New Look 6432 Update

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessed one! I took the week off, but I didn't make it to my sewing machine until late this afternoon. I've attached the facings and done the topstiching. In spite of my best understitching efforts, the facings still wanted to roll and it was driving me crazy. I had to do the topstitching tonight for my sanity. I'm still not 100% happy with what's going on where the facings and shoulder seams meet.

I'm about to take my seam rippers to bed with me and dismantle the side seams. Once I get those right, it's hemming, a button and *gasp* a buttonhole. Since I'm using fleece, I'm going to try this faux bound buttonhole method.

Today's progress has raised a couple of questions for me:

1. Understitching:  If I turn all the seam allowances away from the garment and stitch perfectly in the seam using a stitch in the ditch foot, is that the same as understitching or do I need to be a millimeter or two away from the seam? Being even slightly outside the seam line looked horrible on my fleece.
2. Please, please, please give me a link to a tutorial for trimming overlapping (or are they intersecting) seams. How exactly do you trim the neckline and shoulder seam allowances when you have facings? Mine are not pretty.

Work In Progress: New Look 6432

I've been working on this NL6432 coat for a couple of weekends.  I use the word coat lightly.  This is my first time using fleece and it has been an interesting adventure. I really want to press it! You'll see why in a second. I did (carefully) fuse knit interfacing to the shoulder seams.

The good news is I made my first cuff of any type. The big news is I set in my first sleeve and it came out perfectly.  Kudos to Ann for the great tutorial. I did alterations according to FFRP for my slightly round back and forward shoulders.

Now for the bad news:  This coat seems way too big. I started with a small and tapered to an XL.  I tried to take out the excess via the side seams, but that's not working out so well.  The left side is better than the right, but both need work.  I really struggle with side seams and my high hip.

The back pieces are joined with a single welt seam.  I did a sway back alteration and I don't know if this is the cause of the problem, but that seam is dead center and falls (sinks) most unattractively down my backside.    I'm assuming this wouldn't happen if the fabric were stiffer. Because of the drape, my "coat" feels like an overgrown cardigan.  I hope I feel better once I get the front facings in. I know that won't help with the CB seam, so I'm open to any and all suggestions...

I'm going to finish everything except the hemming before I work on those side seams, which in spite of my best efforts are still not straight.  The back pulls forward and I've got an extra fold of material in the front. Ugggh. I'm willing to stick with this until I get it right. I'm even willing to make this one over since I'm using Northern Lights fleece from Hancock and it's on sale.