Lynda Maynard’s RTW Sienna Maker Jacket class

I had heard some good things about Lynda Maynard’s online courses, in particular through Geri Berman, whose blog and Instagram account I subscribe to. I saw that one of the courses being offered was the Sienna Maker Jacket by Closet Core Patterns, which had been on my list of things to sew for some time, waiting for me to gather more experience. It seemed very advanced for me relative to my projects so far but I thought it was a great opportunity to learn. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Sienna Maker Jacket by Closet Core Patterns in Merchant & Mills 12oz organic cotton sanded twill in ecru on a mannequin

I initially felt a bit out of my depth, knowing that everyone else was much more experienced than me, but Lynda was great at including every student in the discussions and making sure everyone’s questions were answered. She also responded well in email if I had a query between classes. The general atmosphere of the classes was friendly and supportive, and I never felt like I was holding everyone up, or asking too basic a question.

This post is a review of the class, you can read my review of the jacket pattern itself here.

Collage of photos of Sienna Maker Jacket by Closet Core Patterns in Merchant & Mills 12oz organic cotton sanded twill in ecru on a young Asian female, with details of the belt fastened in D-rings, the Hong Kong binding on the back facing, and topstitching on the collar and back

Course preparation

It is recommended that you have fitted a toile before the course starts as it is structured around the construction of the jacket and not the fitting. Prior to the course, Lynda sent out an information pack about preparing fabric and notions, and some fitting advice. However, she did cover a full bust adjustment and rounded back adjustments in the first class as several people wanted advice on these. I put together a separate post on how I fit my jacket. The photo below shows the before and after shots of my neckline gaping.

Before and after views of front neckline gaping on a calico toile of the Sienna Maker Jacket

There are three views to the pattern. Views A and B are essentially the same but different lengths. View C is a different design so has slightly different construction. I decided on the longer view A, and Lynda covers the relevant steps for all views.

Line drawings of all three views of the Sienna Maker Jacket by Closet Core Patterns

Course structure

The course took place over eight weeks, and since they were held in the US at 10 am PST, I was still able to make the live classes at 6 pm UK time. Each week there was a 1.5 hour live Zoom call with Lynda and our class (around 12 of us), where we would catch up on everyone’s progress and any difficulties or questions they had. Lynda would then introduce the next stages of construction and play a YouTube instructional video she had made. We would usually watch three of these short videos in each class and there was plenty of time for questions.