Pattern Muslin's Are A Necessary Evil

Sewing is normally my "hiding" place but the last few weeks it has become my achilles heel - more fabric waste and more sewing screw ups.  I started thinking I needed a break from sewing to decide if it was something I really wanted to continue (momentary insanity).

For some reason I am always in a rush - got to finish it now at any cost.  I have no time to fix mistakes - WHY?  Giving up sewing was not an option.  Later I had a revelation of sorts.

My sewing revelation - if it is worth sewing then it is worth slowing down and doing it right.  Doing it right requires a muslin for me at this stage in my life (too many bumps and curves in the wrong places).  I hate hate hate doing a muslin.  I just want to cut it out, sew it up, then wear it.  A pattern muslin is a necessary evil!

My spiritual revelation -I was listening to "The Collection" cd by Daryl Coley as I was sewing when the song "Sovereign" played.  When you are going thru a storm sometimes you can forget the God you serve.  I had forgotten that my God is sovereign and that I don't have to understand or necessarily like what He is allowing in my life.  This song helped me to refocus my thinking and pray and ask the Lord for forgiveness.  My storm is still here but I am reminded of the Lord's intense love for me.  So how does this relate to sewing?   I am working on my "Christ muslin" and when the fit is right only then will I be ready to spend an eternity in heaven.

The shirt I made this week is from DGPatterns called the Adeline shirt and you can purchase it here.  I made the top shirt and plan to make the other shirt and dress soon.

Adeline Shirts

Adeline Dress

How I Did It

I initially made this shirt during a pattern test for the designer (you can view it here).  I ended up giving it away because it was too dark.  For some reason I did not think a muslin was necessary.  When I made it the first time I did not make any adjustments I cut the size and sewed it.  I ended up having  to make a number of adjustments that should have been made during the muslin phase - I would have saved some fabric, frustration, and time.  My brain went on vacation and forgot to tell me.

First change I made to this sewing session was to listen to music rather than turn on the tv.  The music helped me relax and slow down.

I only had the collar, sleeve hem, and shirt hem left and tried it on again.  I knew something was wrong but it took me a minute to figure it out.  The sleeve seam at the shoulder was about 2" lower than my shoulder.  I kept telling myself it looked okay but then my new motto came to mind "If it is worth sewing, it is worth doing it right."

I took a deep breath and held back the tears. The extra bulk around the sleeve area did not look good.  I am short and round and having the extra bulk made me look worse.  I knew I had to rip the side seams and the sleeves, so I did and took a break until the next day.

Adjustment #1

I put the collar on at this point.  I wanted to ensure there were no issues after I made the adjustments.  To ensure I got the collar right I marked the 3/8" seam allowance before stitching.

I took a shirt that had a similar collar/shoulder area and used it as my base.  I took measurements and ended up removing 2" at the shoulder seam and tapered  down to zero at the front/back seams.  I stitched and checked the fit and was happy with the change.  I applied the same changes to the other shoulder seam.

What I had to cutoff for the armhole area (A)

Used fabric from A to trace and cut other armhole area

Tapered to nothing at front/back armhole seam

Adjustment #2

I find it easier using the flat construction for putting in sleeves.  After sewing in the sleeves I sewed the side seams to check the fit and noticed there was still too much bulk in the underarm seam.  I ended up removing about 1" from each underarm seam and tapered to nothing at the waistline.

Yellow mark line is what I needed to remove

Taper to nothing at waistline

Adjustment #3

After adjustment #2 I was finished and was pretty happy with my shirt and took pictures.  I accidentally put double top stitching at the hemline.  I used Sulky 12wt Cotton Blendable thread for the topstitching.

I liked the shirt.  It had a little too much bulk in the back but I refused to remove the top stitching and then remove the 2 side seams besides it was the back (out of sight  out of mind).  I hung the shirt in my closet and went to bed.

The next day I tried the shirt on because something was bothering me.  I wasn't real happy with the sides - how they "angled" out on the sides at the hemline.  The bottom of the shirt stopped at the widest part of my hips and I did not need to bring more attention to my hips.

I ended up removing 3/4" from each bottom side seam and tapered to nothing at the waistline (forgot to take pictures) .  Since I had to make this change I decided to remove the double top stitching at this time since I didn't really like it.

Extra bulk at side hemline gone and double top stitching removed

Magical thing happened when I removed the bulk as the hemline sides, most of the extra bulk in the back disappeared too - yay.

I even took the time to sew on the buttons with my sewing machine.  I used a 2" hem for the sleeve and a 3/4" hem for the shirt hemline.

Conclusion

It was hard making the changes only because I hate fixing errors but it was well worth it.  After the adjustments I realized I should have probably cut 1 size smaller .  Had I done this there probably would have been fewer changes.  I cut a size 20 at the neck and armhole and increased to a size 22 at the hip and waist.

I really love the collar on this shirt - it is so unique.  I also love the sleeves - they are wide and roomy.  I now have a shirt that I absolutely love and that fits well.  I can't wait to wear this shirt.