Bespoke Cutter And Tailor

Looks like you fall into the category of sway back. Don't remember much of that anymore.

I don't see the gapping at the back of your neck as seen in your initial photos, so increasing the length has obviously helped. I'm guessing that the misaligned balance marks seen in profile are due to the back being shifted up (they're old marks?).

If you follow the centre-back seam all the way up you'll see it being pulled over to the right as we approach the neck. Likewise the neck seen from the front. That pull could be due to tension under the arm; which would make sense as your shoulder is dropped on that side, as Jim mentioned. Everything is dropping slightly on the right and needs picking up (with a corresponding adjustment to the armsyce). We need photos for both sides of your profile, incidentally, for comparison.

It's a little on the baggy side. I take it there's no side panel, but did you include a dart under the arm? Difficult to tell. Suppression can be tinkered with later, however, sorting out the RHS would be the place to start IMO. More experienced eyes will no doubt offer other suggestions.

Two things I can see because I've struggled with them myself:

1) it looks like you have a dropped right shoulder.  There are a number of simple corrections for that you could apply.

2) if you are planning on shoulder pads you should have them pinned in place when fitting.

I'll defer to the professional members for other things.

Take heart, it's looking a lot better than some of mine did at this stage!

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It would help if you posted photos of where you are at the moment.

Hello again,

I am still struggling getting my head around vertical balance of a jacket.
Since I'm fitting a rounded back/stooped posture, I shifted up the back along the side seams, as the cloth has to go over a longer area. What happens is that the bottom of the musslin swings forward against the seat area and the front quarters collapse - when I pull the jacket down on the front, it sits quite nicely, but creeps back/up when moving. Please see my sketch, comparing "regular" posture and stooped posture.
My questions is: what alteration "rotates" the whole jacket forward? (as stated, lengthening the back did not do it).
Many thanks in advance!

Quote from: DrLang on March 17, 2025, 09:39:53 PMThe difficulty with handling wasn't so much with attaching the interfacing so much as with attaching the zipper and stitching it down to the front. Fusible interfacing gives it a slight rigidity that seems to just make it easier to handle. I suppose that I might be able to get a similar affect with starch

Perhaps use a stiffer, sew-in interfacing? (and glue baste it).

The difficulty with handling wasn't so much with attaching the interfacing so much as with attaching the zipper and stitching it down to the front. Fusible interfacing gives it a slight rigidity that seems to just make it easier to handle. I suppose that I might be able to get a similar affect with starch

Thanks Peter, I think I understand.

Quote from: DrLang on March 17, 2025, 04:03:42 PM

Quote from: Hendrick on March 17, 2025, 08:17:38 AMO, and I forgot to mention about the fly facing. When you use interfacing for that, do stay away from the seams, because it will fixate the seam and your front crotch will not bend form properly.

Thank you, that's a good tip for me to keep in mind. I tried just using a very light weight linen interlining in this latest pair but I found it very hard to control compared to fusible interfacing. I think that I might just go back to a fusible, but that will be something to try.

Apologies if you did this, but cutting the interfacing on the true bias - as recommended in the Modern Tailor volumes? (might have been Art of Garment Making) - presents no problems in my experience (I seam the fly pieces too).

I don't use fusing. With sew-in interlining, it helps if you glue-baste it to the cloth when it comes to the sewing. Heat the interfacing, smear on some paper glue (Prit/Uhu etc), apply it to your cloth piece then steam press. Best to use a pressing cloth, to protect the iron from any glue poking out at the edges. It's by no means a permanent bond - it will delaminate easily - but strong enough to keep things together until sewn.