Skip to main content

Sew Along: Winter Coat Update - Muslin and Matching Plaids

Since the last time I wrote about the Burberry-inspired winter coat I am making, I've made a small amount of progress, but it was well worth it. I was able to put together the muslin, which surprisingly only took me an hour or so to get fit. For those of you that do not like doing a muslin, I would say to try and overcome the dislike. (I don't "like" it either! But it will save me time and money in the long run.) It will really help you see what needs to be altered and adjusted. I had to bring the shoulders in a little bit. (This is something I notice in a lot of Simplicity patterns, so I was expecting it.) I also wanted to make my coat shorter, so it allowed me to see how long the coat should be.


Overall I would say that making the muslin was fast for a few reasons: 
1) I used a basting stitch on all seams so I could take them out if I needed to.
2) I did not make the coat in its entirety. There is no reason to construct the entire garment (facings and details) since you are only trying to get the fitting right.

I will keep the muslin handy in case I need to try out a tricky section instead of messing up the good fabric.

After having the muslin tweaked, I moved on to cutting out the good fabric! I was nervous to cut it out because I do not have a lot of experience with matching plaids. It was easier than I thought, just time-consuming! It literally took me 2 hours to cut everything out. I cut out each piece, one at a time, rather than folding fabric in half like patterns usually call for. I started with the "back" piece and used that as a basis for all the matching that needed to be done. Once I cut out one piece, I would remove the paper pattern piece and turn the fabric over (right sides together) to cut out the second piece. (You want to make sure that you get a mirror image of the pattern piece.)  I matched up the plaids by pinning every larger section of the plaid to the corresponding pattern on the uncut fabric. See the picture below for reference. 

Do you see the pattern piece on the fabric??
I used the triangle tabs to match up separate pattern pieces so that when the coat is sewn together the plaids should match up pretty well. (Hopefully!)

Next I will be cutting out the interfacing, flannel interlining and the silk lining. More updates to follow!

Do you have a tip or story about a time you were trying to match plaids? 

Comments

  1. looking good! plaid isn't really hard, as you say, just requires extra time and patience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! I can't wait to work on it again this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for this post! I have pretty much avoided plaids as well as muslins and need this kind of encouragement. My measurements have slightly shifted, oh my! Where before I fit exactly to pattern measurements, these days those patterns need a tweak here and there, like at the back shoulder, waist girth, and so on. I've come to that turning point where muslins can make the difference between success and failure, and since I love beautiful fabrics and great results, I opt for success...or hopefully so anyway :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad I was able to help encourage you to work with plaids and muslins! I also just didn't want to give it a try, but am so glad that I did. Most of my sewing involves projects to sell on my etsy shop and it get sort of repetitive. So a project like this where I'm learning something and concentrating on a specific task is fulfilling! ~Julie

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have a question about the flannel lining. Do you cut the flannel just like the other lining and put the "real" lining on top of it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for your question! We recommend cutting out the fleece lining with the wool. (You could possibly even cut them at the same time, I would imagine it would keep your fabric from moving when you are cutting so precisely.) From there sew the fleece lining to your wool pieces. You want the exterior to be the sturdy part, adding it to the lining would make the lining bulky when you want that part to have some fluidity.

    Hope this helped!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Another question, should I make the jacket a size larger to accommodate the flannel lining? Or if I put the, together will that sole any kind of bulking problem?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sorry, I missed this question. I did not cut it out larger. The flannel does not put enough bulk in it to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks! I wasn't sure and I didn't want to move ahead on it without guidance! Coats, other than fleece pullovers, are new to me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Revisiting a Pattern After Five Years

Have you ever used a sewing pattern and then immediately vowed never to sew it again? Well, I have. It all began in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I tackled sewing projects that were more challenging to help me grow as a seamstress. There was one pattern in particular that almost did me in, the Seamwork Penny shirt dress. The Penny dress pattern has a classic button-up dress shirt style bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets. It is a beautiful take on a shirt dress, and my sister and I loved it. The only downside is that it was recommended for intermediate-level sewists and I was only an adventurous beginner back then.  I think I had only ever made one button-up shirt before attempting this Penny Dress and it didn’t even have a collar! Despite all of this, I thought “Why not try it, what’s the worst that can happen?”  Thankfully the worst didn’t happen, and the dress turned out surprisingly wearable, but I had some intense frustration at the end. I...

Made By A Fabricista: A Simple Frock for Spring

Hello friends! I’m really into sewing and wearing tent dresses at the moment. A tent dress is basically a wide A-line style gown. For this month’s project, I’ve opted to try out The Assembly Line’s Square Neck Dress. This style is a little avant-garde in its enormity and shape, and boasts the squared neckline it’s named after, plus some cute hem side slits.  All that volume is fun to move around in, plus there’s loads of air circulation which is cooling. This dress’s main feature–its wide and high squared neckline–really piqued my interest recently, and I added it to my Make Nine plans for 2025. I find it so satisfying to check off those boxes as I sew!  This beautiful shirtweight linen is a color I simply adore; a muted medium blue. Stormy skies, worn-in denim, and ocean waves all come to mind, and that is exactly what I want to be all wrapped up in. While I think a wild or large print would be amazingly on display in this big canvas of a dress, I also thought that a subtle ...

Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

 As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days. For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months. When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my visio...