Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Getting there

After a few more changes I think I’m ready to use my muslin as a pattern. Thank you so much for your comments. A special thank you to Kenneth D. King, I was very grateful for your comment, I’m a great admirer of your work and books and was surprised you saw my post on this and took the time to comment.

Below the first change: added a thicker shoulder pad, it definitely helped (change to the left side)

Then I made a slight change to the armhole and deepened it a bit. As Gail suggested I also did a little swayback adjustment. Time to transfer the muslin to a paper pattern I think. What you see at the upper back is not a round wrinkle but the camisole I’m wearing underneath.

 

Since making this muslin I’ve looked at a lot of photos of garments I made in recent years and I see the problem more often than I like. I’ve learned a lot from this muslin, blouse patterns have to be altered too. Also that I have to refer to my fitting books again that have been accumulating dust and keep looking with a critical eye. 

It’s definitely worth all the time spent. A jacket like this I will probably wear for quite a while. I still wear the jacket below (same problem of the upper back being too wide at the armhole). It’s from May 2010. I intend to construct the above muslin jacket in the same way, which hopefully will lead to another jacket that will last for a while (can you tell that I’m not dressed following the latest fashion?)

17 comments:

  1. The changes that you have made a great and really make a difference on the fit - beautiful - now for the fashion fabric.

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  2. I've really learned lot following your muslin posts. Now would you be generous enough to show us how you use your muslin as pattern? Many many tutorials and posts show us how to deal with fitting issues but stop right there! Thanks for all your inspiring posts.

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  3. I've really learned lot following your muslin posts. Now would you be generous enough to show us how you use your muslin as pattern? Many many tutorials and posts show us how to deal with fitting issues but stop right there! Thanks for all your inspiring posts.

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  4. It looks great - I am sure you will enjoy this jacket for a long time :-)

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  5. Well done on fitting the jacket, Sigrid. You are absolutely right in that this jacket will get lots of wear. The fit is fantastic.

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  6. Well putting in the larger shoulder pad helped a lot! I didn't pick that up as being the problem, interesting. Thanks for posting about this, we all learn from watching this process in action. I love your old jacket too.

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  7. Great fit on the muslin now - can't wait to follow along with the 'real' thing...

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  8. This looks wonderful, Sigrid. That swayback adjustment really made a huge difference.

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  9. It looks so much better! Thanks for sharing, I really enjoy seeing your process. And it's wonderful to dress exactly as you wish, without undue influence from from anywhere but your own taste - and you are stylish, for sure!

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  10. Your efforts have paid off. The fit looks great, and the sway back adjustment made a big difference.

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  11. It looks really good - it's so hard to self fit a back - on and off - but it looks abotu there now. I love classic jackets, so can't wait to see this one finished.

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  12. Oh Sigrid don't run yourself down about being fashionable. Your clothes are beautifully made, chosen in colours to suit you and of course things like that last. I think you have a lovely wardrobe and no one could accuse you of being out of fashion. I always watch your progress with interest.

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  13. Oh Sigrid don't run yourself down about being fashionable. Your clothes are beautifully made, chosen in colours to suit you and of course things like that last. I think you have a lovely wardrobe and no one could accuse you of being out of fashion. I always watch your progress with interest.

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  14. 3 Muslins? I am impressed. Your perseverance is admirable. I am a fan of muslins and when I read posts about sewist not making them I cringe. Your work is impeccable and the time you put into your garments shows.
    Thanks you for sharing your work with us.

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  15. I've been wrestling with a very similar problem recently. Putting in higher shoulder pads helped a lot but in the end I decided that it had to do with the balance of the fabric between the centre back and the sides. Either I have to lift the sides to the same level as the centre - which thicker shoulder pads did - or I have to drop the centre back to the same level as the sides at the bottom of the armhole, for which I needed a high round back alteration. I found both worked but the second solution worked better. SO you might like to experiment. I may say it took several garments and more muslins before I worked that out so I hope my thoughts help you. That grey jacket is stunning and I am sure this one will be just as good.

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  16. Very good progress there! Do you have a personal block? I have found it very, very helpful to be able to superpose mine on any pattern and be sure that the more esoteric things like width around the upper back will be correct. There are things about your body that are very individual, and almost impossible to get right from a commercial pattern, and to get right for yourself. Any good local seamstress ought to be able to adjust a draft you've made yourself, for a minimum expense.

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  17. I have no advice whatsoever, but I really love seeing your fitting process, it's so helpful to see the muslin as it progresses. Thank you!

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