Since the Pona Jacket was released by Helen’s Closet I have the pona jacket on that famous to do list. 
This year, so far I’ve really exceeded myself with makes. Goodness knows where this new found confidence has came from but I’m holding it on with all my might. 
I choose this black wool because I wanted something that could mix with the rest of my wardrobe. 
The wool is a mix with some polyester/acrylic but it feels nice to the touch and it was easy to work with. It’s also marked as some sort of dead-stock which is pleasing. 
Even though I new I was going to line this pona because of the wool content, I serged the edges to stop it from fraying as wool has a tendency to do this. If you haven’t got a serger/overlocker then you can Zig Zag Stitch the edges to stop them from fraying. 
For all my stitching including top-stitching I used a black Gutermann thread. 
With Helen’s Closet patterns, I’ve found the instructions to be really easy to read and follow. The sizing goes up to Uk 30, which is a good start for size inclusivity. 
The only part that confused me, was attaching the front facing to the front piece. I looked at a sew-along by sewing therapy on you tube which I found helpful. 
Attaching the lining wasn’t bad either. This is a hack and Helen has done a blog post on how to do it, which you can find over on her website under “Hacks”. Well that’s until I got to birthing an noticed I stitched the lining facing too far and attached it to the back lining - argh. Unpicking was done and then it was restitched and re-birthed! There’s something quite magical about birthing a jacket! 
Although the wool blend is from Minerva, the lining is not. I got it from a local fabric shop in their sale section. 
I love a bit of personalisation in my garments so naturally I added a couple of labels - 1st ond being at the side of one of the pockets - “You can’t buy this” from Kylie and the Machine. I couldn’t resist put two on the inside at the neck facing. “You Got This” is from This is For Makers and “You Do You” from Little Rosy Cheeks which unintentionally match each other and the coat itself.
The wool pressed really nicely, especially when I used my wooden clapper. 
Instead of waiting until the end to add the pockets I added them at the beginning around step 2. The reason for this being is that I’d did want to get to the end and sew through the main coat and lining to attach the pockets. I wanted a clean finish on the inside. 
The pona jacket is naturally left open but if at later date I can add a couple of buttons or maybe not ... gosh I really don’t know! 
I’m definitely planning on a couple more Pona’s because, why not! This pattern has definitely got versatility written all over it. I have a faux suede and a checkered wool that I’ve been procrastinating about which had been tucked away in my stash, so may use them. Plus there’s a piece of linen that has Pona on it.