Muslin Monday….

Mondays are the day I try to catch up on the debris of the weekend.  Laundry, dishes and general mess get straightened out, and assorted chores take priority.  Which means it’s also a great day to catch up on sewing muslins, since it feels like giving myself a bit of a reward for handling all the drudgery.  I used to never make a muslin for my projects because I didn’t want to waste good sewing time, but after a number of failures (which often resulted in trashing favorite fabric), I started to consider them a profitable investment.  After all, most of us wouldn’t host a dinner party with an untested recipe, would we?  And no less an expert than Sandra Betzina, in her book Power Sewing Step-by-Step, states: “Never feel guilty about tossing a pattern.  Only 50 percent are worth making.  A pattern that doesn’t progress past a pretest doesn’t count as a failure.”  So there!  I’m now making pretests instead of wadders.

This morning, I pretested Simplicity 2258, View C — also available as Simplicity 0462.  Given the narrow hips, straight skirt, and wide waist (pretty much the opposite of my natural shape), I tested it in a 14 but had to take in enough on the sides that my usual size 12 should do.  However, being an active person who doesn’t really like being constrained by straight skirts, I think I will make it only in stretch fabrics — I have a stretch denim that is a bit too lightweight for the jeans I had originally planned, but should be a nice option for this skirt.  I also have a black stretch poplin that might actually round out a few outfits in my wardrobe.  I do plan to make the waistband a bit wider — 1.25″ elastic is hard to find, but I have some 2″ elastic in my notions drawer and most skirts I’ve seen in RTW with this general style have a wider waistband anyway.  I think I can make the belt work with the wider waistband if I assume a very scant seam allowance.  I hope to have pictures up later this week!

Currently Watching:

Star Trek Voyager, Season Two

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