In Process: CWS Muslin 2 or "I think I'm just a glutton for punishment"

Okay, here's muslin 2 of BWOF 08-2007-126, my chosen victim pattern for my classic, crispy white shirt.

Muslin 2:

I started with the size closest to my high bust measurement to get the fit in the neck and shoulders. Of course, I failed to take into account that I needed room for my hips & waist. Then I did a humongo FBA to add 2.5 inches to each side for the “Girls.” That’s a total of 5 inches right?!? More on that revelation later. As previously noted, the dart is humongo, so rotated about half of it out to the side seam. That added enough room for my waist and hips (per the flat pattern measurements I did). Woo hoo! However, the dart was still humongo. Just as I was about to cut out the muslin, I realized I hadn’t done anything to the back to account for the extra length & width added to the front, so I cobbled something together for that. Then I decided to worry about the swayback/tilted waist/sloping shoulders thing later. Just a note, the bust dart is still humongo. Now, completely tired of RIMMing (redrafting in my mind), I decided to take a go at sewing it up. My friends, may I present, umm, Muslin 2:





Clearly more RIMMs needed!

RIMMing for Muslin 3:

In Every Sewers Guide to the Perfect Fit, Morris & McCann indicate that if you need a FBA to add more than 2 inches total, you should do a second alteration. There has been some discussion about this on the PR discussion boards, since the revised Fit for Real People (fondly known among PR members as, “FFRP”) came out and Patti Palmer published an article about it in the Spring 2008 issue of Sewing Today. Basically, under the Morris & McCann method you do the well known FFRP FBA to add up to a maximum of 2 inches, and then you do a second alteration emanating from the upper chest/shoulder area and cutting through the waist dart to add another 2 inches. I worried that this alteration to the chest area would add fabric where I didn’t need it, as I don’t have much extra fluff above my full bust & I have sloping shoulders to boot. Morris & McCann make it seem as if 4 inches is the total maximum FBA you can do with this 2-step method, but the Palmer article in Sewing Today didn't seem to put any limitations on the amount. I guess if one needs an extreme amount to accommodate a full bust, one may have to compromise on the fit at the shoulders a bit.

Muslin 2 showed me that the fit is better in the neck & shoulders & upper chest with the smaller size. But I added too much with my FBA. Also the fit over the waist and hips is a bit more generous than I intended. The back and underarm/side seams need some serious attention. And at this point, I don't even know what size sleeve to cut. I think once I get the front & back fit worked out, I can just measure the AH opening and trace the closest size and alter it based on that measurement. Anyway, for Muslin 3 I will try the 2-step FBA, but I will also transition from one size at neck, shoulders, and armhole to the appropriate size(s) at the side seams for waist and hips. Maybe I can kill two (or three or four) birds with one stone?

Okay, I'm a bit tired of thinking about this project right now. Aren't you? I thought so! So later this week I'll post pics of some other things I'm working on.