More Casual Jacket Fun

[jruley]

Here is the fit when buttoned.  I am wearing a sweater to allow the neckhole to lie smoothly.

[jruley]

And now, unbuttoned:

[jruley]

I don't want to jump the gun, because there may be more work to do on the body.

But:  I would like to think about changing the sleeve style.  Maybe some ease in the crown, for a bit of "rope", since I have a nice wool to use.

When the time comes, is this a suitable application for posaune's tutorial here?

https://movsd.com/BespokeCutter/index.php/topic,453.0.html

If not - is there something similar for men's sleeves?

OR - is there a good way to slash and spread my existing sleeve pattern for more ease in the crown?

[posaune]

Hi Jim,
In my opinion you can`t have darts like this. remark: I only sew for males: my husband and my grandchildren. So not much experience in the male business.
But when I look at your side view pic - I see that your belly point is laying before your bust. I attach again the pic as before but I have added the green rectangle to make clear what I mean. (Belly before bust). You have this adressed with the slanted CF in your pattern (but only till armhole line). 
As second pic I have attached a coat draft for my husband. You can see how I drafted it. I cutted the green curve and then I rotated the CF part to vertical 90°- it opens at armhole.  But my husband has a belly not a little stomach like you. 
Have you adressed the hanging side with a) shoulder b) armhole? I think the right armhole has to be deeper.
lg
posaune

[jruley]

Hi posaune!

The chest dart started as a bust dart, which peterle put in the jacket pattern to build some shape in the chest.  If I take it completely out the coat will go out of balance.

Or do you mean to say I have too much width in the front of the skirt?  I think the usual alteration to correct this for bellied men is a cut to the side seam which is usually hidden under a pocket flap ("Donlon wedge").  It does the same thing as your diagram, but isn't visible at the armhole.

I have not tried to change the amount of dropped shoulder correction.  I would rather have not quite enough, than a little too much.  Wouldn't want the coat to force me to hold the right shoulder low.

Do you think the skirt looks better, worse, or about the same?  Is there a usual alteration for women with asymmetrical hips like mine?  Or is this something that has to be worked out for each individual case?

We can discuss ideas, but I want to hear from peterle before making more changes.

[Gerry]

I have not tried to change the amount of dropped shoulder correction.  I would rather have not quite enough, than a little too much.  Wouldn't want the coat to force me to hold the right shoulder low.

Looking at the balance lines, your 'horizontals' are all diagonal. Whether you like it or not, the right shoulder needs picking up so that those lines are parallel with the floor. Obviously the syce will need lowering/scooping to compensate.

The easiest thing to do is rip the shoulder seam, turn the seams to the outside and pin them. Adjust until balance is right. You might need to release the lowest part of the syce seam with a few cuts to do this.

I'd also turn-in and baste the neck seams. As is, they may be preventing the jacket from hanging properly. Only a tiny bit, but it all makes a difference.

Aesthetically, it's crying out for an extra button at the bottom of the fronts, IMO. If you bring the spacing in a little, you might be able to wangle things so that this extra, lowest button is inline with the very top of the hip pockets. That always looks right (if it's achievable).

[Gerry]

PS, it's a lot simpler to mark your button positions on the cloth and pin them. That way you're not committing to anything. You can can make positional changes, to see what works best, without having the visual distraction of pre-sewn buttonholes.

[peterle]

I'm not yet sure where the dart comes from.
The thing is, probably the original dart was just a single slash before tweaking (not a dart taking out width). Then the correct way to elongate the dart would be to carry the dart lines straight down to the hem. That would take out more width at the hem than now.
Fact is, the hem is wavy and "dancing", there is too much width. And looking on the profile pics you can see, some of the waves start at the belly peak.
So I second a Donlon wedge, probably after the necessary correction of the dart.(A short jacket does'nt need a Donlon wedge, a longer one does)

[jruley]

Tonight's changes.

First, the neckhole has been re-taped at the seam line, clipped and basted as Gerry suggested.

[jruley]

Second, the shoulder.  Pinned out a wedge at the natural shoulder line, where the seam will be relocated.  Here it is buttoned:









Even I can see that this is an improvement.

[jruley]

Same as last post, but unbuttoned:

[jruley]

Now a dart change.  Front darts were ripped and resewn along the outermost lines shown here:

[jruley]

Here is the result worn buttoned.  The front skirt seems better behaved, but now it shows the belly.









I have marked this "Version 1b" on the pattern.

[jruley]

And unbuttoned:









What should I try next?

[Greger]

Clarence Poulin says some people don't need a dart. Maybe this pattern is best with it.
The Donlon wedge will get rid of some of the excess skirt. But they do show the belly bulge. But it does keep cold air from blowing up inside.