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Dawn is WAAAY ahead of me! I have just traced the pattern for the coat I have decided to make, which is the same Burda WOF coat from September, 2005 that Melissa (Fehr) and maybe some more of you are using. Here is the picture from the WOF archive page.
Burda WOF doesn't give you all the pieces you really need for a good tailored coat, IMHO. There is only one collar piece, and in comparing the front facing to the fronts, there is no difference in the size or shape of the collar and lapels. However, you need room for the turn of the cloth in the upper collar and the facings because these pieces are what you see when you look at the completed coat. They have farther to travel than the underneath layers because they must roll over the under collar and the coat front. They need extra length to completely cover those pieces, and to boot, a bit of extra so the seam that joins them around the edges of the collar/lapel will roll nicely to the underside and not embarrass you by sticking up. The thicker your fabric, the more extra length you need.
If that does not make any sense, here are some pictures.
The first shows a collar which is being held flat, instead of allowed to roll on the roll line. You can see that the upper collar is bubbling up because it is bigger than the under collar.
The next pic shows the same collar on the jacket, rolling nicely and laying smooth over the back and shoulder of the jacket. That's because it has enough room in the upper collar to do so.
The last picture shows the underside of the collar, where the outer seam joining the upper to under collar rolls just a smidge to the underside so you cannot see it.
The jacket in the photos was made from a Vintage Vogue Paris Original pattern, and all the pieces needed were drafted by Vogue. Burda WOF needs a bit of help.
Below is the upper collar I have drafted from the WOF pattern. Because my coating is very thick, I have added about 0.75cm to the outer edge of the collar and around the points. At this moment I am not sure if I have done it right but my theory is that any part of the collar that has to wrap around and over needs extra.
Not shown is the under collar, which is basically the collar as given by WOF, plus a seam allowance at the CB, to be cut on the bias.
I have adjusted the upper lapel (front facing) in the same way.
I am adding to the upper collar instead of taking away from the under collar because of the thickness of my fabric.
I have also added a wedge to the CF for "walking ease" which has already been mentioned on this blog (Q&A 2 from June 6). I am not really sure it's needed for this double-breasted coat but what the heck - I can always sew it out later if need be. I do not have the Roberta Carr or Sandra Betzina books where this is apparently described, but domestichaven (from PR) posted the instructions on her blog.
In my case this amounts to a wedge which has an extra 3cm at the hem. You can see it at the bottom of the last picture.
Finally, (phew) in measuring this pattern I do not believe it has enough ease built in, based on the numbers Marji gave us in "Thoughts on the fitting muslin" (June 5) - i.e. for wearing over other jackets, 6" (about 15cm) at the bust and 6-8" at the hip (15-20cm). I traced a 38 at the bust and 40 at the hip and based on the body measurements for these sizes, there was 17cm at the bust (plenty) but only 9cm at the hip (less than 4"). Based on this I have added extra width at the side front and side back panel seams.
I would have made more progress this weekend but my excuse is that it's too hot here to think about a woolly winter coat ... I hope I can stick with it as it's only June!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
KayY: Adjusting my pattern
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8 comments:
Kay, that is a beautiful fabric on that jacket that you're using for demo pics. Did you make it?
Thanks too for the link to the directions for adding that walking ease. I didn't feel I could copy and post the page from Roberta Carr's book to this sew-along, and am happy that you were able to find an online source.
Thanks for posting, I'm going to come back to this and your excellent pics when the rest of TGCSA catches up to the point of stitching the collar and lapels.
oh thank you thank you thank you! I'm so glad you're doing this coat, too - you've answered a bunch of my questions already!
Unfortunately the weekends in June are all CRAZY for me so I'm going to have to squeeze in all my muslin and fabric prep in my evenings and weekends, so I, too, have only traced out my pattern pieces thus far... My microfleece arrived, though, so I'll be able to update on that + my fashion fabric soon enough, though.
How wonderful that you are working on this coat too. Thanks for all this info. I have to trace my pattern this week while I wait for the muslin to arrive. I even trace the same sizes you do so this info is perfect!
Kay, I notice that you add to the upper collar. I have always removed from the under collar instead for turn of cloth. What's the general consensus here. Who does what?
Kay Y, I've got a question about adding the walking ease that wasn't really answered by domestichaven's instructions, either. In the last photo you showed adding the wedge to the front facing's edge, but the CF is actually a few inches off the edge because of the coat's overlap. Is it okay to just add the wedge to the side, or do we need to cut up the CF and pivot to add the wedge in the middle? (Forgive me if that's a dim question, I don't know much about pattern alteration, being a very lucky standard size)
I'm going to find RC's book today (I looked yesterday but it buried itself in a pile and is hiding) and re-read her directions, and I'll dig out Sandra Betzina's directions too.
Last time I read R. Carr's directions it appeared to me that she writes those directions for adding the walking ease along the CF. I'm not sure how she's treating a double breasted coat. or even if it's an issue in a double breasted coat. Melissa, I have to think that adding the wedge on the side seam would be pointless.
Nancy, I've done it both ways, and seen it done both ways. The vintage Vogue pattern I'm using has the turn of cloth allowance already drafted onto the collar - I took pics and will post them later today.
Truth: I'm thinking that if you remember to draft the additional onto your upper collar before cutting then that's the way to do it. If you don't think of it until you're already cut, and the pattern wasn't drafted to include the extra, then you trim off the undercollar when constructing. Sometimes I think the answers are just that pragmatic.
sorry - to clarify, I didn't mean the side seam, I meant along the front opening edge, which is a few inches over from the CF (and what it looks like Kay Y is showing in the last photo)
Marji I couldn't help myself, I took out SB's book and re read the section. Sandra Betzina's instructions for this call for slitting the pattern up the center front line to the neckline seam line and spreading at the bottom. If the coat has a waistline seam, less ease is needed. If the coat is full, regardless of length no extra ease is needed. Sandra also says that walking ease isn't needed if the coat doesn't fall below the crotch. SB gives a chart. Can we reproduce that here? I paraphrased and condensed her words. I don't have RC's book, but I remember her instructions as being more start here and it depends on how thick your fabric is.
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