Muslin #1

I used an old sheet to make this muslin - not the best choice in retrospect as it had some polyester content and this made it pucker on the seams, also the darker colour made the adjusted muslin hard to trace a copy of to make the second muslin.

Firstly I marked the stitching lines on the orginal pattern in size 22 which was based on my high bust measurement then traced this onto the fabric using wax tracing paper.

Alterations made in this first muslin were:

- full bust adjustment, not enough added as I can now see by these final photos.
- increased length by 1 inch at the increase length line on pattern.
- reduction of the angle of the shoulder and lifted the arm hole by 15mm (not enough but I ran our of seam allownace as I stupidly cut it off before trying the sleeve)
- further lift of the arm hole by removing 20mm from the upper body and sleeve cap all the way around the jacket.
- lengthened the back of the jacket and made it a curved hem rather than straight.
- brought in the waist on the back seams of the jacket.

Fron this front muslin photo I can see I need to increase the ease around the bust area, note small horizontal folds caused by the muslin being too tight in this area.

I can also see I need to increase the amount I lifted the shoulder, note vertical pull lines.

This muslin photo of the side/back shows an excess of fabric in the back sleeve cap.  The back seams also seem a bit puffy but I will reassess this in the 2nd muslin which will be from 100% cotton and I am going to press it as I go.

 In addition to showing the same problems as the side/back picture this also shows me I need to flatten the curved hemline a little in the centre back.  It also looks to me like there is a little too much fabric between the waist and under arm - again I will assess this further on the 2nd muslin.

 altered muslin pieces ready for the 2nd muslin.

Gathering the materials

This is a picture of all my materials except the twill tape which I forgot to include.  

The fashion fabric came from http://www.tessuti-shop.com/products/claudia-blu and was bought by my boss as a bonus gift - it is Italian Designer double crepe - 50% Viscose 48% Acetate 2% Elastane. .  The lining is silk crepe de chine  that I purchased ages ago from CDC on aliexpress - direct from China.  I buy alot of silk this way as it is alot cheaper and there is a large range of colours.

 

The interfacings from left to right - navy silk organza for bound buttonhole back window, white silk organza for underlining, hair canvas sew in interfacing for collar, lapels etc, tricot fusible interfacing for bound buttonhole stabilisation.  I guess the twill tape should also have been included here and shoulder pads

The silk organza's were from China via aliexpress, hair canvas, fusible interfacing and twill tape from my local fabric store.

 The buttons, shown here on the fashion fabric.

I spent alot of time considering various jacket sets of buttons on esty and ebay - there is a huge selection and I was tempted to buy a set of vintage chritian dior buttons - but my jacket is by me, not christian dior.  I also considered some very plain vintage buttons which were very expensive once freight was added.  In the end I really liked these filagree buttons, made in italy, which were reasonably priced as was the freight and came in a variety of sizes.

The thread - brown silk basting thread for basting prior to machine sewing, matching silk thread for pad stitching (my pattern says silk is used for tailoring as it has more flexibility), polyester all purpose for construction and yellow embroidery thread for basting silk organza to the fashion fabric.

All came from my local fabric store except the brown silk basting thread which I purchased from Susan Khalji's website last year when I took her couture dress couse.

 

The pattern

I purchased this pattern around a year ago with the idea of making a jacket - I had just taken Susan Khalji's  Couture Dress class on craftsy and it had opened my eyes to possibilities in sewing - some way beyond my current capabilities at that time.

 

having now completed 3 couture dresses, 20 tailored shirts and three winter coats - and also watched Gretchens jacket course and Kennith Kings Coat course on craftsy I feel ready to take on this challenging pattern and with two weeks holiday I have the time.