For the pink muslin, I did a high rounded back alteration and eliminated the dart. That alteration was a big mistake as you can see in the photo. It gave me a sort of camel hump and raised the neckline way too high for me.
Then I recut the back eliminating the high rounded back alteration and put the shoulder darts back in.
The neck is still a tad too high, but I can always cut it down when I cut the real fabric. The problem I see and still need to eliminate is the way it collapses in the back behind the armhole. Tomorrow I'm taking it to work and having my sewing friend see if she can pin out the excess fullness.
The side looks really pretty good even on the camel hump version. I'm happy that I got enough circumference for my body without major alterations. You can see in the next photo how I got the circumference.
I added 1/2" to the side seam near the armhole and then went to 1" at the waist down through the hip. I also had to do this to the rest of the front side seam on the front pattern piece and on the back side pattern pieces.
The biggest problem I saw on the first muslin was that the shoulders were too wide. Also, there was too much in the upper chest area. What I decided to do instead of just cut off the excess was to cut a line to the dart and overlap 3/4" to make the narrow shoulder adjustment.
I also cut and overlapped in the back. The blue lines are my seam lines trued up and the grain line trued. This picture was taken before I removed the rounded back alteration.
Well, am I ready to cut the good fabric yet at 2 1/2 muslins?
I'm going to remember this post the next time I balk at making a muslin! You have demonstrated how helpful they are.
ReplyDeleteLike Elaray I need to keep your muslin making in mind when I try out new garments. I keep doing the pattern pin fitting with some success but those small things you see when making a muslin make a difference.
ReplyDeleteSherril,
ReplyDeleteTry lowering the dart point. The dart should end an inch or so below/away from the bust point. It looks to me as if the front dart is too high and perhaps a little too wide. Rip out the dart in your muslin and redraw a shorter dart that is just a bit narrower at the top. Stitch and see if that helps.
Sherril, your photos clearly show you're already losing weight! Congrats, Babes, looking good...:) (I'm sad to say I've been going the other direction...time to stop that right now!)
ReplyDeleteI'll bet "regular alterations" will not be regularly needed, except for those that relate to bone structure like the narrow shoulder adjustment.
I keep intending to try doing shoulder darts to deal with my rounded back and narrow shoulders. They really work well in your muslin. Thanks for demonstrating!
ReplyDeleteYour dart ends to close to the bust apex. Lower it to about an inch below your bust apex. It will look much better
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh - you are inspiring! The PINK is so much better than the darker fuchsia (coral?)one! And I thought that looked pretty good! You are going to have a lovely jacket!
ReplyDeleteIf you decide to go with the princess seaming in the front, why would you need to removed the side waist seam? I'd leave it. It looks really good to me. I have a jacket from J.Jill that has both the side waist seaming and the princess seaming about where your vertical dart runs. The combo is flattering, IMO...
ReplyDeleteIt's looking really good overall!
This looks great. I believe the dart dimples are definitely because of the fabric. I am betting it is a poly/cotton combo. I would not change this great pattern because of those dimples. JMHO.
ReplyDelete