Sunday, September 19, 2010

Lady Like?

The reason I don't show you photos of myself very often these days is because I spend most of my weekend with greasy hair, in the same pair of yoga pants.

So it's not going to do much for my fashionista street cred to show you these:







Seriously, would it kill me to wash my hair??

My vanity compels me to tell you - in case it's not entirely apparent - that one cannot look worse than in stringy, white muslin cotton, sweat pants and unwashed hair. But at least I've got lipstick on!

Hideousness notwithstanding, I'm going to post these on the Lady Grey Sew Along Flickr site later today to see what kind of muslin-improvement feedback I get.

But I'm interested in your feedback too. I know something is weird with the back waist. Any idea of how to improve it, sewist friends?

Also, I feel the shawl collar is too much - too wide - so I'm probably going to hack away at it. Thoughts about how much to cut? One more thing, I've tightened the waist to suit my current (thin) shirt but there's quite a bit of give. I will make sure to position the button such that a sweater can be worn underneath. This is Canada, after all...

Reader question update: Andrea says: I was more than a little overwhelmed after reading Gertie's muslin post. All that work for just the muslin? I'm starting to get cold feet. How many hours have you put into it so far?

My answer (started in the comments) is convoluted (but optimistic!): Try not to think about the investment or it will freak you out when actually, doing it is not hard. The muslin actually goes together quite quickly after the cutting and thread tracing. In total I've prob spent $150 bucks and 20 hours so far (includes buying fabric and notions, reading pattern and reference books, cutting, thread tracing etc. - the whole shebang). Not negligible - but that's over the last 3 weeks. Today was veritably easy as far as muslin fitting goes. The pattern instructions are very clear and the princess seams give a lot of fit latitude. Join the Flickr group. It will keep you involved because you'll see what everyone else is doing and you'll get feedback.

I've cut some corners:
  • Made the size 8 (instead of 6 with a full bust adjustment). (Smart to go up a size because Colette patterns owner, Sarai, so much as tells you that she doesn't add a lot of ease into her patterns. And it's a coat so you need some give.)
  • Sarai says she cuts for a C cup, but you have to consider that a C cup on a medium to broad frame is going to go a long way on a person with a 32 inch under bust. Especially since the pattern has princess seams.
  • I did NOT trace the pattern (for shame!). It was going to be too painful. My rationale: I'm never going to make this for anyone else. Under any circumstances. And I cut the 8 even though my measurements are between the 6 and the 8. Cutting took over an hour. Tracing would have taken 3, at least.
  • I didn't add 1 inch seams (per Gertie's suggestion). I went with the 5/8 SA, again, because I cut up a size. Adding the extra 3/8 inch gets labour intensive for reasons that aren't interesting.
  • I haven't really felt the value of the thread tracing (which lets you see the seamlines on both sides of fabric. Chalk markings are only visible on the wrong side (inside) of the fabric. If I needed to make a lot of alterations, I think it would be very valuable. For a coat or large project, I'm all for it. But for a skirt or something simple, I'm unlikely to invest the time. Baste the threading, don't properly sew. It saves time. Also, baste the muslin. While it tends to unthread, unless you're careful, if you need to rip out stitches it will be a cinch.
In short, I'm just mucking in. Enthusiasm is everything here. Don't give up Andrea! You can do it.

15 comments:

  1. I'm horrible at offering fitting advice but I think that either you need a little more room in the hips so the back drops or you might be short waisted and need to pinch out some fabric in your upper back. Take it with a grain of salt...

    But I do want to say that the coat suits you well even in muslin. I really like the shawl collar on you.

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  2. That jacket is going to be amazing. I am impressed with your sewing skills.
    Perhaps the back of the jacket needs to be taken in between the waist and the shoulders. Also, I agree the the lapel needs to be made slightly smaller.

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  3. I can't offer you any fitting tips, but with the exception of the wonky back everything looks really good. I haven't yet started mine. I was more than a little overwhelmed after reading Gertie's muslin post. All that work for just the muslin? I'm starting to get cold feet. How many hours have you put into it so far?

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  4. Kim: Thank you for your feedback! The consensus seems to be the short waist / remove 1/2 inch at waist adjustment. I'm going to try it and I'll let you know how it goes.

    Belle: Thanks - I agree with you (see comment above). And I'm going to mini-up the collar (which is really big!)

    Andrea: Thank you! That muslin post almost had me packing for the hills but it occurred to me it would be cold there :-) Srsly, try not to think about the investment or it will freak you out when actually, doing it is much easier than thinking about it. It goes together quite quickly after the muslin. In total I've prob spent 150 bucks and 20 hours so far. Not negligible - but that's over the last 3 weeks. Today was veritably easy as far as muslin fitting goes. The pattern instructions are very clear and the princess seams give a lot of fit latitude. I'll update my post with some extra info...

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  5. Hey Lady,
    It's good to see a pic! You look great on the contrary (I like the stark contrast between your hair color and lipstick--it's so glam)! It's cool you're participating in the sew-along. The coat looks great on you. I didn't participate because the style didn't suit me, but it's great on you. Have fun, can't wait to see the finished product (wink)!

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  6. Yes, I'd say you just need to do a sway back adjustment. Lookin' good!

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  7. Victoria: You are too sweet. Really. :-) I didn't know if it would suit me either. But I thought the learning opp was worth it. I don't know that I'd choose it independently, but I do like it and I'm really enjoying the sewing.

    Heather: OK, gonna do that soon and I'll let you know. Thank goodness I've got FFRP!

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  8. Good girl! Looks great. I say leave the collar the way it is right now... you can always adjust it when you cut the fabric. I think it might be nice to make a really stiff, sort of high standing collar if you use some heavy fabric with a lot of body.
    Do you think the sleeves might be a bit wide... maybe at the elbow?
    I think you did a great job!!

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  9. Well, good about the advice on the sway back adjustment. That was my first thought on seeing the pics. And the lapel is a little overwhelming on your frame. Take it in a little bit to make it proportional without losing the drama.

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  10. Hey, we have the same weekend look! Maybe we should have a contest to see who can go the longest without washing her hair ;-)

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  11. The style looks good on you. You may want to consider doing a full bust adjustment as well.

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  12. I don't know how to do a sway back adjustment, but I think your coat needs one - otherwise it looks FAB!

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  13. I don't think I'll ever be a good "real" seamstress. I suck pretty badly at following directions and this looks like the type of thing you don't much about with the directions for.

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  14. Stacy: I've altered the sleeves (see next post) and I hope I've done it the right way!

    Monkey: You're my kind of reader!

    Mardel: If this thing works I'm going to have a party :-) I mean "when this thing works"!

    Wendy: You can't possibly out grunge me!

    mpressive: Thanks for your feedback. I've got some tricks up my sleeve. See next post on this...

    Faye: Thanks!

    E8: Apparently, after a while, it becomes kind of fun to have instructions - because you can take em or leave em. Right now, I'm just grateful that there's a piece of paper telling me what to do!

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