The initial FBA was a bit much, so I pinned some of the fullness out, so the fit isn't bad, but I'm not sure this shape is doing me any favors. My shoulders are already fairly broad, and the sleeves are definitely maximizing that feature. This is without shoulder pads...
From the side, (sorry so blurry!) it's even worse. I think part of the problem is that when I pinned out the fullness from the FBA, it lowered the bust point, but there is some weirdness at the waist I'm also not happy with. I like the pleats though.
I think the back is my best view. The shoulder width isn't as obvious and the fit through the back is good.
My other concern is that this pattern won't play well with the large scale houndstooth wool I want to use.
Here is the seam at the upper bust. I used a home dec weight faille as my muslin fabric so that I could easily see what the "stripe" of the fabric would be doing in the final jacket. Here the ribs are at right angles to each other, which does not bode well for matching the houndstooth. Like at all.
So, I'm not sure what I want to do next. Fix the FBA and try again? Table this and take a breather, see what a week or two in the Magic Closet does for it? Or is this pattern just not good for me? Friends, what do y'all think?
