DAY 2 - Muslin #2

Continuing on my jacket journey...

After adding some "wiggle room" to the pattern (about 2 inches in the hip, slightly less in the waist) I cut a new muslin. A more clever sewist would have made the first trial garment with larger seam allowances in order to tweak the fit, but... At any rate, still plenty of sheeting for a new version, and this time I also added a sleeve since I had gotten nervous about the fit in that area. Much better -- now I can exhale!

Satisfied with the fit of my muslin, I went digging in the fabric closet. I had in mind a lightweight wool purchased from Vogue Fabrics at a sewing expo -- maybe two years ago? I thought it would be a good weight for this jacket, but wasn't sure if I would have enough. If memory serves, this is a 100% wool (or very close!) It has a subtle woven-in design, and is an orange red shade -- I'd call it a tomato red, perhaps shading a bit to rust.





My luck held -- I have enough! Let's get this fabric pre-treated and do some cutting.

Since this is a woven wool, I want to do some pre-shrinking so there won't be any unpleasant surprises the first time I clean it. Some sewists take their fabric to the cleaners to be steamed, but I opted to treat it at home, using the instructions on Pam Erny's blog Off The Cuff Style. Check out her instructions there, plus her many other tutorials. I'll also be using the excellent interfacing she sells.

Comparing the fabric after treatment -- the hand and the appearance are the same as before, but there has been some shrinkage. I also spread the fabric out and gave it a hefty shot of steam from my steamer. That might have been overkill, but better safe than sorry.

So, at the end of Day 2 -- pattern alterations done, fabric prepared for sewing, then cut and interfacing fused. I still need to purchase my lining fabric, plus alter the lining pattern pieces to reflect changes I made to the pattern -- time enough for that on Day 3.