Traditionally in tailoring the next step would be the assembly of the front and sides of the suit jacket and the application of welt and double piping pockets. However, as noted in my previous post, V8333 has non-traditional pockets so instead of adding traditional pockets, I just did pocket samples and skipped on to the next step: the canvas layer.
I used a light Hymo for the first layer. This layer is the largest and will be the layer that is laid against the wool. The second layer is Horsehair canvas cut from shoulder to above the bust line and out into the side panel under the arm. There is also rectangle of french canvas to support the area above the bust and prevent the fabric from collapsing. Finally, there are two layers of baby flannel to protect the lining from the hair canvas and french canvas. All of it is then pad stitched together.
I then basted the canvas layer to the wool. This is where my fabric and decision to flat line started to come back to bite me. The wool streted more than the sheermist and started to bubble a little at the seams. I released the flat lining at the hem and collar line but there is still a little rippling over the bust. In retrospect I should probably have fused the wool instead of flat lining it.
Next pad stitched the lapels, stitched tailor’s tape to the roll line of the collar and the outer edge of the Hymo. Then I basted the front and back of the jacket together at the shoulders and side seams. Finally, I stripped down a pair of solder pads to put into the jacket. It was a bit of an adventure since the jacket needed very small shoulder pads and the ones available were designed for Men’s jackets. Once stripped down I covered them with a layer of muslin on top and a layer of Hymo underneath and pad stitched them together.
For now the only alteration is to tighten the tape on the roll line by 1/4 inch. However, during the fitting we noticed some problems with fit in the shoulder area on the back panels. We decided to hold off on any alterations in that area until we put in sleeve mockups so that I can see how the fit of the back panel affects the lay of the sleeve.
