With the holidays, I haven't been sewing anything, so I thought I might finish some unfinished blogs that I have sitting in my blog account. I had started a blog about muslins a while ago, and just never completed it. But this weekend gave me a little time, so here it is.
So, what are your thoughts on muslins? A key step in any sewing? Something to be avoided at all costs? I'll do one if I have to?
When I first started sewing, I knew nothing of muslins. I thought...these are my measurements...if I sew this size, then of course it will fit. If it looks wonky, then
clearly this is not a style for me.
Until I discovered that using that method, only about one pattern in 20 was "for me."
As I became more involved in PatternReview.com, and started to follow a number of sewing blogs, I discovered things like fitting...and tissue fitting...and muslining. If you are like me, and have extensive fitting issues, you are probably used to making muslins. But, if you are new to sewing or don't have fit difficulties you may be somewhat more averse to sewing a garment twice. When I first started making muslins, I was frustrated at the idea of having "make the garment twice," but now I rarely attempt a new pattern without one, unless I am using a "TNT" pattern to check fit.
One of the main things that muslins are utilized for is refining fit. However, a quick muslin will also help determine whether or not a particular style will be flattering to your body shape. I have used them for both purposes, but usually use them for fitting.
Besides muslins, there are a number of ways that people go about fitting. I have used simple flat pattern measurements (to get a place to start), but to do that you already have to have a pretty good idea about how you like your clothes to fit, and what to expect from particular styles. I see flat pattern measurements as a way to establish a starting point, from which alterations will take place. To make good use of flat pattern measurements, you have to already know what your wearing ease preferences are.
Wearing ease is something that varies from person to person. For example, I have found that where pants are concerned, I like less than one inch of ease at the waist and high hip. Some people find that to be constricting and uncomfortable, but more ease feels floppy and gapey to me. However, at the bust, I need no less than three inches of ease for a button-down shirt, otherwise the buttons gape. Knits, I leave zero ease or negative ease at the bust, depending on the style and the nature of the knit I am sewing with. Examples of clothes that have negative ease are leggings, exercise clothing made from performance fabrics, stretch jeans, and yoga pants.
Beyond flat pattern measurements, there is tissue fitting. Palmer/Pletsch is BIG on tissue fitting. And I despise tissue fitting. First off, I always feel like I am going to inhale and burst out of my paper garment like The Incredible Hulk. Second, it seems like it takes just as long and just as much effort to do a paper fitting as it does to just cut out a muslin. Third, even if I can get the paper to fit around me, half the times I find a dozen other problems once I make the garment because
paper doesn't behave like fabric. Many of the folds and pulls that you find in a pair of pants won't appear during a paper fitting because the paper basically stands up on its own.
So, my preference is the actual sewn muslin. Sometimes I will do a quick muslin or even a partial muslin, for example, just a bodice of a dress, to make sure that everything fits. Other times I will make muslin after muslin...adding ease, moving darts, shifting bits and pieces around....such as when I work with vintage patterns, which you not only have to alter to fit, but also alter to accommodate the modern physique, unaltered by layers of control garments.
However, the muslin of actual muslin is a rarity for me. This is where I diverge from most muslin-makers. When I make "muslins" I will usually sew the entire garment from a less expensive fabric...finishing it as if it were the final product. The reason for this is that I have time and again sewn a muslin (of muslin), agonized over fit, slashed, marked, altered, and then sewn the final garment and HATED it.
Why? Why would that happen? Because how a garment fits standing in front of a mirror...and how a garment WEARS are two different things.
For example, the garment may look lovely standing still, with shoulders back and gut sucked in, in front of the fitting room mirror...but half way into the first day of wearing it, I may find I am tugging at the collar or the waistband has ridden up alarmingly. Sometimes this is the fault of the fabric, sometimes the pattern, and sometimes just me. Some examples of issues that I have encountered in WEARING that were not found in muslining are as follows:
- A large, open collared shirt from Burda that rode up like a vampire's cape during the day
- A pencil skirt that spun around while I walked
- A double-layer ruched dress that when combined with tights managed to climb halfway up my thighs during the day
- A wrap dress in which the waist sash popped up over my belly every time I sat down
- A pair of jeans in which the waistband distorted and grew by at least 3 inches during the day (in spite of being interfaced, and cut on the lengthwise grain as opposed to the bias)
Therefore, "muslins" for me are entire garments, made from appropriate (if inexpensive) fabrics. I may make a fitting garment from actual muslin in the PROCESS of making my
version of a muslin...but I really see that as part of the pattern making. I'll slit the seams and use that as my actual pattern if I am happy with with the fit.
But for me, the MUSLIN is a finished garment. One could call it a "wearable muslin," although I am loathe to do so as sometimes I discover that the garment is actually unwearable. It also gives me a chance to practice techniques, such as welt pockets, topstitching, particular seam finishes, etc. But most of all, it gives me an opportunity to "test drive" a garment and decide what I like or don't like about it.
For example, I recently purchased the Hot Patterns Riviera Boulevard Cardigan pattern. I had concerns about the shape of the cardigan and intended to lengthen that jacket overall, and also taper the waist. I also worried that the multiple layers of knit at the pockets, lapels, etc., would not lie right. So I decided that I would make a muslin, from a fleece that would approximate my sweater knit:
Making the pattern out of a fabric that approximated what I would use for the final garment allows me to test certain aspects of the fabric. For example I decided to make the pocket bags out of a lightweight knit to limit the thickness of the fabrics:
I also found that the fabrics were much too thick to use my buttonholer, and instead added snaps:
So, what did I find when I "test drove" my finished muslin? One, I found that with the multiple layers of heavy knit at the front of the cardigan, it was INCREDIBLY HOT.
I also found that I really disliked the 1/2 length sleeves with the decorative plackets and the buttons. For one, I think that 1/2 length sleeves are not that flattering, especially with a longer sleeve underneath. Second, I whacked those buttons right at elbow height on doorways, chair arms, everything that I could possibly catch them on during the day:
So, what did I learn from my muslin?
- I will lengthen the sleeves from 1/2 length to 3/4 or full length in the final version
- I will eliminate the faux placket and the button
- The cardigan needs lengthened further and tapered under the arms, across the back, and at the waist
- I will eliminate the pocket flaps on the chest. My bust is large enough that the little flaps stick straight out and I had to stitch them down. Plus, eliminating them will save some additional thickness at the seams.
Of these issues, very few would have been identified in an "unwearable" muslin. For example, the problem with the buttons on the elbows. I wouldn't have known that they would become an annoying liability during the day. I also wouldn't have known that the cardigan was so overly warm due to the multiple layers around the neck and across the front of the garment. But, these are all issues that impact the wearability of the final garment.
It is for this reason that I, more often than not, do not make muslins for fit, but muslins for wearability.
I would love to hear your thoughts on muslins!
