Answering questions

I'm just popping in to answer a couple of questions posted by commenters on last weekend's Vogue 2770 Jacket Progress post. 

Carrotsandsmarties asked whether I have a helper to help me fit myself.  Nope - I do the first pinning on my handy-dandy duct tape double, and then when it looks weird (as it invariably does) I put the muslin on for a double-check.  This process confirms that the weirdness is truly my own.  So I don't have to put it on and take it off a million times, as Carrotsandsmarties feared - just once or twice.

Vicki asked if taking length out of the CF is a normal adjustment for me or whether it's peculiar to this pattern.  Well, it's not something I have to do all the time, but I have done it before.  It seems more pronounced in a garment which has a V neck and no lapels, for some reason.  I think it is a combination of somewhat forward and somewhat square shoulders, coupled with a forward neck, but I'm not really sure.  All I know is that I've come to trust the evidence of improved fit from various tucks.

NancyK asked if I had seen the series of articles on alterations that Kenneth King has written recently in Threads.  This series is very interesting but I have not attempted to follow his instructions.  I did spend quite a long time poring over his diagrams and text, trying to understand exactly what he was doing.  It was certainly not self-explanatory, at least to me.  I concluded that this is the method that works for Kenneth King but it wasn't going to work for me.  That said, his articles perhaps served as inspiration to me in my own quest for better fit, and helped me figure out how to "read the muslin" to decide where I need to add, subtract or redistribute fabric for better fit. 

And Nancy, re the fit of my jacket, the pattern is REALLY long (2003-style)!  It might not look so long on the envelope but then the model is probably six feet tall...  I'm 6" shorter and it wasn't doing much for me, I confess. 

The good news on the progress front today is that I've cut out the jacket, and have lots for a skirt, and enough besides for a short vest, if the fancy takes me.