Hapi Coat Pattern . . . Sorta

Dear Beginning Knitter, and those of you who asked so nicely for a pattern for the Hapi Coat.
I found this nearly-the-same-diagram in my Knit Sweaters the Easy Way book.

The diagram is for the sweater on the cover.
If I were going to make this sweater, or the Hapi Coat for example, I would have to determine
1. what yarn I would use
2. what needles I would use
3. what gauge, or stitch per inch that combo would make.
3a. what stitch design I want to use
4. what size my body is.

So when you so nicely asked me to write up a pattern, I think, there are so many choices and then I think it is TIME YOU LEARNED HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PATTERN.
You will always remain a beginner until you take the leap and make a gauge swatch and follow the diagram...it is so not difficult. And with yarn, it is so easy to undo it all and start over. Even those of us who have been knitting for centuries (it seems) get to places where it is better to start over and get it right than to quit in disgust.
I used a double seed, or moss stitch for my Hapi Coat and while I knit it I knew it would grow when it is blocked. Experience told me this. But it is usually the truth with wool, or in this case the cotton, alpaca, nylon of this yarn. So knowing this, the gauge swatch will be blocked to determine just how much the yarn will grow. No surprises then when you make the project.
Here's my quickie trick. I spritzed the knitting with a bit of water, and using a hot iron and press cloth, I ironed it smooth.
Wha?
Yes, it works, and doesn't harm the fabric. Mostly. And then I can see how it will grow once blocked.
I wrote a mistake in the blog entry yesterday and I must correct it. The neckline lapel is not knitted separately, it is knit as in the above diagram, up from the fronts and joined together and then seamed to the back neck, after the shoulders are joined.
This diagram will make the Hapi Coat with the exception of the center front. The diagram has it as one piece, but my version has it separated, so half the stitches are on the right side and the other half on the left.
Hint: Cast on and knit one side,for five inches, set aside,  then do the exactly the same for the other side, set aside (you could put all the stitches on waste yarn or another needle) then cast on the back and knit for five inches. Then put all the stitches on one long circular needle, cutting the yarn from two of the pieces and knitting them all at once. This will be clear once you do it.
One other hint: Why not try this as a doll size sweater? Make a teeny version and build your confidence. Or don't make the slits and just cast on the stitches to make it fit around your body.
Take the leap, you'll be glad you did.