Marji asked about the pattern drafting on the front/side piece and I have some photos of the piece itself and of the marked muslin, which is easier to see I think. As always, follow the photos links to PBase where you can see larger, more detailed photos.
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There's a lot of shaping in the dart which is really the side seam, and it makes a nice waistline curve on the coat. You can see that much better on the close-up of the muslin piece here.
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There's not a lot of seam allowance after you cut down to the horizontal dart so you can match the vertical dart. When sewing the first side I stitched the horizontal dart and then cut down to release it. On the second side I tried cutting first. This was a mistake I think, as it leaves such tiny seam allowances to work with twice instead of just once. This is definitely a spot for some reinforcement and/or overcasting.
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MaryBeth commented on the attractions of a pattern already drafted for turn-of-cloth, and I thought you might all enjoy seeing the collar and undercollar patterns stacked up. The undercollar is on the top, and is quite a bit smaller. The CB and neck seam areas match exactly, then the upper collar gradually increases toward the point and remains larger all along the outer edge.
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The collar stands and front facing are also drafted this way.
Below you can see the inside and outside views of the vertical/horizontal dart combination after it's stitched.
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Tins asked about the Roberta Carr off-grain adjustment. It's in the Palmer/Pletsch book, Couture by Roberta Carr. It's a method of adding a wedge of fabric to an opening, like a coat front or a skirt slit or whatever so that it hangs closed nicely. I imagine we've all had skirts that had a nice, on-grain slit that wanted to swing open all the time. This happens with anything that's sort of narrow, or at least not really flared, and which has an on-grain edge at the opening. You add according to the formula, and it all depends on the length of the garment and the weight and properties of the fabric for how much you add. On the muslin it's a little tough to tell since it's not the thickness that the cashmere is, but I think it's going to be a nice addition to the pattern.
I did get my swatches today and I don't care for any of the contrasts they sent with the print. They're all beautiful fabrics, but they don't really go with this. So I'm planning on an all-print coat. I'm wondering if it isn't yarn-dyed and jacquard woven too, as it has the pattern on both the front and back. The contrasts were all wool/cashmere blends and they didn't have the same surface look as the 100% cashmere, which is probably okay, but the weight and feel of the fabric is completely different. After feeling and holding the almost weightless cashmere, the wool blends feel stiff and heavy.
4 comments:
Shame about the swatches! I think your coat is going to be lovely. The pattern looks good and the fabric is gorgeous.
Thank you so much for the glimpse of the Marfy pattern pieces. Their drafting is fabulous.
Els referred me to an article in Threads issue 53 - which I just got on ebay - that really details how to determine for turn of cloth for lapel and collar. Check your mail this week, just to verify the Marfy draft with the weight of your fabric.
Thanks for showing the pattern pieces - this is an interesting coat draft.
Thank you so much for showing the pattern pieces. What an interesting draft. I think this is going to turn out to be quite fabulous, although I am sorry about the swatches. I think the matching of fabric is such a personal thing, it seems hard to find a vendor who sees things the same way that I do.
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