use my walking foot when sewing overlapped seams. It is easier to keep it straight. It rakes a bit of time to master it. Your coat looks fabulous. I am in New Zealand and im going to make it. I cany wait.
That is a great tip Julie! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Helen!
Since I’ve discovered your website I’ve bought a few pattern that I can’t wait to sew.
I really love the this long Pona jacket.
I bought a nice knit fabric and make a mid-length jacket with it.
I really like what you do.
Waiting for the next pattern 😉
Hi Nathalie! Thank you so much for following along and purchasing our patterns! I can’t wait to see what you sew!
Hi Helen!
I’am about to begin sewing the Pona jacket but I was just wondering if the length of the sleeves of the view A jacket is wrist length or under mid forearm length? I like long sleeves on my jackets…
Thank you for uour answer
Hi Nathalie!
The longer Pona sleeve is just shy of the wrist, so you may want to lengthen it a little!
I would love to make a Pona jacket out of boiled wool. What are your thought about lining a jacket like this ? Would you bother and what would you use? Would it be overkill (I live in the same coastal climate as you)?
Hi Michelle,
Great question! I usually do not line my boiled wool projects because I like the look unlined, but you can line them using similar fabrics that you would with other wool. Rayon Bemberg would be my first choice.
It’s a beautiful coat! I’m inspired! And I love your boots. Could you tell me what brand snd style? They’re exactly what I’m looking for.
Thanks Lisa!
These boots are from Little Burgundy and they are the house brand.
I LOVE this! Between this and the lining hack for the pona jacket, I’m hoping to have an awesome winter coat! I’m unsure about how much interfacing I should be doing though. Any suggestions?
Great question! I did not do any interfacing for this. I just let the boiled wool be 🙂
Wow what an awesome coat! I love the length. I’ve always wanted a boiled wool coat but LOL where would I wear it? I live in Hawaii. Although the fact is when the thermometer gets down to 68° F we are all freezing!
If you added buttons, would it be single or double breasted?
It would be double 🙂