The Tuxedo part two

The last post left off with a decently fitting muslin and lots of angst (mostly centered on fitting issues).  After adjusting the pattern (Vogue 2383) based on the info from the fitting, it was fabric cutting time.  I had ordered a beautiful midnight blue wool from Mood Fabrics when I first started planning the tuxedo.  Unfortunately, further research convinced me that in order for the tuxedo to look like the Skyfall tux, the fabric needed to have a sheen.  So the wool went into the stash and I went to a local fabric store Jay's Fabric Center where I found a beautiful silk blend with a black satin-like backing.  Unfortunately, it was a little light weight for my purposes but I decided it would work if I underlined as needed with more substantial fabric. 

I put on some jazz, poured a martini and spent a Saturday afternoon cutting the numerous pieces needed for this project.  Seriously, there were way more pieces than I have ever had for a sewing project (a crotch shield, is that even a thing?).  I also cut silk chiffon underlining along with a heavier silk from my stash for areas where I wanted more body (chest and back mostly).  I happened to have two pieces of silk chiffon in my stash (a lavender and a fuschia) that I had bought to make dresses.  I wanted to use the fuschia for two reasons:  it had a stiffer hand and I had decided the color was too bright for me to use for a myself.  Nimela (the fiance) nixed that idea.  She was sure Kyle (my son) would not wear the tux if he discovered it was underlined in fuschia chiffon.  The lavender really looked like grey once it was put on top of the silk so I went with the lavender.  (On a side note, once my daughter Sarah heard about the availability of the fuschia fabric, she pointed out that the color would look great on her and so that fabric now resides in her stash in Savannah -- sometimes it is not a good thing to have another seamstress in the family). 

I hand-basted the fabric and chiffon together and then added the sturdier stash silk pieces as needed.  This portion of the project went smoothly if s-l-o-w-l-y.  Once that was all done, I machine-basted the jacket together.  Progress picture below shows the jacket ready for the first fitting:

Luckily, Kyle was going to be able to come home over the Thanksgiving holiday and at Christmas.  That gave me a chance to have two fittings before the wedding.  Below are pictures from the first fitting:

Overall I was pretty happy with the fit.  The chest had a fold by the shoulder that required me to remove and reset the sleeve a little further in but those were the only issues from these views.  But as I had been expecting, the real problem was the back:

The fit across the shoulders was good but the waist had way too much room. We didn't want it really tight fitting but also didn't want there to be enough room for him to wear a fanny pack. I was not daunted however.  I had made tons of sheath dresses over the years and knew what a couple of well-placed darts can do for a waistline.  If you are cringing, you have every right to be. As I was soon to learn the hard way, back darts are not a thing when it comes to men's jackets.