Coat Muslin Mania

 I have been watching a Craftsy Class taught by Kenneth D. King teaching how to take Vogue 8841 and heavily redraft it to make  the "Fly Front Coat".  He teaches how to do a Hong Kong finish, draft and hand sew the lining, and many other details I want to learn.  This coat doesn't have the extent of interfacing a jacket does, so I can focus on other details.

Craftsy Coat

I searched the internet to find a pattern for what I had in mind. No patterns, but I did find a photo of what I want to make.

This is similar to my vision.

I started with the Vogue 8841 supplied with the class.  Mr. King says this is a unisex coat.   Believe me, it is not.

The class teaches how to tweak the pattern to make the style of coat he wanted.  Nothing is said about sizing or fitting.  I attempted to learn how to adjust this pattern to fit on my own.

Muslin one with shoulders "let out"

I narrowed the first muslin two inches by taking in the side seams at the hips and tapering out at the underarm.  I added 1-1/2" to each shoulder.  I opened up the arms 1" in circumference.

Second muslin

For my third muslin I reshaped the armscyces to the largest size on the pattern.

Third muslin

This made the arms fit better, but it still looks awful.

I decided to self-draft a pattern after my disappointment with my adjustments to Vogue 8841.  I took my t-shirt pattern and added ease to make my new jacket muslin.

 It needs some adjustments, but after that I am back to Mr. King's class to add a princess seam,  collar, pockets, and a lining.

The books I am using to help me with all this are Easy guide to sewing jackets and Men's wear tailoring techniques .  These are free to download.

It is a good thing the thrift store had a $3 bolt of fabric suitable for muslins.

Thanks for stopping.