Jacket Tutorial, part 5 - Front to Back

Place the front body assembly on top of the back body assembly, right sides facing and quilt lines meeting exactly at the shoulder seam.

Baste the front yoke to back yoke at the shoulder seam. Flip the garment around (right sides out) and inspect the quilt lines at the seam to confirm that they meet exactly.

Once satisfied of their proper alignment, stitch at the shoulder seam, reinforcing the seam at the neckline and armscye. We actually recommend stitching the whole seam twice to further secure the many layers. 

Press the shoulder seam allowances open.

Topstitch in a parallel straight line on each side of the seam, ⅛" away, securing the seam allowances in place.

Repeat for the other side. 

Ideally, the quilt lines should align exactly (demonstrated here on muslin).

Then the ⅛" topstitching is icing on the cake. 

However, the ⅛" topstitching does grant a minor margin for error - that is, it "forgives" a small amount of misalignment. Not much, but just enough to slightly obscure the last stitch or so ... 

For instance, note this slightly imperfect alignment:

Now note how the ⅛" topstitching slightly obscures the unsightly, mismatched lines:  

Once draped over the wearer's shoulder and the wearer is moving, the slight misalignment would be practically imperceptible.

'course, it won't do you much good if you're off by more than that!

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