Sunday, February 26, 2012

Wooly Coat: Back and Sleeve Alterations

Alright, I guess I should do a quick update on my coat (Simplicity 2508), since it tends to motivate me, and goodness knows I need all the motivation I can get.

Plus I'm doing something tedious and I needed a break.

You can see that I got the shell mostly together, no thanks to the instructions, which neglected to mention the step where you're to attach the front panel to the front side panel. That instruction was buried in with another view instructions. Gotta love Project Runway patterns.

I finally got a chance to try on the coat, and I'm mostly pleased with the fit. From the front, anyways. The sleeves and back seems a bit too big. This is not really surprising, considering I opted to go up a size instead of doing an FBA. One day I'll remember why this is never a good plan.

Also, I think the strap thing that's supposed to go across the lower back is still too high, despite lowering it by about 1.5 inches.

So tonight, I removed the sleeves and took it in by a 1/2 inch from the lower back to the shoulders between the back piece and the back side pieces. I also shifted the back tab thing down by about 1.5 inches. To compensate for this, I also took in the sleeves by 1/2 inch on the seam under the arm.

Now I'm about to put the sleeves back in and pray that I didn't just bugger the whole thing up. *headdesk* I am far too lazy for this sort of thing. I'm aiming to get this put back together tonight, because I'm afraid if I don't, I'll never pick this coat up again.

6 comments:

  1. Oh well your unpicker is your best friend. I've recently discovered that if I opt to go a size up rather than do an FBA I only apply it to the front of the garment and cut a smaller size for the back. As I tend to cut the larger size only at the side seams and side panel seams for princess seams, this works.

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    1. Huh, that's a smart idea, actually. Considering that this coat is semi-fitted and has 6 inches of wearing ease, I figured it'd be fine to avoid the FBA, but I forgot that the back and shoulders always wind up too big when I go up a size. I never considered cutting a smaller size in the back. Thanks for the advice!

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  2. Yay! So excited to see this post. I love the colour on you. Were you able to get it put back together?

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    1. Yep, got it done last night. The fit is much better. There's still some fabric pooling between the shoulders, but I need it in order to move. And I think a lot of it will smooth out once the lining and collar is attached.

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  3. Oh, dear. It's looking so good, though! (also, why did I not figure out before that that's the same pattern you were using? I am brain-dead...)

    Good luck with the alterations---you can do it! :)

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    1. Thanks! I was so happy when I saw you'd found this pattern. It's a pain to cut out and prep, but it comes together pretty quickly once that's done. I wouldn't have had these problems if I'd just done a quick muslin first...

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