Muslin Work for Marfy 2762 Jacket

Marfy 2762 catalog sketch

Finally the Marfy jacket project is under way.  I have been trying to find the time to start this jacket for a year.  It's a good sign that one year after purchasing the pattern I still like it.

I traced around the pattern pieces directly onto unbleached unwashed cotton  muslin.  I added 1/2" seam allowances, grain line arrows, notches, and pocket placement lines.  I used only these six pattern pieces:  Front, Side Front, Side Back, Center Back, Shoulder Yoke, and Lower Front Sleeve.  Here are the pattern shapes:

Center Front pattern

 

Center Back pattern

Side Front and Side Back patterns

Yoke/Sleeve and Lower Front Sleeve

Marfy 2762 Jacket Front view

Here is the muslin on my dress form.
My initial observations on garment front fit:

1.  The jacket is too large in the bust, both at the princess seam and the side seam. 
2.  The waist is large
3.  The abdomen/hip area is tight.
4.  While the shoulders look smooth on the dress form, the garment feels tight across my shoulders and there is no room for a raglan shoulder pad.   I want strong shoulder emphasis which requires a shoulder pad.
5.  The two piece sleeve detail is a nice design feature, but there is no good way to sew these seams neatly and professionally (the lower front sleeve panel has a top seam allowance that hangs suspended with no armscye seam to join).  What a nightmare it would be to line this sleeve.

Sleeve Detail Jacket Front

I have a 36" bust and this is a size 44 pattern.  I should have purchased a size 42; the fit in the bust and waist would have been better, and I'm altering the hip circumference with either size.

Back view Marfy 2762

Notes on garment back view fit:

1.  Garment lays nicely but it is a little roomy center back at the waist.
2.  Again, a little more hip room would be flattering.

pinching center back at the waist

I opened the shoulder seam 1" total at the notch to add room for my shoulder size and a shoulder pad.















Here I pinned out excess fabric at the bust.  The side front panel does not need correction.  The center front panel is where the excess fabric needs to be removed.  I know this because the princess seam lays to the left/side of the bust center. 


I am going to add circumference to the abdomen/hip in the princess seams rather than the side seams.  The reasons are (1) I want to avoid a steep hip curve that would look unnatural and (2) the abdomen and bum are what needs additional circumference and they are more towards the center of the body. 

 Here are the adjusted pattern pieces. Keep in mind there are no seam or hem allowances on these patterns.

Center Front:  I added 1/4" to the hip here.  


I removed 5/8" from the bust (black ink scribbles to be cut away) and folded out 1/2" in length at the bust.  The princess seam will now run over the bust point rather than to the left of it. 

Side Back - Added 1/4" to hip

Side Front - added 1/4" to hip

 






Center Back:  1/4" added to hip.

Added 1/2" at the shoulder notch, tapering to nothing at the neck and sleeve hem.

Added 1/4" to upper center back to allow extra shoulder room.

Removed 1/4" from waist (black scribble section will be cut away).









Shoulder Yoke and Lower Front Sleeve

Joined Lower Front Sleeve permanently to Yoke/Sleeve.

Added 1/2" to shoulder at notch, tapering to nothing at the neck and sleeve hem. 





I plan to sew the jacket in two fabrics.  The black fabric will be underlined with silk organza, and lined in silk charmeuse or silk habotai.  The beige jacket will be underlined with fusi knit interfacing and lined with polyester charmeuse. If you are sewing along with me, you should obtain both underlining and lining material in the same yardage as the fashion fabric.

Black/copper beaded designer fabric

Beige silk tussah fabric

This jacket will be fun to sew now that I have worked out serious fit issues.  These fit problems could not have been corrected during construction. 

These are the shoulder pads I plan to use.