Friday, February 20, 2009

Friday Confession


I rarely make muslins.

I certainly made a series of muslins for Susan's wedding dress. And I made a couple of muslins from the pants pattern that I hand-drafted following instructions from an issue of Threads magazine. But, for the most part, I don't make them.

How about you? How often do you make muslins? How do you decide whether or not a project calls for a muslin?

13 comments:

Unknown said...

UGH! I make a muslin everytime my body changes. If I'm making up a TNT pattern that is fitting a bit snug, then I don't. Really, I don't make them as often as I should. Consequently, I end up with ill fitting, unflattering garments that take all the wind out of my desire to create. g

mamafitz said...

muslins:

bridal gowns, evening wear, tailored jackets/suits, coats: always

pants, dresses: some of the time (pants more than dresses), but not always

blouses, tops, costumes: almost never.

muslins for me are quick and dirty, hem allowances cut off, basted together using up old bobbins, and written on.

otherwise what i do (for casual stuff mostly) is i make it up, and after wearing it for a bit, decide what, if anything, i want to change, and then make the adjustments on the next version. sometimes i keep the first version, sometimes i give it away. you might say it's a wearable muslin, though i don't consider it that.

Emily said...

I don't make muslins often either. I know I should have my wrists slapped for this! I guess it's because I know what alterations I typically need to make for Vogue and BWOF patterns, and that's what I typically use!

Emily said...

Oh! I should add that I made a muslin for my wedding dress (obviously), and I'm going to make a muslin for the evening gown that I'm just beginning. And, I've also had a pants muslin on my list for awhile... it's my dream to find a great fitting pattern for pants, and I think the only way to do that will be to make a muslin.

Becky said...

I don't particularly like making garments... generally, I'm too impatient and just want to sew, and can usually get stuff to fit pretty well by just taking things in at certain points (I'm kind of right between pattern sizes, so tend to make the larger one and take it in more). But I'll make them when I have to, like when I have limited fabric and want to make sure an untried pattern will fit (i.e. the pantsuit I made last winter), when the fabric is expensive and/or irreplaceable, when I'm making a lot of modifications to the pattern to get a specific look, like inspired by a movie or something, or when I'm making pants. I don't trust pants to fit me right, because even the store-bought ones generally don't. And I do like to make the "wearable muslins" when possible, like that jacket I made last fall.

Anonymous said...

I flat measure the pattern or I pin the pattern to me. Counts as a muslin right?

gwensews said...

Anything fitted gets a muslin. Also, garments with weird angles gets a muslin. And, if I'm going to use expensive fabric--that deserves a muslin as well.

Faye Lewis said...

I make muslins - sometimes. At first I wasn't going to make one for the pants I just made - but decided I'd better and boy was I glad I did. Time consuming yes, but it let me know just where to tweak the pattern for a better fit. I guess I need to make them moe often.

SunnyQ said...

I agree with Gaylen that the poor results after not making the muslin really is a damper on wanting to sew more, and with Becky that I'm just too darned impatient and want to get to the sewing. Maybe that's why I generally get more excited about bags?

SunnyQ said...

oh and YAY for seeing The Dress muslin!!! ;-)

Summerset said...

I do exactly what mamafitz does. She explained it pretty well for me. I do the same thing she does with the casual stuff, if I don't like it after a few wearings I give it away without a second thought.

Vicki said...

I did a fair few muslins when I was going through my fitting stage and I would recommend them for closer fitted garments. I don't bother for skirts as I don't usually have any issues with them.

MadeByAmanda said...

I do the occasional "wearable" muslin out of cheap fabric. It partly depends on the pattern I am using (if it seems like it will turn out right the first time or need tweaking), the cost of the materials for the "real" garment, and how lazy I am feeling on any particular day.