Another Muslin

Muslin #2 for KS3740.  This one I made using a stretch rayon blend jersey from Fabric.com. People, I got the fabric for $2.44/yd! It's perfect for muslins. Hence, my love for Fabric.com. I digress.

To add excitement to this stage of the game, I whipped out my fusible knit stay tape for the neckline and armholes (in addition to the shoulders). The pattern didn't have any directions for stabilizing anything other than the shoulder seams. Should I make this a habit for all tops, even when it's not in the directions? When stabilizing the neckline and armholes, do you do both front and back or just the front? I'm not a big fan of staystitching because my seams aren't always straight. (I figure ripping out staystitching defeats the purpose.)

What I was supposed to be doing with this attempt was a narrow shoulder adjustment. I also wanted more shape to the bodice. It wasn't as fitted as it was in the pattern picture. I did a 1/4" shoulder adjustment and that seems to have taken care of my narrow shoulders. Nancy Zieman and I had a moment and I was able to taper from the S to the XL and kept the pattern's fitted shape.

With muslin #1, I had resigned my self to live with the wrinkles across my backside since I planned to tuck the shirt in. Duh, I have one, maybe two pairs of pants that I can tuck things into. This would not do. Besides, I gave up being trifling for Lent and the point of learning to sew was to get stuff that really fit. After that pep talk, it's back to the drawing board. I need to add 2" to the hips for the next muslin.

I also need to tackle my biggest fear, adding length to the center back where I need it. So my aha moment was realizing that I was creating my own problem when previously tapering from a S to an XL. I used the XL length as well as width for the adjustment, which was the wrong thing to do for my sway back. So with this version, I went from S to XL in width only. Now, I have to add length under the waist where my butt juts out. I'm going to use the Burda Workshop adjustment for a rising hem. Pray for me!

*Sidebar* If you own a a Dritz dress form, will you please tell me how to adjust the center back so that it stays adjusted?

I also solved the issue with the puckered stitches from the previous muslin -- I selected a different stitch! I'm using the standard overlock stitch and it works great.

So I interfaced the collar with this interfacing from Fabric Mart. I'm trying to convert to better-quality interfacing. Can anyone tell me if this is the good stuff? It feels and applies better than Pellon's Easy Knit, but I think it's a little too much for this fabric. It's given the fabric the weight of ponteroma double knit. Could I get away with interfacing one collar piece and not both?

I'm determined to get this right before moving to another project and at this rate, I won't get to the other knit top I wanted to make for Easter. Oh well. At least I'll have my first TNT pattern.