Hi all,
I am once again asking for your fitting support!
This is coat #2. Since the first, I altered the pattern fairly significantly, narrowing the back and adding the width to the forepart. I've also been more careful in keeping fullness in the chest when canvassing – I think I lost it to the lapel last time round. I think it's had a pretty positive effect, overall!
There really is quite a lot of fullness in the chest now. I'm not sure how to tell if it's too much. I suppose it's partly the English style?
There are a couple of things that are quite obvious to me:
One: there is too much length in the back at the top – I suppose this just means lowering the collar? EDIT: the collar is actually the right length, if you pull it up then it meets the shirt collar and the crease goes away. Seems like it just needs a bit of encouragement – how can I make it lift up more?
Two: The sleeve pitch needs to be brought down at the front a bit
Three: I'd say the coat is just a little long, particularly as I intend this to be worn more as a blazer than a suit coat
However, the reason I've left them so far is that the shoulder seam is sitting too far forward, I think. It's very much visible from the front. I wondered if this was a symptom of something harder to spot, and could also be causing the collar issue.
I also wondered if the waist could be taken in a little. Would appreciate everyone's opinions on this!
(By the way, the top button balance mark is a little off. Not sure how this happened, as the markstitches match up, and the pockets on both sides are the same distance from the neck point. However I've fixed the pockets now so I suppose I'll just have to move the top button on one side. Annoying as I've already cut the canvas.)
Thanks all for your help in advance.
It's looking really good. A big improvement. It's hard to get a sense of the details from the video though so maybe post a few more still pictures?
I'm not qualified to comment on the fit but it looks like this might be the issue (happy to be corrected though):
Sorry, meant to attach more – must have been lost!
Yeah the length is a bit long. The knuckle under your thumb nail is a good length to line it up with
You’re probably a bit long in the front balance. Take 3/4” off the top at the shoulders.
You have the same issue in the back. Centre back vents are tricky when it comes to balance a long balance can have the same look of fault as a short one. But in this case I think it is too long, shorten the back 3/4”.
Jeremy got it right. The back neck needs squaring. Here’s the same image from my book.
Thank you. Especially for being so quick! I will make these changes and then post some more pictures.
Here are some halfway pictures. I thought I'd post before bothering to baste in the sleeves.
Still a little wrinkling around the neck. The shoulder is getting almost flat at this point! But I guess I should do more of Jeremy's alteration?
@Rory Duffy has the rebalancing has had the desired effect? It's certainly had the effect of making the sides more of the right shape
Let me know if you need more pictures.
Realised those pictures were a little blurry. Here are a couple more (the second showing what I guess is the dropped right shoulder?)
I think the hip is a bit small.
@Ta Dechanupab thanks for your comment. Would you suggest remedying this by letting out the side seams?
Hi everyone! How does this look? I'm quite pleased I think. The photos seem to show some wrinkling at the back of the sleeve but it's invisible in real life. Maybe I'll adjust the pitch just slightly. Do you think the vent sticking out is a fitting issue or will it sort itself out when it's taped and had some weight added to it? Thanks in advance!
Those better trained / knowledgeable may (and should!) correct me, if I am wrong, but I think the back vent opens up too much, which might be caused by a too tight fit around the hips and/or middle. It's almost as if the hips work like hinges here, where the waist is too tight and pulls the fabric together. This causes the fabric to split open at the opposite end - luckily, there's a vent there to release some stress...by opening up.
Does the vent stay open like that if you unbutton the coat, or does the vent close?
As far as the arms are concerned: I'd guess the front pitch is a fraction too low (and thus the back pitch too high), but I guess we're talking about 1/4 inch maybe. Can't be much, really.
As stated before: An amateur's two cents! Maybe someone more "senior" will give you better / different clues!
As far as the rest is concerned: Looks good!
Thanks Jeroen!
The vent opens about the same whether it's buttoned or not – I think it's basically because I have a large seat! I've got plenty of inlay (I foresaw this happening) so I imagine the right thing to do would to make the vent slanted (it's straight right now), so that it appears straight? I wonder how easy that'll be!
Agreed on the sleeves.
While I'm here, I picked up the shoulder on the right side and lowered the armholes on both sides. The chest was starting to collapse a bit on that side but that seems to have been fixed by this alteration.
Hi,
I didn't want to put it like that, but yes: The size of the back and nether regions might be an issue here 😉
This is what I found about it: http://thestudenttailor.blogspot.com/2014/09/tailoring-technicalities-jacket-vents.html?m=1
"Likewise, a single rear vent needs excess cloth built into the rear part of the jacket's skirt on each side, to prevent the skirt from sitting too tightly, pulling outwards over each hip, and producing a gaping vent which cannot sit cleanly. "
As far as the arms are concerned: As far as I can see on the last picture, that does seem to improve things! Can you send pics from the sides?
Cheers JK
Another theory: What if your back still is too long? It looks a bit like the fabric is laying on your seat in the back. If you'd pull up a bit in the neck, does that change the vent?
I've let out the side seams below the waist – think it's had a good effect:
That looks excellent!
Without wanting to sound vain, I can't help but think the cut isn't very flattering. I feel it makes my seat look obviously larger than my chest (cf. "Does my bum look big in this?"). What do you think would be the right way to remedy this? I wondered if lowering the top button would emphasise the chest, or perhaps a shorter hem. This really is now getting into minor details but I feel I'm quite happy that it 'fits' now!
@Robbie I think that the alterations that you’ve made so far are a massive improvement. The hip area looks so much better and the pulling on the vent seems to have all but gone.
I’m glad you raise the issue of the proportions as my first impression of the last shot from the back suggests that it is slightly too narrow across the shoulders. This may be the cause of the horizontal ripples that can be seen below the neck across the shoulder blades as the overall shoulder line looks good but the basting stitches seem to be pulling apart. I’m not sure exactly how you would correct that as it might be a combination of letting out the centre back seam and the side seams or just one of those. I don’t have the experience to say.
The other thing I notice is that there is more long seam showing on the right sleeve (of the photos are not mirrored) than the left which suggests that one of them is twisted slightly. It’s hard to tell from a single photograph as the angle might not be straight on, but the point that the sleeve seam meets the armhole seems different.
Obviously I’d wait for input from the experienced members before making any changes but those are my observations for what they are worth. Keep up the great work though. Is looking really good.
@jeremymarkbarnett Thanks! I've actually pinned the shoulder just to look at the fit over the chest and back on my right side (sorry about the mirroring, I forgot the camera did that!) – I need to rebate the seam properly which I'm hoping will also sort out the back problem (as it wasn't there before pinning). I will post a picture when I do!
Good spot Jeremy. That pulling under the collar is caused by an over suppressed back neck. i.e he must let out the back neck 1/4” on both sides and adjust the neck points accordingly
Like this.