I cut and sewed the coat muslin this morning. My first attempt failed spectacularly, but the second was spot on!
Compare it with the original mockup:
I totally win! Not only did I successfully draft a pattern of my own design (and differing substantially from any “in the book”), but I managed to troubleshoot and correct the pattern when it failed initially.
I feel as proud as a four-year-old holding up a scribbled drawing and announcing, “I did it all by myself!”
At this point I have drafted and sewn three muslins: the kimono jacket, the jacket with shawl collar, and the coat body. (I’m not bothering to put sleeves into the coat since it is using the exact same pattern as the jacket sleeves, except maybe a little longer; since there will probably be corrections to the jacket sleeve, I’d only have to make the identical correction on the coat. So it makes sense to fit just the body, and leave the sleeve to later.) I have also started the strawberry jam (it will take more attention later this morning, as I need to boil it briefly and pour it into large sheet pans to start the sun-cooking), and Mike and I have marked the spots where we need to drill holes to install the Fireside rolling temple. (95% of the credit there goes to Mike, who did all the hard work, figuring, etc. I mostly just stood there and held things!)
I’m guessing I will finish most of the muslins, get the strawberry jam into the sheet pans for sun-cooking, and get the rolling temple on the loom. I will probably pit the cherries for a cherry pie, but make the actual pie tomorrow – though one never knows: I might have more time than I expect. But since Mike and I are going out for breakfast in a bit, it seems unlikely I’ll get much more than that done.
Still, three out of four (projects) ain’t bad!
