Monday 26 May 2014

I love making muslins, said no-one ever ...

It is so much different sewing for myself (tall, curvy and not the standard B or C cup) than it is sewing for my little man (tall but straight up and down with no fit issues) ...

It has been a long time since I sewed anything for myself and I am remembering the 'joy' of making muslins and adjusting patterns to fit when starting from scratch. I have made two muslins of the blouse back t from Hot Patterns and while the back is almost spot on, thank goodness for small mercies, the front is still way off.

I did a FBA and added some length to the front (the length worked well, the FBA not so much). I also went down a couple of sizes at the shoulder and across the upper chest but think I should have gone down a few sizes right through the front and made the narrow shoulder adjustment as well.

When I compare my actual measurements to the flat pattern it appears I should be using 2 or 3 sizes smaller than indicated by the size chart so that will be my new starting point. My plan of attack is to reprint the front pattern, make a vertical length adjustment to accommodate the extra space needed in front, add a bubble of extra fabric at bust level on the side (which may or may not be needed), and make a narrow shoulder adjustment.

Hopefully I will be closer to a good fit after these alterations. Third time lucky?

EDIT: Sadly no, three was not my lucky number.

Despite tracing off the front three sizes smaller than my original size it is still too big. Sigh. The length is perfect but the width is wrong. The way it sits at the moment it feels like there is about 2-3" too much fabric down the centre of the shirt with the shoulders sitting too far out. I am not sure if it is the pattern size or the fabric I am using.

I am beginning to question if my mystery knit fabric may not be the best thing to make a muslin from. I am going to fold out a tuck down the front and run a line of stitching through it to see if that helps. If it does I might cut yet another front removing the excess first and see how that goes. If it is no better it will be off to the fabric store in the next few days to see if I can find something else to make a muslin from. I have ordered some nice fabrics to make this top but I don't want to cut into those until I can get the size right.

As much as muslins do not excite me I am so glad I started this process before trying to make the garment.

2 comments:

  1. Actually, I like making muslins. They make fitting much easier, and after making muslin, I've figured out the order of construction. This is especially useful with Burda, Marfy and StyleArc, where instructions are minimal or nonexistent.

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  2. I know what you mean. It can get a little frustrating though when alterations to the pattern don't have the desired affect and you have to start over. That said it is better to do that with a muslin instead of good fabric.

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