Thursday, November 23, 2006

muslin fixes

So I realized last night that I had forgotten to mark the CF on the muslin. So, I may actually have had the front pinned wrong. So, I have marked off the CF and repinned to see what it is like after a night hanging as well. Turns out that I had way over pinned the overlap! I filled out one of the sleeves with some batting I had in the stash to get a better idea of how they hang. The other thing I noticed last night was that there is some shaping to the side seams that is apparent in the flannel but not in the drawings. There is a definite curve to the hip line that carries down to the hemline that I took out. I like a straighter line to coats.

I agree with Diva Mary Beth, the coat sure seemed to be asking for a French Dart, so I pinned one out. I also have replaced the wedge I put in the hood with a larger one to make that fit better as well. Here is the muslin with the back dart taken out, a French dart added to the right side only. Major difference to the front! I figure I have to add about 1" in length and probably the same on width to make this work. I am going to cut some strips of fabric and stitch it on to see if I am right rather than re-cut the front. I think that the fullness from the dart down to the hemline is due to design or is something else I have to fix. I will have to think on that for a bit.

The back and armscye actually lie better now that the front dart is pinned in and the horizontal back dart is removed. I thought you had to adjust the back before the bust ... but that just seemed to cause me more problems. Thanks Mary Beth, once again!

I want to try it on over a larger sweater tonight (this is where I regret using flannel as the muslin ... major cling factor!). After that I will see how it looks before I make the changes to the pattern. I will do a bit more after the monkeys are in bed and then call it a night.

As far as initial imresssions go for this pattern, it has gone together easily enough so far. I have not really used the instructions yet as the design has no major challenges to it. However, I have been using the coat pieces for the muslin, though as the lining and facing pieces are too numerous for a muslin. I like my muslins fast and easy to throw together! Once I get this fit as best as I can, I will tackle the many inside pieces. That is for after the weekend! The Pilot comes home for the weekend and I don't plan on spending it in the workshop!

2 comments:

  1. This coat isn't on my list to make, but I'm finding it really interesting watching you make it! You're almost tempting me to try it too. We'll see. And I'm curious: what are all the inner pieces you've been referring to? Usually, there are fewer pieces on the inside. I'm intrigued & feverishly imagining some kind of extraordinary patchwork construction.

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  2. Aside from the front, back and sleeves, there are also shoulder facings and the contrast shawl collar facing ... very interesting! When I get to that point I am going to show all the pieces when I laythem out.

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