For my last make of 2022, I knew that I wanted something that was warm, cozy and quick. The weather lately has been unbearably cold, to the point where my outdoor pipes froze. It sucks and I’m over winter even though it’s only been winter for about a week. In addition to this horrible weather, I recently adopted an adorable 6-month-old puppy that I’ve named Bibi. Needless to say, my sewing mojo has been seriously low and all I want to do after a long day is play with Bibi and sleep. Minerva came to save the day with new sewing kits! I received the Style Arc Besharl Jacket kit with this chunky sweater knit in Army Green. I’d never made a Style Arc pattern before, but the pieces were pretty self-explanatory, and I was able to finish this jacket in an afternoon. It’s the perfect kit for those wanting to make something cute and wearable but are short on time.
As an intermediate to wannabe advanced sewist, I had certainly heard of Style Arc Patterns before. But whenever I scanned their website, nothing really jumped out to me as something I needed to make. I’m really glad I received this kit from Minerva, otherwise I don’t think I would’ve ever tried this pattern brand. The instructions are simple and straightforward, but might lack the explanations a beginner sewist would need. Also, one of the instructions wanted me to go look up a tutorial and I wasn’t going to do that. I think it’s fine if instructions lead you online for additional resources, but not for primary instructions. As I mentioned before, this pattern was a quick make, but there was one issue that I found really annoying. Because the pockets sit so low on this jacket, the pocket bags hang below the hem. They kind of look like floppy dog ears. To fix this, I used a few stitches to sew the pockets’ seam allowance to the inside of the jacket front. This lifts the pocket bags up and anchors them in place.
The fabric I received with this Minerva kit was top notch! I used the Minerva Core Range Chunky Cotton Sweater Knit Stretch fabric in Army, but if green isn’t your thing, there are 27 other colors to choose from. It’s a thick and heavy fabric, but it feels really good against my skin. It sewed up in my sewing machine and serger with ease and I had no snags or pulling. It softened a little after laundering and I’m looking forward to seeing how cozy and cuddly continued laundering makes it. The color didn’t fade, and I haven’t experienced any of that annoying pilling that often happens with sweaters. The Gutermann thread I received in the kit matched my fabric perfectly, which is one of the many ways these kits are so convenient. It can often be hard to find matching thread online due to differences in computer settings. But thanks to Minerva, everything you need comes in one perfect kit. Can’t get better than that!
