Finally some progress Simplicity 2508 Coat

Fitting is better- Dress Form is much smaller than me

Thanks for the encouragement and advice everybody!  One of the things I marvel at when I watch Project Runway (this is a "Project Runway" pattern) is that they move so fast.  Even when I was in school and especially when draping, I fuss, fix, stand back look, fix again, contemplate, and on and on.  I'm just getting worse with age and lack of deadline.  Well, with the exception of early spring, I have no deadline.  And for the last two weeks I just stared at this on the dress form and contemplated moving forward or going back to go forward.

So, after reading this controversial post over fusible interfacing I knew that I was right.  I needed to use different better interfacing- a type that was worthy of the fabric itself.  So I headed out and picked up 2 packages of the Palmer/Pletch PerfectFuse TAILOR Ultra in charcoal/black.  Then I carefully peeled off the old interfacing: Medium weight Pellon- I hadn't fused it all the way but I don't think it would have given a good fuse anyway because it was all bubbly.  I'm done with Pellon.

Love the crispness of the seams with this fabric

Then I took 1 1/4" out total taking about 1/4" extra off each seam and I took a small wedge of flare out of the side seam.  And the strange rolling to the front is still visible and I'm not sure why.  It's not as obvious when it's on me.  We'll just have to see how it works out.  I'm sure there is something glaring that will pop up from someone after I finish that will explain it and it will drive me crazy forever.  But for now I'm driving to finish.

I love the bias on the cuffs

Very happy with button choice!

Next I finished the sleeves by taking them in 1/4" on each seam and then finished the cuffs.  I used my new machine auto button holer after practising a few times on a sample.  It's awfully zipping to just press the button and have the machine do all the back and forth.  The bad part is that if it gets stuck somewhere in the middle there is no way to go back and just finish part of a button hole.  That happened but luckily these are faux button holes and will not be opened.   I just put the buttons on over the top of them.  I added the buttons because I was anxious to see how they would look on the fabric and I'm pretty happy how it turned out.

The other thing I realized I needed to do was get a tailoring book and read up on the tailoring practices.  My mom was a seasoned home tailor and made beautiful suits.  She has notebooks full of hand written notes that I would wager would be just as good as any book of tailoring, but I do also want to reference the experts (and I need pictures).  I set out to find a copy of "The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket, Tailoring" by Creative Publishing International.

But alas there are no copies out there because it's being reissued in May and so I guess all the old copies have been long snapped up.   So I went to the trusty Multnomah County Library and got a copy.  And the library is amazing because all you have to do is reserve it and they deliver it to your local branch and set it on a shelf with your name.  AND I got a handy tutorial of how to download library books from the library to your IPAD!!!!- which is the reason that I have not been to the library in 6mo.  I got an ipad.

I got a few tips from this book for the coat but it's not super tailored so I'll use the info for my first real tailoring project.  My real ah ha was all the tools that are in the book, I now know what they do.  Because of course, I had/have somewhere all of those pieces from my mom but didn't really know what they all did specifically, only vaguely.  I really hope they are not somewhere in my storage unit because I'm about to buy my own.  Much like my mom's canning supplies that I got rid of and regretted, I'm most certain these are gone somewhere after 20 years and many moves.  Sigh.... silly girl, after all these years mom still knows best. Rest in peace mother.

Next, collar, lining and finishing including more buttonholes.  But before that, a trip to the fabric store with the kids to buy pj fabric- a continuation of the Christmas gift/sewing lessons.