Sew-along: muslin 1, part b

[chebe]

Dear Internet, we have to talk. Please stop deceiving me. Even those of us that speak English do not speak the same language. Pretending otherwise just leads to confusion. As an example I offer the latest in my long list of discoveries; muslin. To me muslin is that light fabric often found in 70's blouses. I guess in the USA it is more commonly known as cheesecloth, or that thing you wrap turkey in. When someone from the USA, whose sewing adventures I follow, talks about making up a muslin, using muslin, I figure, yeah, I know what that is. However, I figured wrong. What is called muslin in the USA is called canvas, or calico here. It is a completely different kind of fabric; tough, thick, opaque.

Here, take a look:

Muslin on the left, Calico/canvas on the right. Even in the poor lighting you can see the difference.

Julie got a book at Christmas, 'Make Your Own Clothes'. It has a lovely section about fabrics, in which it explains the difference in the usage of the word muslin. I thank the author profusely. I only wish we'd stumbled across it earlier. In short, don't use muslin for the muslin. Use calico. Or similar fabric like cheap polycotton (which is what I bought before finding that bit in the book). In fact, I'm going to stop calling the mock-up a muslin, I'm going to call it a mock-up. *nods* There, much more straight-forward. I'm not saying it can't be used, just that it's a very awkward fabric, and has no place in a beginners project.

So, here's what happened when I tried to use muslin for my mock-up. (Part a)

Front

Side

Back

Back

Pinching excess fabric at bust dart

Pinching excess fabric at side-seam

Pulling out excess fabric at back

So, yeah. I pretty much have to start again from scratch. I'm going to use the one pattern size and not graduate out to a larger size at the waist, but will probably reshape my darts so they are fatter and take out some of that bulk under the bust. *sigh* Well at least I know now.