Oh Burda, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...

So I have started on my wooly green winter Burda coat - the BWOF-01-2001-120/121 mashup.  The last time I made a Burda coat, I used an envelope pattern and I preemptively made a lot of adjustments because I was in a rush and I was used to Big4 sizing.  That turned out to be a very bad idea, and the coat was pretty much a mess.  This time I want to get it right, and I have the luxury of a month of preparation time.  I have decided to make multiple muslins - the first one being exactly as drafted, without any alterations.  It turned out surprisingly well:

Front - looking good!

Side - looking good!

Back - needs adjustments!

I think a mild swayback alteration will prevent the boxy shape?

I am excited about the vent detail!

Overall I am quite excited by the results.  Yes - the sleeves aren't set in well, and yes, the hem is sloppy.  But I don't really case cuz it's a muslin.  I was really just checking for length and proportions anyway.  In any case, I think all I need to do is a mild swayback adjustment and I should be good to go.  I will check the back fit with a second muslin (I worry about screwing up the way the vents hang), and then I will need to draft some lining and interfacing patterns, but I should be able to get going much faster than I anticipated.

Some notes about the muslin:

- I used gifted chair covers for the fabric.  Love free fabric!  I received 5 covers and used almost 2 of them here, so this fabric will probably be making some re-appearances.  In any case, that is why there is a horizontal seam across the back; in the real coat this will not be there.

- I always test the fit with shoulder pads in place as much as possible.  Without the shoulder pads, the arm will be too low and will restrict movement.  Once the pads were in place, this coat passed the self-hug test, so I won't be needing to do any back width adjustments (yay!).

- Although I usually do a length adjustment for my torso, I like the length on this coat without the adjustment.  The pockets are in a good spot and overall the length feels comfortable.

- I traced a size 40, and graded out to a 44 at the hem.  I think I am going to use a straight 40 on the front panels and seams - I do not need the extra room in the front and it will hang better being all of one size.  I will be keeping the larger size on the back seams, however.

- I need to do some sort of swayback adjustment.  There is just too much extra fabric and it looks boxy.  I have tried several different swayback adjustments before, and I think I may want to try one of my own design here since I will be making another muslin.  If that doesn't work... I will go back to one of the "conventional wisdom" methods.

Hopefully by the end of next week I will have things cut out and ready to go, but we shall see what happens.  I have read through the Burda directions which seem rather straightforward, other than the collar.  Wish me luck there...

Also, in other news, I made another iPod case as a birthday gift because there was some serious jealousy happening over the first one...

Another iPod case...

In Little Mermaid colors...

Pretty cotton print from the remnant section...

With a button closure this time!

Hopefully that will be the last S.W.A.G. item for a while.  Well, at least until November...