April Henry

@macaronquilts Out of interest I got my 23 year son to try on his sisters. Way too short (I had shortened the leg) but they fit in a low waisted way.
He is not overly tall and an average muscular build.

He, too, liked the pockets and said he would happily wear them.

I hope that helps!

Hello James,

As it happens, we have a blog tutorial specifically for this topic! I hope this helps:

fitting a muslin

Depending on the weight and thickness of the lining I think it could be great! Would love to see it when you’re done.

For question 1 it very much depends on your arms. If you have fuller arms you may want to go with a larger size armhole. Otherwise start with the standard size and see how it goes with the muslin.

Regarding #2, I’m not a big believer in the body map concept because it’s not nearly as simple as the authors of the book try to make it. Each pattern…[Read more]

I think I’ve made it in knit with the placket and it wasn’t a problem, but it’s been a while. And I know several people have eliminated the placket without problems, too. There have been many versions of this pattern–you could check the Flickr group or the Facebook group and probably find lots of examples.

That looks like it will be a very nice fabric for this pattern! I would say the underlining is completely your choice based on your fabric. If you’re concerned that the fabric isn’t substantial enough for this pattern I’d say go for it. In general, I tend to skip it and instead allow the fabric to drape. This coat is designed to be somewhat…[Read more]

I agree that the second muslin is just not hitting it. What about altering the pattern piece to lower the neckline so it hits below the bust? That would be relatively easy, I think.

It’s looking good to me! The bodice is definitely too long in the back, and maybe a little long in the front as well? But I think you’re on the right track.

You can absolutely do that. Take a look at the Recital Shirt for an example: we offered more of a tuxedo-style band collar for that one, which is basically the collar band with a little point added. I hope that helps!

That sounds like a job for your local repair shop!

I haven’t, but I think it would be lovely. Challis has a nice drape.

Hi! Off the top of my head I seem to recall the hem is relatively straight. If it’s a little curved you can always cheat and straighten it out–quite a few of our customers have done similar with other of our style. You might find additional help or ideas on our Facebook group, too: https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsoflieslandco

Hi Maria! I had really good luck with Rijs textile in the Netherlands. They have a huge variety of colors and the texture and weight are very nice. Not very friendly, but nice fabrics. https://www.rijstextiles.com/en/

When we fitted this style we made a design decision that the waist looked better with negative ease. Patternmaking isn’t simply math–the aesthetics and fit and action of the fabric also come into play–and with knits this pattern simply looked and fitted better with a smaller waistline. Keep in mind, too, that with the waist ties the waist…[Read more]

Hi Anne,

Thanks for your patience. The numbers on the charts are correct, so let me see if I can explain the difference between the two size ranges for you. Each size range is developed and fitted independently, so the numbers in terms of ease, etc., aren’t directly related. In other words, we developed the misses size and fitted it to how we…[Read more]

Sure, as it happens I did a tutorial specifically to help with this issue! https://oliverands.com/community/blog/2012/10/fitting-a-muslin.html

You could try, but you’ll need to baste the fabric into place rather than fusing it, which means the interfacing won’t be adhered to the fabric. It would probably be ok, but I haven’t tried it on this pattern so I can’t say for sure.

Sure–athletic clothes are often made of hydrophobic materials, which makes it difficult to eliminate odors because water is repelled by the fabric. Two suggestions: soak them in a water-vinegar mixture first. Then add some baking soda to the washing machine. Both of these methods will help get rid of odors easily!