In Progress: Tiramisu Top Muslin, Or the Over-Enthusiastic Bust Assessment

My basted-together Tiramisu muslin: So I think I chose the wrong cup size, huh?

So I'm making the Cake Patterns Tiramisu dress (reprinting now and temporarily on presale for $12) in red and white stripes as part of my Spring Sewing Plan, but before I cut into my super-nice fabric, I figured I'd test it with some other leftover stripes from the stash.

For variety, I decided to make it as a top, since I wasn't worried about fitting the skirt. I just extended the midriff down (too far down, I think). and shaped it out for the hips.

In sewing, it is always a perilous thing to ignore your actual measurements in favor of half-remembered or wishful thinking or denial measurements. Numbers and letters are just that. Now, back when I was pregnant, and then nursing, I got REALLY good at making extreme bust adjustments (for F, G, H and even at one point, I). But I recently weaned my daughter and I think I need to wake up to the new reality of more subtle E-cup bust roomage needs.

Anyway, my high bust is 35" and my full bust is 38.5. So I chose the size 35 by high bust, which I'm pretty sure was correct since it fits well in the back (and how cool is that chevron effect?!):

But for the cup size I chose the D, which I now think was a mistake, since according to the cup size chart it creates a finished measurement of 39.5"... a whole inch of positive ease when I prefer at least an inch or two of negative ease.

Plans & Observations:

• I think I'll recut the two front bodice pieces as the 35B, which should be a finished full bust measurement of 37" (1.5" negative ease) and should remove some of the front length, too.
• I was so careful with pattern matching when I cut the midriff pieces and the back bodice pieces but totally forgot about the shoulders. Oh well! I'll be more careful with the dress version.
• The length is bad—way too long. I'll chop at least a few inches off the bottom before I hem it.
• It is SO weird to be sewing from instructions that I designed (along with my husband). WEIRD. I remember drawing some of those diagrams and now I am following them!

How would you fix this?

P.S. Update! Somehow despite being part of the Cake team, I missed Day 5 of the Tiramisu Sewalong series, which is completely dedicated to the issue of fitting the bodice of the Tiramisu and tuning up the underbust seam, with videos and step-by-step photos. So here it is!

P.S. Speaking of over-enthusiastic bust roomage, I tried to put on my silk Flutter-Sleeve Cardigan for Me Made May today and boy does it need a refashion... when I was knitting it I became convinced it needed bust shaping and did all these improvised short rows... and then it stretched out after wear... and NOW:

Mad Men Muslin #1: Giving Up on the "Wearable Muslin"?

Good: bodice not terribly ill-fitting. Bad: shoulders like, two inches too wide. Ugly: serious gapping problems, remedied here with carefully placed pins.

So here's my Joan Blue Bow Dress (previous posts here) bodice muslin for the Mad Men Challenge, with one sleeve. I made it up in a rayon/poly/lycra blend doubleknit I bought ages ago for $3.99 or something from Fabric.com--the fabric has almost identical stretch and recovery to my blue wool doubleknit (at least, I THINK/HOPE it does).

So, oh fitting Oracles--what sayeth these wrinkles? Will I be in business with a few simple alterations, or am I really in for it?

Here's my sketch again, if you're not completely sick of it by now:

Muslin back view:

Is that all that annoying wrinkling just swayback, or also because I'm shorter-waisted than the pattern? Or is it because the waist is too tight? Hmm....

Side view--what the heck is going on with these diagonal wrinkles? (Also, yes: I have NO BUTT. It is completely 2-dimensional back there.)

The shoulder and sleeve have issues (other issue: accidentally put sleeve seams on outside):

Gapping isn't so bad now that I've pinned up a bit of the bottom:

I really hate this part of sewing. I always doubt my ability to read the wrinkles, and I'm afraid I'll over or underfit, and sometimes I just get really, really confused as to what the actual fitting issues are and what are, say, poor posture issues or weird photo issues. That said, I adore a well-fitted garment (isn't that why I'm sewing, after all?), and I know this effort will be worth it.

So, the good:

• It's not way too small. I cut two-inch (I know!) seam allowances out of unfounded fear. The pattern is in a bust 34" (my high bust measurement), and my full bust is 38", but there was plenty of ease built in. Though I'm surprised the waist is even close to fitting--the pattern measures less than 26" in the waist, and my waist is a good 2 inches bigger than that. Hurrah for knits!
• The bust darts even seem to generally be in the right places. Shocking! Though perhaps they are a smidge to close to the "bust apex."
• This v-neck bodice is totally flattering, no?

The bad, and my tentative plan of alteration attack.

• The shoulders are ridiculously wide on me. I always have this problem with set-in-sleeve styles--I have super narrow shoulders.
  • The fix: a narrow shoulder adjustment. At least 1 inch...
• The waist is too long. It's at least an inch below my natural waist.
  • The fix: shortening the bodice by a bit.
• The sleeve is too loose. Probably as a result of being made up in a knit, albeit a stable one.
  • The fix: take in the sleeve at the underseam.
• The waist might be a smidge tight? There seems to be some pulling/wrinkles at the front overlap.
  • The fix: unbaste side seams and pin to fit?
• Something really awful and bunchy and wrinkly is going on at the back waist.
  • The fix: I don't know! Maybe this will go away when I shorten the bodice... but it might also be too tight? And I KNOW I have swayback, as all my RTW things bunch like this, so I probably need a swayback adjustment, too. Not that I've ever done one. Err...
• There are some weird diagonal wrinkles on the side.
  • The fix: ???
• Bust darts end too close to "apex"?
  • The fix: End a bit farther from "apex?"

At this point I think I'm going to give up on the wearable muslin concept. While I think I COULD easily alter this to fit, it would take up precious sewing time I don't have. Plus I think it'll be easier to adjust if I just give myself permission to draw all over this thing without fear. Most importantly, I have limited closet space, and a gray dress just isn't ME (or Joan, for that matter).

I think I'm also going to give up on altering the pattern to be more like the inspiration dress--I'm not sure that I want to invest time/energy in widening the V and drafting my own shawl collar here. I am going to make a bow belt instead of the plain belt, though. It is a bow dress after all! And I will lower the neckline on the dickey, too.

Bonus: my entire fancy muslin-wearing outfit (that's a RTW doubleknit pencil skirt from Target). Fairly certain Joan does NOT wear stripey wool knee socks with heels.

So what do you think? Is my assessment on-target? Any help with interpreting these photos is much appreciated.

P.S. One of the essential rules of fitting is wearing the same undergarments you plan to wear with the finished item. I don't normally do shapewear, but I know Joan always wears a long-line bra and girdle... so I tried to approximate that look with some weird Spanx thing that comes up to right below my bra. BUT I COULDN'T BREATHE. So half of these photos are with that thing, half are without. Oddly enough, the fit issues were mainly the same either way.

Cardi/Jacket Muslin Progress...

Apologies for the lopsided nature of these pictures--the camera battery died before I could redo!

Thanks for all the feedback on the cardi/jacket muslin from my last post on it--most of you felt that the collar would be a good idea, so I went ahead and basted it on, and I think you're right--it does look more finished.

So here's what I've decided:

• I'll leave the length even all around after all. It's short enough to work for maternity, but long enough that it might work for a while post-maternity, too.
• The FBA itself is just fine. I need to rotate the horizontal dart I added to point towards the apex.
• I definitely need to add some front width, though--at least 2 inches total. It's supposed to wrap at least a little!
• I'll take in the sleeve seams a bit.
• I honestly have no idea how to fix these baggy raglan armholes--so whatever. It's a knit cardi-jacket. And the fashion fabric is much nicer/smoother than this crummy wrinkle-prone stuff, so maybe I won't get the same wrinkly effect.
• I'm going to baste the final together before serging in case further tweaks are needed, but I'm done with this muslin!
• Definitely going to replace this gathered peplum with a smoother eased peplum with a lot less fullness.

But not tonight. This pregnant seamstress needs to put her swollen feet up, cuddle with the cats and take a nap.

Mini-Wardrobe Progress & Setbacks: Cardi/Jacket Muslin!

With a little over a week to go for the mini-wardrobe contest, I have one finished polka dot top and... a muslin of the double knit chartreuse cardigan jacket (yes, I know I said I was going to switch to lime... but I'm a chartreuse girl at heart). To refresh your memory, here was my sketch of the jacket:

The pattern is McCall's 5529, a belted unlined raglan-sleeved cardigan/jacket with peplum (oh how I love a peplum!), designed for wovens or stable knits. I believe it's out of print in the envelope edition, but I bought it as a download from SewingPatterns.com and tediously taped it all together:

And here are the flats:

I started with view B, with the more gathered/ruffled peplum and self-fabric belt. I went with a size 14 and did my usual major FBA. Since I haven't had a waist in some time, I shortened the bodice by about 4 inches to make use of my "empire waist" (aka underbust).

I had no illusions of making a wearable muslin this time, so I used some hateful, stiff, wrinkle-prone and cheap-feeling red cotton lycra knit with a similar stretch to my doubleknit fashion fabric and wrote all over it with permanent marker. I didn't have enough for all the pieces, so I arbitrarily cut the sleeves off at the elbow (which I WON'T do in the final!) and left off the collar for now.

I'd never made a jacket per se before, but I have made a raglan-sleeved hoodie, and the construction for this was just as quick and easy--made from a knit, it's really a glorified girly sweatshirt.

Below is the result, before belting. I tried it on with the polka dot top and a shirred skirt similar to the one I plan to sew for the contest. (Apologies for the awful low-quality flash photos, but I had my camera set wrong and by the time I realized I was just too tired for a redo.)

Initial thoughts:

• My FBA didn't quite do the trick. It is a jacket, after all, meant to be worn over other things. I think I need maybe another inch or two total width for it to meet more easily in front. Also, the horizontal bust dart is too low (it should point to the apex).
• Gathered peplum + gathered skirt = gather overload. It's just too much fullness all over. So for the final, I think I'll switch to the smoother circular view C peplum.
• The back fit seems just fine.
• What is UP with these SLEEVES? I love raglan tops, but... the sleeves themselves seem too loose/baggy... and the the armhole is too deep which means it feels super-tight and pulls in a nasty way when I lift my arms. Is this just the nature of raglans and I've never noticed before? Do I need an underarm gusset? How deep can a raglan armhole be? I guess I need to dig through my reference books...
• Speaking of sleeves, it's pretty hot out lately--I wonder if I should make them short, instead of full-length? Then again, long sleeves are good in chilly air-conditioned offices...
• The back length is good, but the "waist" seam in front is too low, nowhere near my "empire" waist.

Of course, this thing is meant to be belted. So I grabbed a random belt to test the effect, and then tried it with the front pinned up for a proper empire look:

Much better, right? It's almost a cute peplumed bolero. Maybe I don't even need the collar--I could just bind the edges, maybe with some cute foldover elastic.

I'm going to think about it for a day or two, and in the meantime try to finish my skirt and muslin the Parfait dress...

IF my sewing machine cooperates... That's the setback I mentioned. My normally hardy Viking Platinum 730 seemed to be having some major issues with tension and skipped stitches last night. I'm hoping it was just that crummy red cotton lycra fabric, so I'll test it tonight on a plain woven... but if she has to go into the shop, I'll probably have to give up on the contest unless I can make substitute garments with a serger/hand-sewing combo. Maybe this could explain my shirring struggles?

Polka Dot Muslin!

With only 11 days to go in the PatternReview mini-wardrobe contest, I finally have one finished... muslin!

But it's a good one! This is my maternity modification of the infamous Jalie 2005 "Choice of T-shirts" pattern:

I started with a size V (intended for a 35" bust) based on my high bust measurement and flat pattern measurements (I compared to some favorite Ts I still wear) and the fact that I tend to like my knit tops close-fitting. From my flat pattern measurements, it seemed like this would result in a final 36" bust measurement.

Since I have a 41" full bust, I did a 1.5" FBA (adding 3" total across the front). I also scooped out the neckline (crewnecks do NOT work on me) and shortened the short sleeve considerably for an almost-cap-sleeve effect. And I did a maternity tummy adjustment, adding a few inches of length and width across the belly. (Don't worry, I'll post step-by-step photos of how I did all these alterations when I show pictures of the actual finished final object!)

I used less than a yard of the rayon/poly/lycra orange-and-teal polka dot jersey I got recently from Fabric.com. It has 40% one-way stretch, which is close to the 50% stretch of my ITY jersey B&W polka dot fashion fabric.

Here are the back and side views:

So what's the verdict? Mostly I'm happy, but I'm glad I made a muslin first.

• The shoulders fit! This is fabulous, since I have narrow shoulders and many reviewers have complained that the larger sizes of this pattern have silly-wide shoulders.
• Hurrah for my new scooped neckline! Just the right width and depth--it won't show my bra, but leaves plenty of room for a necklace.
• I do like negative ease, but the polka dots are actually distorted across the bust, so I think I'll add another half inch (1" total) to my FBA.
• The belly adjustment wasn't quite enough, either--it's a bit too short for my liking (especially since I want to twin-needle hem the final version!) and it's pulling a bit across the tummy.
• I'm digging the new shorter sleeve length--I was going to make the final in a 3/4 sleeve, but this might be more fun. And it'll be even a little shorter when hemmed.
• What is up with this tiny little armhole?! I'll have to enlarge it a bit.
• As for the back... well, all my RTW shirts and dresses crumple/wrinkle like that, too--I believe this is what as known as sway back. I'm not going to add a center back seam in order to fix it, as I just don't think it matters enough in a knit top I'll only be wearing for less than 3 months (I'm due June 18).

Despite its few flaws, this muslin is totally wearable--I think I'll finish the neck, sleeves and bottom with a narrow rolled hem wooly nylon finish on my serger...

But not until AFTER I finish the final version for the wardrobe contest.

Sencha Blouse Muslin--feedback welcome!

In my continued pursuit of recklessly altering five non-maternity patterns for maternity ALL AT ONCE, I completed my first muslin of the lovely and versatile Colette Patterns button-backed Sencha blouse.

Here are the details--your thoughts and feedback welcome, especially if you've made the normal non-giant-belly version!

First, the Colette patterns photo showing how this blouse ought to fit on a non-pregnant model:

My sketch of my modified maternity version--it's much longer, with a lot more room in front and a scoop neckline:

After some thought, I decided to cut a size 8, corresponding to a 37" bust and 29" waist measurement (Colette sizes are more like RTW than the big 4). My high bust (36") corresponded better to the size 6, but I'm a growing pregnant girl and figured I needed the room. I didn't use the size 8 hem, though--I went with size 18 to help get over the belly.

Since my full bust is 41" and my waist has disappeared, I did a 2.5" FBA (for an extra 5" total across the bust) and did a 3" maternity fully tummy adjustment, resulting in an additional 6" width and 3" more in length than even the size 18:

First I cut and basted together the muslin, following the excellent clear pattern instructions. I didn't sew the hem or buttons and I just ironed the armhole facings to the inside.

I tried on the muslin, then used black masking tape to envision a new scooped neckline--I wanted it significantly lower, but not so low or wide that it would show my bra.

My new smallest point is my underbust, so instead of using the low tucks from the original pattern, I used binder clips to figure out where I should draw in new tucks for a more fitted silhouette.

I left the back as is with no alterations.

So how does it look? I'm pretty happy with the new neckline (I'll use a french curve to make the real thing smooth and symmetrical, then draft a new facing piece), but how about the overall fit? My thoughts:

• There seems to be about 3 or 4 inches of ease at the bust, which is what the pattern calls for, but I wonder if I should add another inch total.
• The horizontal dart should end a bit closer to the apex, right?
• The cap sleeve armhole seems to be pulling towards the bust and there are vertical wrinkles from the shoulder to the bust... I don't know what to do about this, if I should do anything at all.
• Does this even look like a Sencha blouse anymore, besides in the back? Maybe when I make the front binder-clipped areas into real tucks?