Winter Sewing: Janet Jacket Takes Shape

But not without incident. Of course.

For starters, in case you think I'm always organized (my great goal in life, which generally I don't suck at), behold a photo of my head space a mere 30 minutes ago:

So many things to trip over...

Mind you, I've been quite productive already today. This thing took 3 full days to prep and one day of sewing to get to this point (very sketchy photos of the "in process" moment to follow):

I've pinned it closed (as it will hook together at the centre front.

Remember that my body is not the same as my dress forms (will I ever stop saying this?) My boobs are bigger (hence the gaping around the bust seam). My shoulders fit this better too. Do you see the vertical bust dart? Not so noticeable...

Of course, the shoulder pads are just hanging out under the jacket...

The reason that the back is weird around the waist is cuz I decided I did opt to re-remove about an inch of the 1.5 inches I removed from the side and centre back seams below the waist (and then put back, after adding the sleeves to muslin 1). I haven't removed the original stitch lines yet...

And on the subject of "muslin always fucks you over cuz it's fucking muslin", there is a fatal error in this version of the jacket, the majority of which I like VERY much, btw. You can't see it cuz my dress form doesn't have the problem I do: A short upper back where it meets the neck (is this even a thing!?).

I suspected this would be the case -  so I muslined and checked for the issue. No probs, said the stiff fabric. Alas, when using drapey wool crepe, it's all too evident. And there's nothing that can be done to correct this version. This jacket didn't show the problem till the facing unit went in and now, what with the shell being all but complete, I'd have to literally start over to fix things.

Mind you, that's why this version is my wearable muslin - a palatable result given that I didn't muslin 7 times before getting here - and, nonetheless, I wouldn't have been able to resolve this challenge till it brought itself to light in the final garment.

Indeed I will make this jacket again - maybe right after I finish this one. Because it has some serious potential.

Before I get into that (coming soon, I suspect), check out how I made the "short upper back" adjustment:

That piece of paper taped atop the piece is the removed wedge. I'll keep it till I'm sure it works.

Note: I have no idea if this is the right thing to do. I know I didn't want to fuck with the shoulder seam length so I took out a wedge, starting 1 inch below the cut line (where my issue asserts itself). The wedge starts at .5 inches in width at the centre back seam and tapers to nothing at the side seam. A tiny bit of truing was required.

A few other things:

• I highly recommend that you take the time, with any tailored woven garment, to alter the upper sleeve and armsyce (and the 8000 other bits that go along with them). Even if that means you have to learn how to do this, bitch of a process though it is. As a result of a few hours of finicky work, I was able to inset these sleeves in one go. There was NO ease to worry about because the armscye and the sleeve have exactly the same circumference. And really, I had to take inches off the sleeve to get it to fit.

• Even though this is really "tailoring lite" I did catch stitch the facing unit to the body of the jacket (while it waits for the lining). That will help to retain the turn of cloth. Because this fabric is very light - and there's only interfacing on the facing unit - I may end up pick stitching the facing to the shell. But the lining should take care of this for me. We'll see.

• This pattern is BEAUTIFULLY drafted. The turn of cloth is easily established, the lines are crisp, seams are exactly the same lengths as their partner seams.

• If you don't know tailoring - I urge that you stay away from this until you know the mechanics somewhat. Apparently, I know the mechanics, because the 12 bullet points of instructions provided with the pattern are enough for me to go on. For what it's worth, those 12 bullet points are very clearly written. And I'm very pleased to be at a stage in my experience that I can roll with it. Note: One of those bullet points is something to the effect of,"Bag the lining." That's what I mean about the level of brevity you'll encounter.

Now I'm off to alter all of the lining pieces such as I altered the shell. That should take care of a couple of hours...