As a refresher, here is the picture of the coat:
I assembled the muslin and had hubby try it on. I have the sleeve assembled, but not set in yet - my in-laws are in town and have taken over my sewing room. I won't have sleeve pictures to add until probably Thursday.
The waist actually hits him just about at his natural waist. He has lost 30lbs over the past several months and probably has another 15lbs to lose (basically, what is left of his belly). He hasn't dropped in size too much, just firmed up, so I'm not worried about it being too big later. I'm also going to shorten it quite a bit to hit him somewhere between hip/high thigh level. I should probably cut it off where it will ultimately hit and then add the sleeve with a shoulder pad and see if it makes any difference.
I took these pictures with him wearing a sweatshirt, as that is the heaviest thing he'll probably ever wear underneath the coat; however, the wool is actually a double-faced (but neither of us liked the copenhagen blue color on the reverse so I don't care about hiding that side under interfacing and lining). It is rather thick so he'll probably not wear anything heavy underneath it. Our coldest winter temperatures go into the teens, but usually only for a week or two. I think the next set of pictures will be without anything heavy underneath it.
A few questions about the fit. It is good through the shoulders, but there are some vertical wrinkles in the back that I'm not sure what to do about. There is a curved seam in the upper center back that I'm going to straighten and that might take care of those wrinkles. There is also a little bit of gape in the center front where the lapels meet. I'm not sure if that has to do with his slight protruding belly, but will that go away as his belly continues to recede or will it just get worse? Any ideas on what I can do about that? I think the men's tailoring book might have some fit advice on that topic, but I haven't looked at it yet. I think the pockets are in the right places - he doesn't keep his hands in his pockets anyway.
There are a few great things about this pattern that I've already noticed. There are separate upper and under collar pieces (I already have the undercollar felt so keep extra bulk out of the collar). There are separate lining pieces for the entire coat and they include lining welt pockets (which I was planning on adding before I knew they already existed). I also like the fact that this coat has vented sleeves and a walking vent in the back - although not as necessary since this will be a shortened coat, I like the way it looks. The welt pockets on the side also cut across the seam between the front and side pieces (no actual side seams).
Overall, I think the fit is pretty decent. I would greatly appreciate any ideas on how to make it better. Fortunately, I'm making this in a dark charcoal gray so any residual fitting issues that I might not be able to completely work out won't be as apparent as if I were using a lighter color.
I'm not sure I'll get to my own muslin in time to post for critiques, but Marji already gave me some good ideas on how to make my houndstooth more coat-worthy so I'm more optimistic about using this fabric/pattern combo that I originally posted about.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Jamie: Hubby's muslin - Burda 8275
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6 comments:
Jamie, I am a fit nincompoop, I just wanted to tell you I think this is a terrific pattern. I also noticed the on your husband the hem seems to pull up in the back. I've that that happen because of my protruding seat. So, you may want to make a slight adjustment for that.
I seriously hope someone here is versed in menswear fitting, as I truly am not.
But I do want to make sure that for the fittings you and Michelle both have the extra padding that you'll be using included. I think Michelle did, but did you buy the mens tailoring pad kit from BBlack? It includes the chest pads that go below the shoulder pads, and a shoulder blade pad for the back.
You want to make sure that the pattern you're fitting includes room for the various padding.
I'm also of the opinion that even if someone is going to wear a sweatshirt under a coat, it's a really difficult garment to wear for fitting, because of the deep armscye that sweatshirts usually exhibit. Just pulling all that sleeve through the armhole of the coat distorts everything.
I would suggest cutting the muslin to the length you plan on making the finished garment before you make other fitting adjustments.
Re the vent: I'd look at a lot of menswear to find out if the vent is still included in a short coat - I seem to think it is.
And last, when you get your coat muslin ready, if it's at the end of July or even August, just post a a quick note here with a link to either your own blog or pictures on a webhosting site such as flickr, and direct attention there for fitting help.
I do agree with Marji's comment above. Also would like to suggest to press the back vent opening, and for a next fitting do sew both sleeves in.
Wearing shoes when fitting makes a difference too.
I would suggest you think about excluding the vent on a shorter coatsince the length makes it more casual. On a shorter coat vents most often just pull open and look awful after they've been worn for a while. They even exclude the vent on many rather pricey suit coats/sport jackets and this won't be much if any longer. Take this with a grain of salt if he's very fashion conscious, as I go by DH, who's very conservative on dress. If you do decide you want a vent, think about doing a button and tab on the inside to keep it together. HTH! The fit does look pretty good!
If he is going to be wearing a suit jacket under this, I'd fit it with that underneath. I agree that the sweatshirt is distorting the fit. That hood also obscures how the neck fits.
I am doing a men's coat, too and got some men's tailoring books as a resource. Email me at mloyet at gmail dot com if you want to confer on anything.
I think everything is looking good, although I did check some coats in J's closet, and the short coats do also have vents. But also consider what Liana says, with your husband's body shape, that vent is going to be more likey to pull open over time. J has no bottom to speak of, whereas your guy has enough bottom that you may need to lengthen the back peices to make the hem hang straight from front to back.
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