A Coat For Ashley

I finished my daughter, Ashley's coat. She slowed down long enough for me to get a picture.

The pattern is McCalls 5525,view A. The fabric is coat weight wool from Joann fabrics. I started this one last February and dragged the construction out until March and put it away unfinished because cold weather was on the was out. Now she can wear it while it is cold. However she's always running out of the house without a coat,no matter how cold it is. " Mom,its not that cold",is her daily weather forecast. That's why I was shocked, when she ask me to make a coat. She says she loves it and will wear it ,even if it is" not that cold".

Muslin Making Part 1

I must confess. When it comes to making a muslin,I am extremely lazy. I will find every excuse in the world to avoid it. Because of this laziness,I've had quite few sewing disasters.I ended up wasting time,fabric,notions and money. I read a lot of sewing blogs of which the clever sewist wisely invest her time making a muslin and ending up with a fabulous fitted garment and have become motivated to develop this discipline. I always knew I had to do an FBA on all tops and sometimes add a little to the side. Now I've recently found out that, I have sloping shoulders.

When you take the time to do a muslin it forces you to really look at your figure and what makes yours unique. I took a lot of pictures and selected one to show what a difference a little fitting can make.This is the first muslin with excess fabric pinned up for a better fit.The left side is pinned with red arrows pointing to shoulder pinning and a red line under the pinned bust area. Notice the excess fabric on right side in the same areas.

Now back to the pattern to make the adjustments and a second muslin.To be continued tomorrow.

Meanwhile,I wanted to join the Coat Sew Along back around Memorial Day,but found it is closed.I had purchased a cool pattern along with a few good notions at the Hancock Fabrics Memorial Day sale.Check it out. It features some details I've been wanting to master,like bound button holes and welt pockets. I'm loving the cuffs and collar too. So I'm going it alone. I think it will be challenging and fun.