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!