Cutting, marking, cutting, and marking...

Hey friends,

Just a quick check in!  I'm making progress!  After making three... yes, count them, 1, 2, 3! muslins, I finally got the fit just right on my peony :)  It seems a little obsessive, but I learned a lot about myself through this.  I am really hoping that now that I have really perfected this muslin, it will give me better ideas on what to look for a change on the first round for my next project, and the next!  I learned to fit better, I learned darts better, thanks to Carrie and Oona, I learned that I am short waisted, which helped.  I used my Fit for Real People a lot, and I now feel slightly more confident with fitting!  One project at a time, yes?

So, I just spent the last 3 hours tracing out the remaining pattern pieces, cutting the parts out of my fashion fabric, marking all the pertinent markings, and getting ready to sew the damn thing together!

Pictures to come soon I hope, but until then, something I thought was interesting!

This picture has been floating around Pintrest, you may have seen it.  I love that sewing allows us to use both sides of our brain.  We have to use the left in order to be methodical, mathematical, and logical with our sewing.  But, there is so much creativity involved!  We are allowed to be wild, crazy, creative, abstract, and express our joy through the fabric we choose, and the way we tweak our patterns!  Love it!

Peony Fitting Issues

First Goal of the New Year:  The Colette Peony!

I saw this pattern when Colette first released it with it's fall patterns, and to be honest, I wasn't super impressed...  and then I saw it made up in some patterned fabrics and fell in LOVE!  I had bought some Amy Butler fabric on a whim, and just happened to have enough, because when I started thinking about making the Peony, I realized I already had the perfect fabric in my stash!  But I am determined to make this dress well, and be happy with the fit when I'm done! 

I've discovered that I am fairly picky with bodices.  And, I really don't think I've made one yet that I like.  It is time for this to change.  So, I'm working on the fit, and I don't know how I feel about it.

I made a muslin of the bodice ( I haven't yet attached the sleeves, I wanted to get a fit for the bust part first.)  I was horrified at first because the neck was sooo high!  I felt like I was choking, but when I turned it down such as it would be with the facing attached, it felt better.  I also felt like there was way too much fabric across the back shoulders, but when I put in the zipper, it felt a little better.

I talked my love into taking a few pictures for me so that I could analyze the fit better and hopefully get some suggestions from you! 

One of the biggest things that I have found is that I feel like the front, underneath the bust is way off.  After looking closely, I think the verticle darts need to be moved outward about an inch, they are not pointing towards the bust point, they could also be shortened about a 1/2 in. I think.  I'm not sure if this will help with the bagginess or not though...  Will it be different with a skirts weight to pull down on the front?  Is there a way to shape the darts differently so that I don't have quite so much fabric there?

Based on feel, I thought the back was going to need some major adjustments, but based on the picutres, I was actually quite pleased.  Maybe a slight swayback adjustment is in order, but I am not sure.  Confession:  I have never actually done a swayback adjustment, and only fairly recently (within the last 3 months or so) figured out what the heck a swayback adjustment meant!  (If you are new like me, here is a post by Gertie that gives you an idea of what a swayback adjustment is...) But after checking with my Fit for Real People, I realize it would be a fairly easy adjustment, and I'm hoping it should take the few little wrinkles out in the middle there.


What do you think?!  I am relying on you my friends!  I don't have anyone else to help me, so please by all means, shout out any ideas!  I appreciate any feedback! 

I'm super excited to just get to making this dress, but I also don't want to waste my time to end up with a mediocre product, so I'm really trying to pace myself.

Side note:  This is also the first time that I have traced a pattern!  I used freezer paper, as suggested in the Colette Sewing Handbook!  It worked wonderfully!

Looking forward to your ideas and comments!  Thanks so much for stopping by!