1960s Coat Dress - Testing the Fit

Over the weekend, I traced a copy of the vintage coat dress pattern onto Swedish tracing paper. Yesterday I cut out a muslin, and today I basted it together. I sewed it together with the seam allowances on the outside, making it easier to adjust the seams. I haven't attached the skirt portion of the muslin yet, as I'm concentrating on the bodice at the moment. After trying it on, I found, as I had expected, there were a few usual fitting problems.









Both the front and back of the bodice are too loose, except for the hip area, which, as I've found, is rarely ever too baggy for me ;)

For the back of the bodice, I think a narrow back adjustment is needed. After discovering the extra fabric in the back of the polka dot wrap dress, I've been nagged by the fact that it didn't fit correctly. I didn't actually realize the poor fit until someone took pictures of it on me. It was strange, I thought, because I had tissue fitted the bodice and had foreseen no problems. After leafing through a few fitting books, however, I found the answer: my back is proportionally smaller than the front side of my body, from my shoulders to my waist. Why didn't I discover the problem while fitting the pattern? I had fit it over my dress form, whose back is proportionate to the front of its body! A narrow back can be identified by the vertical folds or wrinkles of fabric from the shoulders to the waist, and it's usually caused by a very erect posture, though some people are simply born with it.

If anyone has any input on how to fit the front of the bodice, it would be really helpful! As the last picture shows, there is a lot of extra room under the arm. The narrow back adjustment will take care of the back half of it, but I'm not sure whether I should just rip open the seam and pin out the extra room, or if I should make some sort of small bust adjustment, which would likely include slashing the front of the bodice pattern and overlapping the pieces to make it smaller.

I'll be sure to post again once the fit is corrected, showing the alterations that I will have made :)

Next Project: 1960's Coat Dress

This double-breasted frock is low waisted, and has a pleated skirt that gives the illusion of a wrap-around dress. I'm planning on making view B (the red dress on the right) in navy blue with white topstitching and white buttons.

I was able to go fabric shopping yesterday, and purchased a length of navy blue handkerchief linen. The pattern actually recommends ordinary linen, twills, and other fabrics that are similar in weight, but I really prefer the texture of hanky linen compared to that of regular linen. Perhaps I ought to underline it, to give it a little more body (any suggestions?). I'm not sure how easy it would be to line such a dress, as the bodice starts like a wrap, yet runs into a pleated skirt. Hmmmm. . .

I'm also unsure as to what sort of interfacing I will use, for the envelope simply calls for a woven interfacing. I could just try a sew-in/non-fusible interfacing from JoAnn's, but perhaps a lightweight cotton, such as batiste, would be more appropriate. Does anyone have any ideas?

After seeing the pattern, my sister asked if I could make her a dress, too, so it looks as though I might be using this pattern twice!