Vogue 8546 Muslin

First, this is just a muslin. I don't care how many readers may be inclined to say they love it but this horrible shiny purple polyester fabric will not be leaving the house. Ever. I mean it. ;-) But it does make a good test fabric for the pattern because the hand and stretch are similar to the good stuff.

Overall, so far, so good. I cut the pattern blending between shoulder and hip sizes as usual and then cut the ugly fabric without any other alteration to get a starting point. I also wanted to see how it all goes together before I'm working on the real thing, because it's not lined and the back side of the hood seam is what shows per the pattern. All seam allowances are topstitched like a faux welt seam would be so it's not like there would be loose seam allowances flapping around.

I totally screwed up when sewing the sleeves though and ended up with seam allowances on the outside. Hah! Good thing this was a test or I'd have a lot of ripping to do. Serves me right for only half paying attention. But I did decide that I can sew just the hood seam opposite of the instructions and end up with the better side showing. Realistically, I'm just not going to be using the hood that much (ever?) and if I do, it means the weather is horrible and no one is going to be looking at my hood seam. ;-) I'd rather have the nicer part showing when the hood is down.

As to fit, I'm happy to say that it's pretty darn good. Which tells me this pattern has a LOT of ease. I need to add some more room at the back hip (a/k/a my butt), but other than that, no other alterations are needed. There's plenty of bust room and the center fronts do meet. The sleeves fit in both length and width over a long-sleeved top. Bust and waist levels seem to be good. It's a raglan and my square shoulders don't seem to be an issue — I lifted the collar/hood to check, but it would hide any problems if there was something to hide.

I am going to shorten it all around about 3 inches but only because I'm squeezing this onto a finite piece of fabric and if I don't shorten it, it won't fit. I'm still not 100% sure my fabric is big enough. I think I need to lay it all out and pin it while on the floor to be sure. Fingers crossed, because I really want to make this from the green fabric, not the brown.

The last issue is a closure. The pattern calls for a belt. I don't want a self-fabric or purchased belt because I'm not going to wear this closed very often and I don't have enough fabric for a self-belt anyway. But if it's windy, I will have fabric blowing all over so I think I need something. I'm thinking a couple of well-placed buttons and loops and/or hidden ties will do the trick. We'll see if I can come up with a solution without expending too much brain power. I am trying to get *something* finished for my trip after all and brain power takes time.

So now I'm off to fight the masses so I can restock the food pantry and after that, I'll pick up on this project again. The sewing part is easy. I just need to spend some quality time with my cutting and marking.