Pattern Alterations

Last week I put together of a muslin of the jacket pattern out of some mismatched home dec fabric I had in the closet. The pattern fit pretty well right out of the envelope, but isn't there always room for improvement?

My main change to the the muslin was to take in the top between the front piece and the side front piece – it seemed a little roomy up there, and I could envision it getting worse once it had a big collar sitting on it.

And even though it's easier to ease a sleeve in wool than in just about any other fabrics, I still folded about 1 ½ inches out of the sleeve cap. Honestly, I don't know why pattern manufacturers think we need that much space in a sleeve. Most RTW doesnt require that kind of easing, and RTW manufacturers have all kinds of steam gadgets and pressing hams outside my wildest dreams. If it was necessary, I'd like to think they'd do it.

The third alteration was for my own satisfaction. The front of the jacket is princess-seamed, but the back just has a center seam. That seemed off-balance to me, so I redrafted the back pattern piece so that the seams mimic the front. Not that it will really be visible in the boucle, but I'll know it's there, and it'll fit better because of it.

So other than those 3 alterations, the pattern looks good as is. I like the length – even though it is a little short and boxy, not always a good look for me, the appeal of the pattern is its vintage style, and that's the length this jacket should be.