Project for the Fall: A Coat!

I'm making a coat!  It has been in the back of my mind for a long time and I have decided that now is the time.  More importantly, I'm not taking shortcuts with this.  I am going to make a proper muslin, use sew-in hair canvas, do hand tailoring techniques, add a back stay (using Sewaholic's tutorials), and maybe even bound buttonholes.

I have chosen Simplicity 2057, a Project Runway Coat.

The purple one but without the tabs at the waistline

My plan is to make the short version with the rounded collar like the one above.  However I will omit the pocket welts and back yoke and make the collar out of the same fabric rather than a contrasting one.  

Here is the fabric, it is a wool/poly blend from Fabric.com:

From Fabric.com

I have started my muslin using the most awful and slightly smelly home dec fabric I had laying around.  I'm glad I can finally use it and then get rid of it.

I have been using Gertie's Lady Gray Sew-Along tutorials and The Great Coat Sew-Along to do this right.  So far I have managed to do a FBA on a shoulder princess seam--it did work!! (yay).   I cut a 16 and did a 1" FBA.  After cutting out my pieces I stitched along all of the seam lines with a bright color, which I initially raised my eyebrows at, but now I am totally cool with it and see the wisdom in it.  Then I assembled the bodice using a light color thread and my longest stitch.   

Notes on my first steps of my first pass:

• The FBA was a good choice and the bust fits well.  
• The back is way too big and is sticking out, so I will take in those seams.  
• For some reason, the front waistband is too short, so I will measure the front bodice and then cut new waistband pieces to fit.   (EDIT: Duh...doing a FBA makes the front wider...need to make waistband wider too...facepalm)
• I need to narrow the shoulders about 1/2" which really shouldn't surprise me.  I think I will need to extend the shoulders a little bit in order to fit shoulder pads.
• Once I tweak the back I may raise up the waistband since my waist is pretty high.  (Note to self: lengthen the jacket to compensate)

Today I won't even bore you with my muslin photos, but trust me, the fabric is ugly!!

So that's the plan for now.  In the words of Carolyn..."more later".  :)