Blazer of 2016 -- Muslin #1

After weeks of procrastinating I jumped into the muslin phase, and it didn't take long to figure out that I've got my hands full with this pattern. There were some pretty glaring problems right out of the envelope. So I decided to do some "preemptive" adjustments.

 

First off, the center back seam is ramrod straight and I know that I have what Roberto Cabrera calls "stooped posture". Doesn't sound very attractive, but it beats Dowager's Hump any day! (Actually, I think they're one in the same). I need more curve to the upper back, otherwise the collar will pull away from the back of my neck. Not a good look.

 

 

The fix for this is to create a 1/2 to 3/4 inch dart from below the arm hole to the center back. This has the effect of tilting the upper jacket forward. So here you see my adjusted pattern over the original.

 

To prevent the front of the jacket from drooping down, a corresponding dart is made on the jacket front.

 

 

And it looks like this.

 

Sleeves on jackets are always too long for me, so I shortened the sleeves by 1 inch.

 

I removed 1/2" both above and below the elbow on the "shorten here" lines from my pattern. Using Swedish tracing paper makes this a breeze. I just fold it and stitch a 1/4" seam on my machine. I also reduced the ease on the sleeve cap by 1". My goal is to create a more natural shoulder. Time will tell if I can pull that off.

 

Lastly, I noticed the the front and back shoulder seams are the same length. According to Cabrera the back shoulder should be at least 1/2" longer than the front. Easing the back into the front creates room for the shoulder blade. I don't have a picture, but I simply added 1/2" at the arm hole side of the pattern.

 

So here's what those changes turned into.....

 

 

The center back adjustment has worked, but I think I still need a touch more curve. As you can see the collar still doesn't want to sit against the back of my shirt collar. The shoulder seam is also running to the back of my shoulder. This isn't a fitting issue addressed in Cabrera, but I feel that the shoulder line needs to be swung forward about a 1/2" so that it sits closer to the apex of my shoulder. It would be a simple fix. Please chime in if you know the answer to this problem! Am I on the right track? My gut just tells me it needs fixing.

 

 

Eeeeek. The big problems are up front. The neckline is just too wide. Plus, I feel the jacket pulling across the shoulder / upper chest like there just isn't enough fabric there. I think the solution to this mess may be two pronged. I'm going to try redrawing the neckline to add a bit of fabric towards my neck, in addition to slashing and separating the upper chest portion a small amount. Maybe 3/8" to start. I'm open to all suggestions on this one. Something's gotta give!

 

 

All these wrinkles are telling me I need a substantial belly adjustment! Also, the button placement (marked with chalk) on the original pattern is unusual to say the least. I'll need to lower the stance by bringing the top button down at least to the level of the pin, maybe even lower.

 

Before sending this muslin to the dust bin, I let the side seams out about 3/4" on each side.

 

This was the only glimmer of hope in what was, over all, a pretty dismal start.

 

On a brighter note......I picked up some lovely thistle design blazer buttons on eBay.

 

 

These are from Waterbury Button in Waterbury, CT. "The brass Capitol of the United States". I love them. Now I just need to build a damn jacket around them!

 

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The Revised Muslin (the male bust adjustment?)

Readers, I've completed the adjustments to my muslin. It's not pretty, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that what I thought would work ... will!

So here's muslin #2

I added an additional 1/2" to each side of the neck opening as planned. Gone is the gap between the edge of my shirt collar and the neckline of the jacket. Hooray! I also raised the back neckline 1/2" as well.

Thanks to Mrs. C for suggesting that I "dart out" the gap that made the jacket pull away from my chest. This looks so much better. A side benefit to making this adjustment is that now the jacket wants to hang closed. In this picture I don't have the jacket pinned closed. Before, the bottom of the jacket wanted to swing out when not buttoned.

Side view of the male bust adjustment! If you gals can have FBA's and SBA's I guess we guys can have the MBA!

I figured the dart to be about 3/8". After establishing its position in relationship to the other front dart, I marked it on my Swedish tracing paper and folded the dart out. Easy.

Here you also see where I've added 1/2" to the neckline. I simply tape on a scrap of paper and redraw the line. The Swedish tracing paper makes this a snap. Love the stuff!

To make the pattern lay flat I had to extend the dart quite far across the front. Hopefuly, this will keep the effect I'm after. New territory here.

This picture also shows the new neckline, which is now ever so slightly curved rather than straight.

Lastly, I trimmed 3/8" from the front / side seam, tapering up to the waistline. This has helped reduce the fullness at the hem without causing the back vents to pull open. I could have perhaps taken out more, but I've learned that most times a little adjustment is better than a huge one.

Ripping apart muslins and fudging them back together is hardly my favorite thing to do. I'll be very glad to put this step behind me. My fabric is prewashed, so it's time to cut this jacket out.

Back to EST.....an extra hour to get caught up with "The Brit"

Readers, yesterday we turned our clocks back to standard time so I took advantage of the extra hour and got started on the pea coat.  My English "sew-alonger" is well along on the muslin.  In fact, she may be on muslin #2.  Yikes!  Time to get moving.  

This is the coat.  A double breasted pea coat with welt pockets.  For those of you contemplating the book, there are 13 coats featured, but they're really just themes and variations on 4 basic patterns.  This one can be dolled up in a variety of ways.  One can add epaulets and buttoned tabs at the cuffs.   There are a variety of pocket options.  There is even one version with gold braid everywhere that strikes me as very Michael Jackson.  I'm going for the basic version.  (I have a MJ inspired coat already!)  

The patterns are traced using my trusty Swedish Tracing Paper.  A wise reader from Africa informed me that once you know what adjustments you need to make on these patterns, you can apply them to every pattern.  This has proven to be true.  I know that I need an extra 1/2" across the shoulder seam that extends down the length of the front and back, so I just make the adjustment during the tracing process.  The sleeves will probably be too long, but I'd rather wait for the muslin to make that adjustment.  

Here are all the pattern pieces.  I'm so glad this process is over.  

Here are my fabrics which I picked up in NYC's garment district a few months ago.  Thanks to my friend Martin for putting up with me during this expedition.  I dragged him from store to store on a hot summer day shopping for wool!  I ended up with a mid weight camel colored wool for $10/yd, and a printed acetate lining for $3/yd.  

The buttons are from Pacific Trimming.  They combine a rough matte texture with smooth and shiny.  Pacific Trimming has a huge selection of buttons at the back of the store, and the woman who always seems to be managing that part of the store is very helpful.  She goes from bin to bin pulling samples, and she always seems to come up with really striking combinations.  We all agreed that this one felt right for a man's coat.  

On to the muslin, which I hope will go together easily.  

The frock coat -- back to tailoring

Things are progressing on the frock coat front.  I altered most of the pattern pieces.  Here they are all spread out.  I shortened and narrowed the sleeves, lowered the lapel and increased the back by 1.5 inches.  Again, if you haven't tried the Swedish tracing paper I encourage you to try it.   I'm a true believer.  It's so easy to make alterations with some scraps and a roll of scotch tape.  

Here are some goodies that arrived from B. Black and Sons.  They sell pre-made jacket fronts in in 2 weights of canvas and for both single and double breasted jackets.  These are 2 heavy weight fronts for a size 40.  At $12 for the pair I think this is an incredible bargain.  As much as I enjoyed building and pad stitching the canvas for the "wedding jacket", I wanted to make this project a little easier.  I want this coat to be a cross between outerwear and suit coat.  So I'm pulling the Cabrera tailoring book down off the shelf and picking and choosing which techniques to use.  It's really the beauty of being able to make exactly what one wants, isn't it? 

I also picked up a hip rule and spool of real basting thread that should last a lifetime.  I could wax poetic about the thread but I'll resist.  Just know that it's pure magic to work with.  

Here the front is basted to the canvas in a very specific order.  If you have a touch of OCD you'll love this! 

I decided to add a front chest pocket which is not part of the pattern.  I was surprised at how easy this was to do.  Thank you Roberto Cabrera for this bit of sewing origami!  

This is the real hardcore tailoring, and hopefully the end result will be worth the effort.  Cotton twill tape is stitched to the canvas to define the lapel edges.  The lapel is pad stitched and twill tape is cross stitched over the roll line.  Trust me, there is nothing scary about this stuff.  In fact, it's really fun to do.  Now that the coat fronts are done things should move along quickly.  

Getting back to my roots

Ok.  Getting back on track here.  I've decided to make the cover trench coat from the Japanese coat book.  It's been while, and I have to admit that it's been easy to drift into pre-printed patterns.  It's been a treat to open up an envelope and, VOILA.... a pattern and instructions in English.  But I have all the materials to make the trench coat, so it only makes sense to move forward with it.  Plus it would be really nice to have this coat for fall.  

For those of you not familiar with Japanese patterns, the book above is sitting on the pattern sheet.  All the pattern pieces are overlapped onto a single sheet.  It's like finding the hidden pictures in the kid's magazine Highlights.  Hmmm.  where's the collar stand?  

Once again I'll extol the virtues of Swedish Tracing Paper.  Here I've rolled it out over the pattern sheet.  It's translucent and very durable.  

I find a pattern piece to trace and pin the tracing paper onto the pattern sheet.  It's a good idea to let your eye follow the shape all the way around before tracing.  There are so many intersecting lines that it's very easy to get mixed up and get off track.  It's best to know where you're headed.   None of the pattern pieces include seam allowances or hems.  I use a small ruler and make little dashes all around the pattern piece at 5/8" with a pencil.  Then it's just a matter of connecting the dots.  Easy but tedious.  I've learned from my previous 2 coats that the Japanese size XL isn't even a size M by American standards.  I was able to alter this pattern during the tracing process.  I increased the shoulder width by 3/4".  This ends up giving me an additional 3" in circumference of the coat.  

Jumping ahead, the sleeves ended up being about 2" too long on the muslin.  The tracing paper makes this an easy adjustment to make.  I simply take up a 1" fold while at the same time maintaining the grain line.  A little piece of tape and it's done.  

Here you see the fold taped into place.  The pencil line is the grainline which must be maintained.  The worst is truly over at this point.  On to making the fitting muslin.  

Muslin #1

I'm following my usual procedures and transferring my pattern pieces to Swedish tracing paper.  If you've never used it, I highly recommend it.  Armed with a roll of scotch tape and some scraps one can adjust and alter with abandon!  I'm also using the book Classic Tailoring Techniques by Roberto Cabrera.  The book deserves an entire post of its own, so I won't go into many details here.  

So here's Muslin #1.  This is a very simple pattern, almost too simple.  I was drawn to the simple pockets and the lack of flaps and welts.  But I miss other details like sleeve vents and a center back vent, so I plan on adding them with the help of Mr. Cabrera.    I've folded in the seam allowances on the lapels and collar, and also pressed along the roll line of the lapel.  This helps me visualize the final product. I've also added a back center vent which the pattern lacks.  The Cabrera book made this very simple. 

 

My initial take is that the buttons are set too high.  By lowering them I can drop the roll line which would be more flattering for my body.  I knew that the lapel would be narrow, but I'd also like to feel confident wearing this coat for several years.  Cabrera suggests 3.25 inches as a "safe" lapel width.  I'm going to increase the lapel width from 2.5 to 2.75.  Narrow, but not crazy looking, I hope. 

It's not evident in the photos but the neck opening is too wide / loose.  The collar pulls away from my shirt collar rather than resting up against it.  This is an easy fix.  The collar is removed and a tuck is made at the center back seam to make the neckline more closely hug the body.  The back seamline is then tapered from the neckline down to the mid back.  The undercollar will need to be adjusted to fit the smaller neck opening.  Let the alterations begin.  

Muslin #1 is already being pulled apart.  It didn't last long!  

Making the pattern pieces

After months of just looking at the pretty pictures it was time to pull out the pattern.  Thanks to many web sites I was pretty well prepared for what it would look like.  Still, that initial once over is pretty shocking.  All the pattern pieces, in all 4 sizes,  overlap each other in random directions. So, unlike an American pattern where each piece can be cut out of tissue paper, I will have to make my own patterns from the pattern sheet.  A website somewhere recommended a product called Swedish Tracing Paper which is available through Amazon.  It comes in a roll of 10 yards x 29" and resembles a very lightweight interfacing.  It's terrific stuff and I would highly recommend that you try it.  It's so much better than that flimsy easy to rip tissue paper.  Apparently the stuff can actually be sewed to make a muslin, but I'm going the traditional route.  Plus I don't want to go through the extra step of having to take it all apart when it's time to cut the fabric.  

Ok, here is my process.  First I locate a piece that I need. In my case I will only need the coat back, front and sleeves to make the muslin.  (I later added the hood to better define and reinforce the neckline) Remember! .....  THE PATTERN DOES NOT INCLUDE THE SEAM ALLOWANCES! So I added 5/8"  allowances to the sides and 1 1/2" hems for the sleeves and coat bottom.  Since hindsight is always 20/20, I wish I had made all the vertical seam allowances 1" .  This would have given me more room for alterations.  The layout guide shows all the seam allowances (metric of course! sigh), so I also consult it frequently for any oddities.  (On my coat something funky is happening at the front lower hem which I will figure out later. While tracing you may encounter little marks perpendicular to the sewing lines labeled with the size.  These, I have discovered, are matching points, so I mark and cut the little triangles that appear on American patterns.   I  mark the grain lines and write myself notes on the pieces.  The tracing paper is very durable and forgiving.  When I screw up it's very easy to tape on a piece and keep going.