Crepe muslin #3

Thanks to Kate and Cassie for their very helpful comments on muslin #2. I think I have figured this out. I made a new front today. I added the "dart" to the side per Kate's instructions to give my front side more width - it worked!!! But the section above the bust still wasn't right. So I re-read Cassie's comments and pinned up the shoulders. Almost, but not quite. As is common with full-busted women, our shoulders aren't as wide as one would think, purely based on bust size. So then I pinched out some of the shoulder seam vertically and the top finally hung the way it should. To compensate, I will have to add the length back to the bottom, but I really think this will do it!!! I'm going to mark up my muslin, copy to the pattern and then match it up with the skirt!! I am hoping to spend next weekend (I have Friday off, so another long weekend) starting on the Crepe with my fashion fabric!!!!!! I think for tomorrow, I'm going to work on the pencil skirt and maybe a nightgown...I need a break from all these fitting challenges.... At the rate I'm going, it may actually be spring by the time I finish this dress....

I really suck at Blogger, so all my pics are at the end.....



before changes

The back - the wrinkles are from me contorting to take this pic.....




After doing the pinning - you can see my belly button and surgery scar, so need to add length here.....

Long weekends...

I am planning on getting a final muslin of the Crepe dress done this weekend..I found a really good article this week (Threads, I think) on how to use a sloper to adjust paper patterns. I also want to work on the pencil skirt that I made a muslin for....Not today though, celebrating the BF's birthday!!

Hope all of you get some sewing time on this long weekend!!

This used to be much easier....

..when I was a teenager. Like most women of my generation, I learned how to sew in 7th grade home ec. I sewed through most of my teenage years-I've always been tall and RTW has always been a problem. However, the teenage me could sew a pattern right out of the envelope with almost no adjustments, except for length.. The 49 yr old me can no longer do that.. First up, the Butterick pencil skirt I talked about yesterday. It's huge on me. I had carefully taken my measurements from a few months ago, measured the pattern and added to it based on those measurements. Yes, I've been doing weight watchers, but I haven't lost that much weight. Most, if not all, that I added to the pattern will be coming back off. I have 2 nice pieces of wool that I bought at G St Fabrics that will eventually become that skirt....


Now onto the Crepe dress. I made the 2nd muslin yesterday. I can breathe in this one, the length is better and the bust darts are basically in the right place. However, there is weird extra fabric above my bust and I think the problem is that the front needs more width for me. I also looked at where the side seams fall and they are not lined up right-where I think they need to be are in red on my pics, the actual side seams are in black. There are still wrinkles in the back, not sure if that is fixable or if it's because I have rolls, or because the sheet I'm using for a muslin just doesn't drape well. I am DETERMINED to get this dress to fit as I really like the design and it will be a great work dress for spring and summer.


Any and all suggestions are appreciated...

Crepe muslin #2

I made some adjustments to a newly traced Crepe pattern (bodice only) this morning. I lowered the bust dart 3 inches, which will also give me the additional length I need. Now to go sew on the new machine one of my sisters gave me for Christmas!! There are lots of us, so we pick names... Today is my AWS (alternative work schedule) day off, so I'm using it as my play day!!! After sewing the Crepe muslin, I plan to sew a pencil skirt muslin - I adjusted Butterick 5147 last weekend. I'm hoping this pattern will work - I love pencil skirts and it would be great to be able to sew up a bunch for my work wardrobe...

The next post should have pictures...unless they're really scary....