Lady On Hold

This is as far as I got on my Lady Grey coat. In the photo, I'm wearing my fitted muslin. All in all, the fit was pretty darn great, much better than anything I've made from the big 4 pattern companies.

Like most of the garments I make, it needed a little more length in the bodice. Also the collar gaped, so I pinched out the excess. Finally, I had to shave just a smidge off the hips at the side seam.

The Lady Grey might possibly have the best fitting shoulders I've ever encountered in 40 years of sewing. I have to say that I am quite impressed with the drafting of this pattern.

Here's a view of the back.

Right after I did my fitting, I put the Lady aside to sew some items I needed for my NY / NJ vacation. As I mentioned in a previous post, I sewed three pairs of pants in three days, and completed a carpet bag that had sat half done for several years. (To be fair, one of the pairs of pants was also a UFO). I still need to get good photos, but I'll share the pants with you soon.

Not only am I pretty far behind the others in the sew-along, I've now realized that what I need much more than a fitted coat is a more casual jacket that I can wear over layers and sweaters, something that's nicer than a fleece, but that I can still wear to walk the dog.

So I've decided to put the Lady Grey aside for a little while and work on this coat –Burda 7423. I'm going to use the green, tan and burgundy wool check shown. It's been in my stash for a couple of years. Originally lighter in both color and weight, I threw this piece of fabric in a dark red dye bath which caused it to both shrink and felt. I think it's a great weight now for a casual coat.

As for the Lady, I'm not going to abandon her all together. While I never did find the perfect lining to go with my houndstooth check, I am kind of liking the look of the jacket in the upholstery fabric I've used for my muslin. I am visualizing it with black velvet contrast collar and lapel facing. Can't you just see it with long black gloves?

I have enough fabric left over to re-cut the pieces where I made alterations, so I might just sew this up and call it good. Stay tuned.