Sewing Vloggers

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The Sure Fit Design Muslins


Or should it be titled, " How does she dare show these pics?"  Well I do dare and I will. I am pleased with my results.  I am going to show and comment on my second muslin first. Is it the best muslin? The crowd is hushed with anticipation......

First I took my measurements sort of snuggish on the first go around. I liked my muslin but I also like my clothing with a bit more ease than these had. The next day I took my measurements again. We are talking full hip here and I repeated this several times. It was a half inch larger than my measurements the day before. I started this second muslin and here are the results. This fabric sucks. It is a poly microfiber that ravels like the dickens and slides like the finest silk velvet. I just don't like it but hey, it's a muslin.

Side hangs straight, lots of fullness in front and in the legs. These, for the sake of the muslin, are a straight cut pair of pants. See that dip I have in my front waist?
Love the crotch line on this pattern. Both pants look great with that. Again you can see these legs are full. Now, remember, these are the ones cut with the half inch larger full butt pattern. What a difference that half inch makes as you will see. Nasty fabric!


Back, not too bad. You can see my unevenly shaped hip. I usually have to raise the  right side seam a quarter inch but did not as I wanted to see how the muslin played out. The left side hangs better.  Ok, That's it for muslin number two.

Muslin Number One was made with a half inch smaller full hip measurement, right below where the watermark La Sewista is in the above pic. I found it a teensy, and I do mean teensy, bit snug around my upper thighs and hips. I let it out 1/8th inch in that area on the side seams and here are the results. Now this fabric is a nice quality poly gabardine, way better than that microfiber yuck. Not so sure about the color, though.
 
Side seams nice and straight, no crazy dip or fullness in the front or legs, hmmmm....could muslin number one with it's adjusted side seam be better than muslin number two?


Backside, waaaayyyy better. You see a pull on the left high hip from the pinned zipper area. It is pinned shut, no zip yet. I do think once a waistband is on this one that higher hip will pull the right side out of whack so what I will do is leave that area of the waistband unsewn and tweakable.  But I think I've got it with this one, Muslin Number one with a 1/8th inch wider full hip upper thigh area. As the currently infamous Paula Deen would say,  "Wutchall think?"......Bunny

24 comments:

  1. I think muslin no 1 looks much better but perhaps the fabric has an impact? I am following your Sure Fit Design progress with great interest as I have also bought the SFD system and am awaiting my parcel with much anticipation. I will post my battle/play in the attempt to get a good pattern block. If you are interested it is http://ozviking.wordpress.comm

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    1. Would love to follow. It looks rather intimidating but don't let that get you. It's not! It is really quite easy to do and much easier than massive alterations to a big four pattern.

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  2. You have made me want to take my kit out again..remeasure and make a muslin!

    I agree Muslin #1 is a great fit...

    Oh, to get a well fitting pant...it is an adventure, that's for sure!!

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  3. Very interesting experiment, Bunny! The second muslin is not as attractive on your small frame, due to the fullness of the legs, thats for sure. I love that color though...can you let them out about 8" & send them to me? LOL

    I love how you explain each problem area & then go on to explain how you will fix it. Always clear & concise & UNDERSTANDABLE!!! Thank you for that.

    Hugs,
    Rett

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    1. You are welcome, Rett. I think If I can find the right top the pants will be OK. I am on the hunt!

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  4. I had been wavering on the SF Design system for quite a while because I wasn't sure if it was necessary for someone with flat pattern experience who COULD draft her own patterns.
    After seeing that you bought the block and were going for it, I succumbed and not only bought the pants kit, but also the dress and the shirt, plus the videos. AND signed up for the retreat. AND got my girlfriend to sign up too.
    I was going to work on my bodice today, but now think I really want to work on the pants also. HMMM... so much to do, so little time.
    Love the fit on muslin #1. Agree that muslin #2 has too much fabric in the legs.
    Excitement here.

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  5. yep, muslin #1 is a better fit. That is an icy color...I had a high waisted pair of pants that color years ago and they were a fave.

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  6. I agree it has to be muslin No.1 the fit is so much better, the other one seemed far to large for you.

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  7. It's interesting that a half inch difference in your hip measurement made such an overall difference in the fit of your pants. If you have the time and inclination, I'd love to see how you deal with an uneven high hip. I think I might have the same problem, but have no idea what to do about it.

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    1. I usually raise the waistline seam allowance on the right side seam 1/4 inch and taper to nothing at the CF and CB. Next time I do it I will make a post of it for you.

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  8. Definitely like #1 better. Getting a great fitting pair of pants is, IMO, the Holy Grail of sewing! I took a class on pants fitting in April and need to tweak my pattern a bit, and will do that in July. Thank you so much for posting and sharing all this, it is very instructive. I like the colors of both of them, that ice blue looks good with your coloring, and would look great with a white heirloom top.

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  9. Definitely, the icy version. It's amazing the difference that tiny adjustment made.

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  10. Love muslin #2 for sure. I love the color, too, but blues and greens are always my favorites. Wow, that tiny bit of difference in the measurements really does make a huge difference in fit, but as someone else said, fabric makes a difference, too.

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  11. Love muslin #2 for sure. I love the color, too, but blues and greens are always my favorites. Wow, that tiny bit of difference in the measurements really does make a huge difference in fit, but as someone else said, fabric makes a difference, too.

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  12. Oh Bunny, look at you! Welcome to Success with Sure-Fit Designs!!! Isn't it so exciting? And isn't it FUN? When you try them on and see so clearly a tiny change you can make that will get you the result you've wanted for years!!! And since you asked, and it might be fine and just the picture-taking effect... If you want to see how straight your side seams are and/or whether you might add/subtract from front/back, place a thin tape of a contrasting color right on top of the seam, try them on and take a photo. In the icy blue pants, it looks like the top several inches of the side seam leans a bit toward the front. But if I weren't looking so closely, I wouldn't even notice. I'm just so thrilled that you are having an experience so similar to mine!!! I wore my new pants three times already and can't wait to make more. SFD has given me back my love of sewing.

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  13. # 1 is a great looking muslin. Impressive!

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  14. #1 definitely. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Great muslin in the blue. Most women have a higher back hip and your tweaking of adding a 1/4 inch or more and dwindling to nothing at CB and CF is the key! Even in RTW this has to be done for some clients. So happy you have found something that matches your body so well so early on! Looking forward to more on this saga!!!

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    1. Early on? I've been at this for years. I've come close but never this close.

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  16. OK, I'm heading on over to SFD to order the pants kit!!

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  17. the back on the first pair is excellent, better than the second pair. I agree about adding the ease you used in the second pair, but I think that you could tweak the shape of the side seam. I have to do this since my hips are different shape, not just one higher than the other. I never put on the waistband without basting it first since I always have to lower the left waistband. and let it out at my leg joint on that side. My right side is perfectly straight below the high hip. I find that it is easier to baste and try on to get the exact shape for each side.
    These are really good, and you know why you get the diagonal wrinkles, so half the battle and easy to fix. They also hang straight, a really important thing that I think many women don't manage to get or understand.Claire Kennedy taught me this a few years ago and I finally managed that really good tnt pants pattern.

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  18. You are so close to this perfect fit. Actually - you have done it! Congratulations!
    I put my 8th or 10th musling away - I had to take a breake:-)

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