Saturday, June 21, 2008

Sigrid - Muslin



Last month I posted two patterns from which I wanted to choose the coat for this sew along. The decision to make the Butterick pattern is based on the following:

  1. Its style will last longer than the Vogue coat
  2. The sew along is a great way for me to try to sew a good fitting coat with some advanced details (with help from the experts here)
  3. After this experience, I'm confident that I can sew the Vogue coat on my own.
So, I decided to make Butterick 4665, with the following alterations:
  • 2-piece sleeve
  • welt pocket (with or without flap, depending on a test later in the process)
  • bound buttonholes

Fabric

This is my fabric, a silk tweed from EmmaOneSock. In real life even more beautiful than in the picture. DH told me it was one of the most beautiful fabrics he'd ever seen.
It needs an interlining for a bit of warmth and stability, as it is a bit thin (correct word?) partially and you can see the light shining through. Fabric for that I still have to find. Any suggestions on what to use with such a fabric?

Sleeve


For the sleeve I took the 2-piece sleeve pattern from a BWOF coat from the January 2003 issue (pattern no. 108). In the picture you can see that the length of the cap of the sleeve is almost the same height as the Butterick pattern, only the total width of the sleeve is a bit less.

After measuring the circumference the BWOF sleeve is 56 cm, while the armscyce of the coat is 51 cm. The Butterick original sleeve has a longer circumference. According to Sandra Betzina in her book Power Sewing, 4-5 cm should be enough ease. So I made my muslin without altering the BWOF sleeve for a start.







Muslin


Observations on the muslin:

  • It feels too small, but that could also be because of the corduroy I used for the muslin. I used the right side on the inside because you don't see the markings on the right side very well. But the right side of the corduroy just doesn't go easy over my linen jacket.
  • I lowered the waist by 4 cm, it's too low
  • Upper back is too wide
  • The sleeve could be a bit wider (the Butterick original sleeve is wider), sleeve length is OK, but because of the back being too wide, I can not see whether the sleeve will be allright.
General observations
  • I don't like the style on me as much as I thought, in the front picture I think that it adds weight to me which is not there. I do have wide hips, but this suggests more, also to the upper part of my body.
  • The collar is not as good on me as I hoped, perhaps I should go for a more classic style

What do you all think, should I find myself another pattern?

4 comments:

Marji said...

I think you're spot on in your fit analysis. And I do think it's probably a bit of the corduroy hanging up on clothes that makes it feel too small. I don't think you'd regret it, though, adding some more for seam allowance below the waist. If you end up with enough room in your boucle you can always trim them off, but adding it later would be a real problem.
As far as the style - I don't think the body of the coat is at all objectionable on your frame - however that collar is eating you up. If it were me, I'd either try scaling this one back a bit, or look for another collar.

It's a style decision, of course, but your neck in proportion to that collar is not working.

Marji said...

Sorry, didn't mean to ignore the other question here:
I'm not sure what's available in Europe for insulating, but I wonder if you have any of the lambswool products for interlinings still available? Maybe some of the European members can answer this better. And maybe Melissa has a swatch picture she can put up of the microfleece she'll be using.

Linda said...

Sigrid, I think you are right about the corduroy fighting your jacket. I had a quick minute to try on my coat muslin with a top that had some slipperiness to it and the coat fell into place and some of the drag lines I was worried about disappeared. You might want to try taking a coat with a lining and putting it on inside out before you try your muslin. That will mimic a lining and not fight the lining.

I have to say I agree about the collar. It looks fine from the side and back, but the front looks a little overwhelming. You have such a slender neck and you can't see past the collar to notice that.
HTH.

Nancy K said...

I agree with Marji, that the coat looks fine on you, but that the collar is too high.
I always regret not having extra when I don't have it in the sas.