Constructing and Fitting the Muslin, Part 2

Note: This is a work-in-progress post and will be updated frequently as I make changes.

[Excuse the early AM photos. DH got in last night from a 3-day business trip and I had to nab him to get some pics before he left this AM.]

There's work to do.

First try-on reveals several problems. I'll make adjustments one at a time, and start at the top.

1. The slope on the shoulder is too great, and I need to change that. It's fine at the neck edge, but I'm more square-shouldered than this pattern. There is also no room at all for a shoulder pad in here, not even to try on for the first fitting. The dotted line on the shoulder in the second frame shows how I'm going to open this up.
   

2. The shoulder seam is angled just a tad too far back on me. (See detail photo below) I'll take a picture of the way that I change this. What I'm going to do is use some of that 2" seam allowance and move the shoulder seam forward

3. The pictures also show that I didn't do enough of an FBA. See the drag lines the arrows are pointing to? See how the waistline marking is lifting up from the side seam toward the CF in the 3rd frame? I'll add that, after I open up the shoulder and try it on again.

4. The back is showing some serious drag lines too, but I think a lot of that will be solved by changing the shoulder seam

Always start at the top when making alterations/adjustments, and make them one at a time.

As always, if you click on the picture it should open up much larger on your monitor.

I expect that when I release the shoulder the back waistline marking will come back into alignment. The front won't until I allow more room for the bust. (Note that I was very careful lifting my arm to not lift the shoulder at all so as to distort the fitting lines)

Fortunately, I haven't cut my sleeves yet. Because I'm going to add that much to the top of the armscye, I'm going to need to change my sleeve cap.

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Later in the day...



The original shoulder line is indicated by the stitching lines on the muslin. The yellow lines indicate me moving the shoulder line forward 1/2" to put it where the shoulder is on my body. The blue line indicates the 1" that I added to the outside of the garment to raise the shoulder—in part because even without a shoulder pad this was too much an angle on me, and it left no room for a shoulder pad.

After I moved the shoulder seam line, I added 1" equally to the front and the back. In the photos below the shoulder pad is recessed a bit, but not as much as it appears in the photo. You can see that opening up the shoulder took care of some of the issues with the FBA too.

Next I cut open the seam line over the bust. It spread 3/4" upon releasing the stitches. When I look at it straight on, the front seamline is in the right place, so all of the additional fabric that I will need to add will have to come from the side front.

This is why I go through this process. Every time I think I've done enough flat pattern alteration, and it's going to be a waste of time to make the muslin, I'm proven wrong.

I invite everyone who's in the process of fitting their muslin to post photos to gain the input of those here who're sewing along—and no, you don't need to draw all over them like I have. I've found that the camera is a thousand times more revealing than my mirror when it comes to fitting. Do try to have someone else take your photos, or use a timer and a tripod (or shelf). Lifting your arm enough to take the photos yourself will distort your fitting lines.