The Burda LBD is almost done. I only have to finish one armhole and hem it and I'll review it tomorrow. I'm too tired right now to finish it. I'm afraid I'd get this far and manage to bollix something up, you know? So I just put on the kettle for a cup of mint tea. The kids are in bed, DH is at a horn sectional for Booty Vortex and Hoover is snoozing under the desk at my feet. It's quiet....
So I will now answer some questions and give a lecture!
L T asked, "Are you lining this dress? It's double knit, right? Curious to know how you are treating the seams if you are not lining it."
I'm not lining it. I am sewing it on my zigzag machine using a stitch width of .5mm, then using the serger to finish each of the seam allowances separately and pressing them open. I think I could easily get away without finishing the SAs, but decided to go ahead and finish them. I'll post pictures in the review tomorrow.
Eliz asked, "I have a question, what kind of material do you use as a muslin for knits? You'd have to use some kind of knit, right? Or do you even do a muslin for knits because fit isn't as much of an issue?"
Fit's an issue with knits too Eliz. I do a muslin for knits with some cheapo fabric. I have access to all sorts of knits: great, good, bad and icky (you guys just never see the bad or icky). I try to generally match up the stretchiness of the knit muslin to the stretch of the garment fabric. I don't get too wound about trying to match weight. The difference with knits is that I don't use the muslin as a pattern in most cases, like I do with wovens. What I do is make notes and changes on the pattern itself about the changes that need to be made. I will also use the adjusted muslin pieces to re-draft the paper pattern so it fits better. Does that make sense?
One other thing I want to mention here, I used a brand new (to me) interfacing for this dress. Pam at SewExciting just came out with a new low-temperature fusible interfacing called Pro Sheer Elegance. I bought 5 yards of black and 5 yards of white back around Thanksgiving, and this is the first use I have made of it. I. Am. In. Love! Honestly, this is my new favorite interfacing. NAYY. Pam's a friend, but I bought this on my own and I'm plugging it only because it's fantastic. Get some! You will not be disappointed.
Okay, so now to the title. Several people have commented how nice it is to have Phyllis for a sewing/fitting buddy. It is! I have had the pleasure of being friends with Phyllis for more than 5 years. But you know what? I can count on less than one hand the number of times that she and I have gotten together to do any fitting. I think this was the third time evah! I sew, check, and adjust almost every muslin by myself or with minimal help from my DH.
Put bluntly, you do not need anyone else to help you fit a muslin. Sure, it's great if you can have someone, but with patience, a mirror or two and perhaps a digital camera, you can do it yourself. So don't use not having someone as an excuse not to do a muslin.
Well, DH just came in from rehearsal, my tea is gone and Hoover is demanding attention. So good night, don't forget to make a muslin and...
Happy sewing!
4 days ago
11 comments:
My digital camera and a couple of mirrors are my best fitting friends. They're always here and wide awake, even if I am not. Awake, that is. It's shocking, sometimes, what wrinkles appear in the photo that you might dismiss in the mirror or might not even see.
Unfortunately, I must rely on DH to "pinch out some fabric there and see if that wrinkle goes away and then tell me how much of a pinch you took". It's the "how much" part that seems to be the problem!
BetsyV
Encouraging to know you don't HAVE TO HAVE a fitting buddy, since I've lived my whole life without one. Of course, you just took away my last excuse for not being productive. Now I can only chalk it up to procrastination pure and simple.
You have some great tips here, thanks!
This is all true - Ann and I live only 30 minutes away from each other, but with kids, family, work etc we don't see each other nearly as much as we'd like to. One thing to add: I also fit myself 99.9% of the time, and having a full set of measurements (which should include 1/2 measurement increments) is crucial. 1/2 measurement increments makes it easier to compare you measurements to pattern pieces.
IMO, doing a muslin is a just about the only way to fit if you don't have a sewing buddy to help you!
You just stabbed me right in my New Year's Resolution. ;) Must. Make. Muslins. I fall victim to Instant Gratification... which sometimes isn't very gratifying when I haven't made a muslin.
Signed,
Guilty but learning.
Blast you Ann, for taking away all of our excuses!!!
Of course you are right...the best fitting garment I have made recently was a dress that I muslin-fit using Tru--grid I got cheap cheap. Using inexpensive "nonfabric" made me very willing to adjust the fit over and over. I did have a lot of trouble pin-fitting the back and shoulders without assistance, and also had trouble figuring how movement might affect the fit (gaping in the front neckline, etc.). I did not use my camera--I will next time. Any tips for reaching and adjusting those tricky areas?
Thanks for sharing!
Laura J
I think we might need to devise a set of yoga-type exercises to limber up for solo-fitting!
...and can I add "to be honest with yourself" no one looks like supermodels, not even supermodels...so take an honest, accurate set of measurements ~ don't skimp...and don't look at the pattern size...think of the final results. If I worried about the size of the pattern, I would be naked every morning because I would have NO clothes!
Sigh. I know that it's *possible* to fit a muslin on my own (and I do!), but I do have to admit to a tinge of goodnatured envy :) (if that's not an oxymoron) that you had assistance of a experienced sewerist... sigh. :)
I have mirrors, digital camera, pattern, muslin, french curve, pen. Now where do I buy patience?
Measurements, camera and DH oh my! Let me add- duct tape dummy. I invested $15 and about 6 hours total and found out more about my fitting issues than I have in the last two year of "experimenting" with patterns.
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