BWOF 09-2009-138 I

I got a strange surge of motivation this past weekend, and I made a muslin of this lovely dress from the September Plus section of Burda. Now this dress doesn't look like much- just a simple princess seamed sheath with a little gathered detail at the raglan seam. What you can't see is the lovely fishtail hem in back which is slightly longer than the front of the dress and which is attached with a flattering curved seam! Very nice.

I traced and cut a straight size 46 with one inch of length added through the waist. Once I had the muslin together I tried it on and... it was... promising. The skirt was just a smidge snug. No problem- a slightly smaller seam allowance should take care of that. The top, however, was the problem. Well, that and the waist. BWOF seems to draft their patterns for someone with no waist. If I go by the measurement chart, I would actually need an even bigger size to accomodate my waist, but as it is, I always end up having to take the waist in. What is up with that? Anyway, taking the waist in is no problem. The bust fit okay, but the top, in front at least, was just overall a little too big. The shoulders were slightly too wide, there was just a tad too much fabric under the arms, and the front was just a tiny bit loose. All in all- about like I would expect a RTW dress to fit.

I compensated by adjusting the pattern down to a 44 through the waist, and the front pieces all the way to the neck. So what I have now is a 44 in front all the way down to the hip where it goes out to a 46, and a 46 in back which cinches in to a 44 at the waist. I don't plan to make another muslin. I'll use a stash fabric to make a "wearable muslin" and adjust as I go. If it works, great! If not, I'll decide then whether to continue or toss the whole thing!

I need to go dig through the stash now...