Persistence Pays Off

I've done it, folks! With minimal help, a little experimentation, and a few frustrated tears... I've finished my muslin. And it's actually GOOD! This makes three (I guess four if you count the alterations I did to #2) of them, all told, but the finished product seems light years from where it started. You can see the first awful mess here.

I made 4 adjustments:
1. I shortened the waist for the 'petite' sizing. I am only 5'2" afterall, so it would make sense with my petite frame that I might need a petite adjustment.
2. I trimmed just a bit off of the back side pieces at the princess seam. This took in just enough behind my arms that I don't have those unsightly vertical folds. As I started reading, I discovered that those ugly wrinkles were due to a narrow back and a bit too much fabric. A slight adjustment made those goners.
3. I added 1" (1/2" to each side) to the center back seam from the waist down. Now I have plenty of "bucket room" :)
4. I moved the bust dart up 1". The saggy look was not becoming on me; a must-fix. Moved the dart, redrew the lines and -- voila! -- a princess seam that looks like it should.

Lays smoothly and dart now ends at center bust, like it should.

Please ignore the fact that I sewed the back center seam inside out. I was too lazy to take it out and do it right. 

It's hard not to look super serious when you're trying to do self-photos. It's hard work!

Better, yes? *Whew* I guess you can learn just about anything you set your mind to! Thanks for the words of encouragement. Starting this weekend, I'll be pinning and cutting my actual fabric (gasp!), so wish me luck!

Lessons learned

I think I might have it, now. Thanks to the few people who offered some advice... my grandmother and Steph, in particular I have come away with an epiphany. Well, maybe several. 1. You don't have to know what you're doing to figure it out. Trial and error is the only way to learn  2. Simpler is usually better.

So, here's the gameplan after more muslin alterations.

1. Move bust dart in princess-seamed side panel up about an inch.
2. Rather than doing an SBA on an armhole princess seam, I'm simply going to remove a sliver of fabric from the center front seam - about 3/4 inch at the top, tapering to nothing at the waistline.
3. I will make the petite adjustment at the waist
4. Add a bit of bum 'wiggle room'... I think about 1/2 inch should do it just fine.

Round 3 muslin coming soon.

Second muslin.... almost there!

I'm almost always a size 12 in Big 4 patterns. But since this coat was meant for lighter-weight fabrics (gabardines, broadcloths and the like) I thought maybe I should cut a 14 for the muslin so that I'd have room to both line and underline my coating weight wool. So, that's where I started.

There are no photos of the first muslin - it was enormous.

So, I cut another one, in my usual size 12. Hey, if you have to cut the muslin twice, at least it's a size smaller, right? Okay, so I won't complain too much. The fit seems to be much better this time. Here are my issues - perhaps some of you seasoned tailors can give a bit of advice...

The top is far too wide, while the hips are a bit tight. You can see it here in these photos. The princess seams are much closer to my armpits than across my bust. The back is actually pretty good... when I'm properly adjusted, there's really no swayback like it sort of looks like there is.

 

 If I pinch in about an inch on either front side, it seems to do the trick. Would that be fixed with an SBA? I've never had to do one before, so I'm really unfamiliar with the techniques. I've been perusing some of my pattern adjustment books, but any advice would be helpful. If I take it out of the front piece, it would have to go all the way up to the shoulder... but does the back seem like it could take a shorter shoulder seam, too? I don't want the sleeves to pull or not have full range of motion. What about the hips? Should I be adding a bit to the hips and where... the side seam? Ugh, this is starting to give me a headache. I don't know how you girls do it. I guess I got spoiled with a regular size that almost never needs any adjustments. I feel like I've been inducted into some sort of club. :)

 

You can see it here, too, on my dressform. When the front is pulled tight, the neckline overlaps WAY farther than it should. There's no lapel - or at least there's not supposed to be. And the closer to the bottom you get, the farther the spread. The waist fits perfectly - should I be trying to grade between 3 sizes!? Yeah, there's that headache again.

 

HELP! Some advice or ideas from the pros (or at least those slightly more versed in pattern alteration) would be great while I read every alteration book I can find.

Oh yeah, and a gratuitous photo of my babies. :)