Time-Saving Trick for a Boned Bodice Muslin

When I went through my corset-making obsession, I learned a lot of cool tricks that can be transferred to dressmaking. And this particular trick is my absolute favorite.

When making a muslin for a dress with a boned bodice, it's imperative to actually put boning into your muslin. A boned bodice generally has little to no ease. But without the boning for stability, it just looks like a too tight, wrinkly muslin--which makes it impossible to evaluate the fit. Obviously, however, sewing boning into a garment is time-consuming and often makes it difficult to alter the seams of a garment--exactly what you need to be doing in the muslin stage!

So, meet your new best friend, masking tape. Yep, you can tape lengths of spiral steel boning into your muslin for fitting purposes. (Does masking tape have different names in different countries? It's that parchment-colored tape typically used to cover molding or door frames when painting walls.)

Center the steel boning over the seam allowance (or wherever you want to place it) and secure it with a length of masking tape.

The only rule is that you don't want the boning to extend into the waistline seam allowance. The boning must end right at your waistline seam allowance.

It's perfectly fine for it to extend over the top of the bodice, though, as long as it doesn't poke into your armpit or anything awkward like that. Here I let the back boning extend past the upper edge of the bodice, just for the purposes of fitting. This way you don't have to cut the boning to length until you've figured out the fitting issues. 

Another time-saving trick is to fit only the bodice (this works if the skirt is full and only needs to fit at the waist). If you're fitting yourself, it's really important to put a dress-length zipper into the muslin--just let the extra zipper length hang below the bodice.

I'm currently working on my design, Butterick 5882, to wear to a wedding next weekend! Sorry for the mirror photo, but it's about all I could handle this weekend. The only fitting change I needed to make was removing some ease from the waistline. The taped-in boning made this super easy: I just removed the boning to take in the seams, and then stuck it back in place to re-fit. You don't even need new masking tape since it stays sticky!

I'm making it from this amazing brocade with flocked velvet polka dots. The bustline and straps will be in coordinating black shantung.

More to come on this design, including the long-promised FBA post.

Hope this sticky trick helps you out on your next party dress muslin!

The B5814 Bodice Muslin!

Now may be the time to mention: Butterick 5814 is not a modest dress. (That's an understatement.) I don't wear a lot of really low-cut garments, so this muslin took some getting used to. I made sure to press under the seam allowances at the top, so I could really see the actual neckline, and then I showed Jeff the results.

Me: Is this too, um, revealing?
Jeff: Nope!

Men are so predicable sometimes.

But let's back up. I did have to make a couple adjustments to the muslin. When I first put it on, it looked like this. (Please excuse the cell phone photo.)

As you can see, the sleeves would not stay up at all. The fix for this took a couple steps. First, taking in the raglan sleeve seam on the front. See where it's pinned below?

On the pattern, I just shaved off 1/4" on that seam--on the bodice pieces and the front side of the sleeve. The revisions are in orange marker below.

The next adjustment I made was to add a seam to the top of the sleeve, so that I could curve it to fit my shoulder curve. See the red arrow in the photo below? That's how I want the top of my sleeve to curve.

This involved splitting the sleeve pattern piece into a front and back, drawing a new curved seamline, and then adding a seam allowance.

Here's how the new sleeve front piece looks.

When I pinned these changes on the muslin, the sleeves stayed up easily. Yay!

Other than that, I'm very happy with the fit.

I also checked the skirt measurements on the pattern tissue to make sure the amount of ease was correct for me.

I've also been working on a tutorial for adding a 3/4 length sleeve!

P.S. Several of you have been asking about the right bra to wear with this dress. In the photos I'm wearing a low-cut bra with wide-set straps, but they kept peeking out a bit. I would suggest either adding bra carriers to the sleeves, or wearing a strapless, waist-length bustier bra.

Coat Sew-Along: The Muslin

Hey readers! I'm here in my hotel room in Novi, Michigan getting ready for the American Sewing Expo (and having a slumber party with Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch!). But I wanted to put up these pictures of my muslin for our Butterick 5824 Sew-Along. For your reference, this is a size 14 made without any fitting adjustments. Overall, I'm happy with the fit!

First things first. It's a good idea to thread-trace your seam allowances on the collar. (Just use a basting stitch and a contrasting thread color to stitch 5/8" from the edge.) This way you can get a sense of how big the collar will actually look on your frame. If you're petite, you may wish to reduce the scale of the collar on the outside edges so it doesn't overwhelm your frame. (Just don't forget to make the same change to the collar facing.)

I also thread-traced over my center front line and my buttonholes so I knew where to pin my overlap in place--the center front lines should match when worn.

Also, pin up your sleeves 1-1/2" to account for the hem allowance.

When you try on your muslin, wear the same amount of layers you usually wear in the cooler weather. In my case, a long sleeved sweater.

Okay, let's talk fit!

One thing to remember with this pattern: the skirt on this coat is really heavy, so it will be putting weight on the bodice. (Some participants have reported the bust darts ending too high, and the lack of skirt weight at this point could be the reason.) You may want to pull down slightly on the bodice to get an idea of how it will look when you're wearing it.

You also may notice some pull marks under the arms. The kimono sleeves cause this, and without a gusset to shape them, there's not a whole lot to do about it--since you want the sleeve to have plenty of ease to allow for clothing underneath. Also, remember that your fashion fabric will add some structure to the entire garment.

Make sure that you have enough room to place a few fingers between your body and the waist of the muslin.

I like the way the fit is looking in the front. However, I'm noticing more excess than I'd like in the back sleeves. My plan is to try to take some of this out at the overarm seam. (Unless any of you have a better idea, that is!)

While you have your muslin on, it's a good idea to mark your roll line--the place where the collar creases on your body. (You only have to do one side.) Pin the roll line in place for future reference. This will help us with our fusible tailoring in upcoming steps.

I got Rosie to hop into a picture!

How is your fitting going, readers?

Next week I will introduce our sew-along moderators, talk about cutting, interfacing, and constructing the bodice front and back! (Don't worry, I will go over those pesky pivot points on the back neckline!)

"Drifting Lace for Evenings of Dancing"

Champagne lace over a rustle of taffeta . . . one of the prettiest dresses you could wear to a dance. In white, it would be charming for a wedding or graduation. The tiny bodice has a wide neckline underscored by a double organdie collar. A wide, drifting skirt whittles in your waist, whirls gracefully as you dance. It should take about 20 hours to make. Vogue Pattern No. 7631. "Easy-to-Make." Sizes 12 to 20 (30 to 38). Price, 60 cents. Also in Junior sizes, No. 3462. 9 to 15 (29-1/2 to 33). See the pattern envelope for the yardage requirements. 

Ah, doesn't VoNBBS know how to talk to a lady? A rustle of taffeta, whirling, whittling--I'm swooning! Of course, VoNBBS is also very practical. No "instant dress" nonsense here. No "one hour project!" promises. Nope, young lady, you are going to spend 20 HOURS on this thing. And you're going to do it right--tailors tacks and all!

Here's the picture diagram on the pattern instructions.

 And VoNBBS's charming illustrations of the pattern pieces.

As for my progress, I'm happy with my bodice muslin! I didn't get good pictures of the first (sorry), but here is the second muslin.

As you can see, I'm practicing how to stand in an evening dress. This is how I imagine it must be done.

A closer look at the front. You can see that I've repinned the darts on my left side; they're a much better fit now. I plan to take in the neckline dart just a smidge to get rid of the small about of gaping.

Can I take a moment to wax rhapsodic over corsets? Where have they been all my life?! They're much more wearable than my powernet waist cincher (I've even worn it all day at work), and they provide the perfect 50s silhouette under dresses. I had a revelation about fitting too. Previously, I was trying to mold my body into a retro shape with my fitting--taking out too much ease, etc. Now I can just let the clothing skim over me and it looks lovely! (I think so anyway.) The one thing I had to do was take out fabric at center front for the corset. I notice that fabric can pool around the midsection on a corseted figure. Taking in the side seams just cause horizontal pulls. But drawing a new center front line (the "cut on fold" line) is the solution. I took out 1/2" at waistline center front, and drew a new straight line up to the original neckline center front, as shown by the red line below.

That's my new center front. It shifts the grainline a bit. It worked surprisingly well.

Here's the back.

So I'm feeling ready to cut! I want to retain the original collar shape, and the skirt is a simple gathered pattern, no fitting required. I will keep you updated on the cutting and construction, readers!

Velvet Dreams

Readers, it's that time of year: the time I decide I desperately want to make a fancy holiday dress even though A) I have no occasion to wear it and B) I have so much else to do I shouldn't even think about taking on a big sewing project for myself.

But SIGH. I can't help it. 'Tis the season that gets me longing for red lace frocks (remember the epic red lace dress project last year?) and mulberry-colored velvet ensembles. My lovely silk velvet is hanging around (literally) and taunting me (not literally, that would be weird). And I found the perfect pattern for my velvet.

BEHOLD.

I saw this on etsy, and could not resist. It's perfect for velvet, with its soft pleats and folds.

I even made a bodice muslin in the wee hours the other night, when I should have been sleeping.

It needed a few tucks and pinches taken out, but it's almost perfect.

Readers, I certainly don't have time to make the dress as pictured for Christmas. But maybe I could make the bodice and slap a circle skirt on it? That would be lovely and quicker. Or perhaps (considering this will be a casual family Christmas), I will work on it in the new year. Velvet is appropriate for January and February too, right?

The Muslin Backlash

Let's try this again, shall we? I completely lost the text to yesterday's post (it must be a sign), so I'm starting from scratch here. From your feedback, it seems like what you all want is a good, rollicking discussion of the pros and cons of muslin-making, so that's what we'll do here!

What prompted me to write about muslins was this post on the BurdaStyle blog, which I thought was a good, balanced look into muslins and why/when to make them. What surprised me was the amount of nay-saying in the comments, since it seemed to me like the home sewing world had really come around to making muslins. In particular, I was interested in one commenter who felt that muslin-making had gotten completely out of hand in the DIY crowd, and in fact went so far as to say that she felt the muslin-making phenomenon was prompting pattern companies to be more lax with their sizing.

I suppose the kernel of what is interesting in all this is the way the use of muslins has evolved for home sewists. My vintage sewing books never talk about muslin-making, and instead use a combination of tissue-fitting and a basted-fitting. Now, home seamstresses have gotten hip to the whole muslin thing and use them as a way to perfect their patterns. But has it gotten out of hand? Are we making too many muslins? Do you feel a pang of guilt when you don't make a muslin?

For what it's worth, some of the backlash seems to be against couture sewing in general. Not every home seamstress wants to sew couture, and that's totally fine! But I will say that the use of muslins doesn't just originate in couture--it's also a time-tested RTW technique. I was grilling my sample-maker friend about this the other day, and he says clothing manufacturers use a lot of muslins to make sure their designs are perfect before they go into production.

Personally, it's gotten so ingrained in me to make a muslin for every project that it's now a guilty pleasure not to! There's something freeing about the process of just picking a pattern, checking the measurements, diving in, and hoping for the best. Obviously,  you wouldn't want to do this with expensive fabric or, ahem, a garment that was going to be in a book. (Yeah, lesson learned on that one.)

At the end of the day, I've never regretted making a muslin. And I try to remember that. Making a muslin doesn't have to be a laborious thing. It can be a quick sewing of just a bodice to check things out. In my Bombshell Dress class, I talk about making a bodice muslin because the fit is so crucial on a bustier dress. Also, there's some tricky sewing in inserting the bra cups, and I think it's good to practice on a cheap fabric like muslin (or toile or calico or whatever you call it! Old bed sheets also work well). But I suppose there's a time and place for muslin-making, and pros and cons against it.

What's your strategy?

{image courtesy of BurdaStyle}

Crepe Sew-Along #5: Pattern Alterations

Happy Tuesday, Sew-Alongers! A bunch of stuff to go over today.

First, I confirmed with Sarai, the pattern's designer, that the back pieces should not wrap all the way around to your side seams. They should definitely cover your back darts, and then end about 1-2" away from your side seam. The fit in a wrap dress is more flexible than other garments, so don't fret too much about this number. I did let my own side seams back out to give me a bit more wrap.

Next, let's talk about darts.

Your darts should end about 1" away from the apex (or fullest point) of the bust. The darts on this pattern are a little long on some people, me included. No worries! It's easy to shorten a dart.

First, make a mark 1" (or however long you need to shorten) from the tip of the dart. My new point is marked in silver Sharpie below.

 Next, draw new lines from the end of your dart legs up to the new dart point.

That's it! You'll now have a shortened dart.

Next on the dart agenda: moving darts up or down. Your bust darts should be level with the apex of your bust, no higher or lower. The darts on this pattern seem to be a bit high for some. The easiest way to lower a dart is to cut it out and move it down as far as you need (have some new pattern paper taped underneath). Re-draw your side seam line. (You can see this method in action in the book Fit for Real People, but it's really as easy as it sounds.)

And lastly on the subject of darts, re-shaping a dart for a more flattering bust look. Some of you may be noticing a bit of bagginess under the bust. You can re-shape the dart to get a more stream-lined look. First, draw a line about 1-1/2" down from the tip of the dart (this measurement may be shorter or longer for your personal fit), making it perpendicular to the dart's center line. My new marks are in silver again.

 Make new marks 1/4" away from the original dart lines.

 Connect the dart tip to these new marks.

 Connect from the 1/4" marks down to the beginning of the dart legs.

This is your new dart! It's curved rather than perfectly triangular, resulting in a snugger fit right under the bust.

Finally, let's talk about transferring muslin alterations to your paper pattern. After you've pinched out whatever excess ease you have on your muslin, take your muslin off but keep the pins in. Mark the "humps and gullies" (as Sharon would say) on the pins, as below.

After marking all your pins, remove them. Your muslin will probably look kind of like this.

Side seams are easy to change. Just measure the difference between the old seamline and the new one and re-draw it on the pattern. (New side seam in purple below.) It's a good idea to work on a tracing of the pattern at this point.

Trace the rest of the original pattern, removing width from side and shoulder seams where needed.

Next, you can deal with your tucks. You can't just take a tuck out of a pattern because it changes the position of the neckline and shoulder. Here, I've taken the tucks out of the original pattern.

Now, I've put my tracing down on top of it. See how the neckline has shifted on the pattern below because of the tucks? This would not be a flattering fit.

You want to use the original shoulder position, but the lowered height of the piece. Trace your new lines and slash through your old ones so you don't get confused.

Repeat on the back, drawing a new smooth line at the back neckline where you've taken a tuck.

Don't forget to label your pattern pieces! If you're going through multiple drafts of a pattern and muslin, I highly recommend numbering your drafts as you go along. You think you'll remember which is which. But you won't. Trust me.

For best results, make a new muslin. Remember that fitting is all about trial and error! The only way to get better at it is to practice. To give you an idea of the process, just check out this shoulder seam I was working on. Yikes!

Always have a bunch of different colored pens and pencils for this purpose! Slash through any bad lines, and draw little circles along your final line. That way you can keep some of your madness straight.

I know that was a lot to cover for one day, but I hope it helps. Keep uploading your muslin pics to the Flickr Pool, and check back for a fabric cutting post later this week!