Latest Minerva Project – Sewing Faux Leather

My latest Minerva project – sewing faux leather was challenging but fun to work on. There’s a lot to keep in mind when using this fabric, so that’s some of what I want to touch on in this post. I was gifted the Minerva faux leather as a Minerva brand ambassador.

Here is the post I wrote for the Minerva website.

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The Fabric

The name of this fabric is Minerva Core Range Soft Supple Stretch Faux Leather. You can check it out here. It really is soft and supple and there is enough stretch to make your garments very comfortable.

Minerva faux leather in Cornflower blue

This is a fabric I didn’t prewash like I do for every other one. Shrinkage of faux leather shouldn’t be an issue. Machine washing in cold water, then hanging to dry should work well to care for the garment.

The Pattern

BurdaStyle magazine 03/2019 #107

Above is a picture of the pattern I used for the jacket. It’s a biker jacket from 2019. I find that BurdaStyle magazine patterns are trendy but often timeless. That’s a good thing, because it can be quite an undertaking to trace the patterns from the pattern sheets in order to sew them up! This faux leather jacket is actually the second time I’ve used this pattern. Here is the post I wrote back in 2019.

Sewing Faux Leather

For the actual construction of the garment, I used a #12 jersey needle. Although some say to use a jean needle, I felt that this would be too large a hole in the fabric. The jersey needle worked out great! Sewing this is not like going through denim. The stitch length I used most often is 3.0, then topstitching was done at 3.5-4.0 stitch length.

I used a 1/2″ seam allowance which gave me more room and was what I needed (even though I allowed for 5/8″ seam allowance in my pattern). I added a FBA (full bust adjustment) in the muslin I had made for the previous jacket. I’m glad I saved that, which made making this latest Minerva project sewing faux leather much easier.

Clips are great for holding the fabric pieces together. Not putting too many pin holes in the garment is important.

I made the lining from two remnant pieces I had on hand. Having something fun inside a coat or jacket can really brighten your day.

Overall

Sewing faux leather is easy. You just have to keep a few things in mind. The only downside is that you won’t get a nice, crisp pressed garment. But you certainly get get an awesome garment!

Transforming A Pattern To Suit My Style

It’s hot here. So while the weather is still warm, I decided to make more shorts. For this particular pair, I’m transforming a pattern to suit my style. And I hope to explain how you can do the same for yourself as well. Burda Style 6812 has become a favorite of mine, and that’s what I used for these.

BurdaStyle 6812 transforming to suit my style

Transforming The Pattern

As you can see in the photo above, the pattern has pleats in the front. Personally, I am not a fan of that look on me. So, I incorporated the pleats into the pattern, traced it and cut it out. This way, I haven’t changed the size of the pattern, I’ve only eliminated the pleats.

This small change gives me the look I want. I get flat-front shorts or pants, and then I can make any other necessary alterations for fit.

Transforming BurdaStyle 6812 pattern front to suit my style

Here’s an earlier blog post I wrote using the same pattern to get the same results.

My Shorts

I used a stretch cotton twill in navy for mine. Here is a similar fabric if you’re interested.

The only other change I needed to make is actually my usual for pants/shorts fitting. I did a scoop adjustment on these for the back piece as a full seat adjustment. This change really works well, at least for me.

So that’s it. That’s how I go about transforming a pattern to suit my style! At least, in this case. Incorporating the pleats into the front gives me that flat-front look and style I like.

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