I’ve continued working on the fit of the Jasika Blazer over the past week. I remade the test garment in a fabric closer to the weight of the fashion fabric with these adjustments to the pattern:

• 5/8″ longer sleeve
• added 3/8″ to the sleeve cap
• 3/8″ rounded back adjustment
• prominent shoulder blade adjustment (which added a shoulder dart)
• 3/8″ sway back adjustment

The Fit

If we compare Muslin 2 to Muslin 1, it is easier to identify the differences.

The sleeve length looks better but could use more. The front looks better but the seams need to be graded and clipped before they will be smooth. Some of the wrinkles in the upper back shoulder area have gone away. But, there’s a lot still to work on:

• diagonal wrinkles in the back are better but still there
• wrinkles under the underarm in back
• pooching out in the back waist area is larger and causes the vent to dip down in the middle
• tight upper sleeves (<2″ ease in bicep)
• the collar points look like a dog’s bite

Seeing these issues is the whole purpose of making another test garment. I need to do more work before going to the final garment. While it may be disheartening to continue to work on fit, this jacket will take a long time to make and I want to ensure that it will fit well when I’m done. I am glad that I’m in Beth Galvin’s Intro to Tailoring class through Hello Stitch so that I can get her expert guidance on what’s wrong and how to fix it.

For those of you who already know your body well and know what adjustments you need to make, you may want to skip this week and the next while I continue to sort this.

All I can say is that I’m learning. Especially about how a tailor’s tools ease the effort.

Tailors Tacks

I have never used tailors tacks before but I really like them. A tailor’s tack is a stitch or line of silk thread used to mark an important point or roll line. They also look especially mysterious in the late afternoon sun. Once you’re done with them, they are easy to pull out leaving no evidence because there are no knots.

Point Presser

A point presser helps you get sharp points on collars and cuffs.

Dress Form

It is easier to pin the undercollar and facing on a jacket if you do it while the jacket is on a dress form. It makes the neck curves match up much better.