When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Muslin

I have been working on V8699 for what seems like forever.  It's a Custom Fit, so no FBA needed and it came in a 24 for my hips. This was going to be easier to tackle.

Then came the dreaded sway back alteration.  I made a 2" wedge.  The side seams were straight and the CF matched mine. The round back alteration worked like a dream. Dealing with forward shoulders on a shoulder princess was no walk in the park, but I think I got it.  All of this was done on Swedish tracing paper.

I whipped out my prized ponteroma knit and began cutting.  I made it to the sewing machine, knocked out the staystitching and basted the top together. Tried to get fancy and add clear elastic to the shoulders, but I did it wrong. No biggie.

I anxiously tried on the top this morning. Y'all know what I forgot to do? Pay attention to the placement of the front princess seams.  They were INCHES away from my apex; waaaay too close to the side seams.  Wait, I forgot about how I didn't actually complete the round back alteration.  I made the dart, but forgot to widen the back shoulder. I would have been able to save the top if it wasn't for that.

Oh well. I have a nice stash of ponteroma here and there's plenty more at Hancock. When I replace this fabric, I'll get to use less because the View B tunic is not the look for me. I knew better! I've been reading The Science of Sexy (I'll review it later) and I fully agreed that pear-shaped women should not wear long tops. But I really liked the shaped hem on the tunic. Lesson learned. I'll be making the View A top with long sleeves.

All is not lost because I'm continuing to fit my 'new' muslin. I'm happy with the front and lower back. I added a CB seam for my sway back. I've had to take even more length out.

I think I've had enough for today.

Feeling better ...

I've been a wee bit frustrated lately, especially this morning. I took a break from the skirt to work on a quick top to wear with it. Kwik Sew 3740 has been an UFO for quite a while.

I'd completed a high round back alteration, knocked out a sway back dart and an FBA. I still had this gigantic wrinkle going diagonally across the back from the armhole. I added tissue to the side seams at the hip and that went away. (Happy happy joy joy!)

I thought I was ready to work on my forward shoulder adjustment and then it would be all good. Depending on how I pull and tug at this muslin (and the previous ones), there is excess tissue underneath my shoulder blade. The tissue gapes and falls away from my back. Patricia over at Perfect Sew & Fit looked at another muslin and thought it was because of a rounded back (hence the high round back adjustment).

When I did the forward shoulder adjustment (almost 3/4"), all hell broke loose! New wrinkles. New tightness! A gap at the back armhole. Grrrr! I was beyond frustrated. Woe is me. I'll never get this right. Why is my body so deformed??!

Then, I decided to just "make it work." I unpinned my forward shoulder adjustment and used the original stitching lines. I pinched out the excess fabric and the top fit much better. However the neckine was nowhere near my neck. When I thought about it, it made sense. This dart took out almost an inch and even more of was taken out for the sway back. All I'd have to do is figure out how to add the length in the right place. I consulted Fitting & Pattern Alteration. Looks like there's an alteration for a high neck base. I'll also have to go back and make the proper adjustment for the upper back instead of using that dart. I think it's the alteration for short shoulder blades.

I left home for work frustrated and regretting that I didn't have a completed muslin. Later in the morning, it dawned on me that I learned something new and I was well on my way to fixing the next problem. What an accomplishment for the morning! I feel better now:-)

Older & Wiser - Sort Of

So, I'm all ready to start cutting Kwik Sew 3338 right? Wrong! How about I think about a muslin instead of "practicing" on the real fabric. Wow, what if I used Pattern Review as a resource instead of just as a way to catalog my patterns and wish list? Hot damn, what if I actually read the reviews and figured out what alterations I may need to make? What if I would have thought about alterations before cutting the pattern? (I would have thought to taper to XL in the hips.)


I had a birthday between this series of posts and the Burda Skirt UFO. I'd like to think I'm getting older and wiser. I'm really hoping the wisdom starts kicking in before I pick up scissors. Oh well, I guess I'll be digging the pattern remnants out of the trash. Where's my tape?

So, here's what I learned from Pattern Review:

• I may need an FBA (full bust adjustment) based on the amount of stretch in my fabric. It's not too stretchy, so I guess I'll be doing my first one. Random tangent: weeks ago, I had to argue my best friends down about my D cup. They just could not believe it. Shoot, I'd been in denial myself; it was with great sadness I donated my good C bras a couple of months ago. Things grow as you get older. If I think about the women in my family, I should've seen this coming.
• I may want to add a couple of inches to the bottom. We'll see.
• Stabilizing the shoulders with clear elastic would be a great addition. I gotta read up on that more and buy some clear elastic.

I keep telling myself to stop doing things late at night; I always screw up. Had I waited to cut the pattern until this morning, I probably would've remembered to taper to an XL. Oh well. Time to go through the trash.