Fearless February Part 2 - the muslin

While I was wrestling my muslin, finished garments for Fearless February were popping up all over the sewing community. Some even already finished their second garment of the challenge (I picked only one, but I knew I wouldn't be able to finish more than one in a month).

So in short, part 1 was about the pencil skirt pattern and the fabric, part 2 is about the muslin. Since this is my first pencil skirt ever (that I will own), I want to make sure I get the fit right. On my body type (wide hips) a pencil skirt could easily look like a sack. Which I will show you with my muslin. The muslin process was documented especially for my own learning experience so I can look back at how I tackle stuff and how I could do better. And in hindsight I'm not surprised my first alteration of the muslin was probably not the smartest one.

Once upon a time there was a cream colored cotton pillowcase with a hole in it. One day it met with a pretty high waisted princess seam pencil skirt pattern.

The result was a high waisted princess seam pillowcase.

Very comfortable and perfect for a day on the couch, but not what I was going for. The pattern was already downsized a little so the measurements of the waist, high hip and low hip were similar to that of a dress that was tight but I was still able to sit in. But it was still too baggy.

After checking with the pattern where the waist should be, I used a ribbon to keep the waist where it was supposed to be. You can see how much ease there is. And also... that the side seam is not in the middle. The thing I attacked first was the amount of ease in the upper hip and the waist.

Not sure if I dare to look...

First problem tackled (I think)! Now the back... and I don't like the silhouette. It looks more straight than pencil. That is not what it's supposed to look like, the original is much more skimming.

For drawing on fabric I bought a set of two Prym chalk pencils. They don't seem to work very well, they are too hard. Maybe they are old? Do others have the same problem with these? In the process I discovered the joys of permanent markers, and they're way more visible on the pictures which was quite helpful.

In fact I liked drawing on the muslin so much it was difficult to stop (the red lines are corrections). The black lines on the front indicate where I would like to take in the seams for a tighter fit at the knees (why did I not do that at the side seams?!) The black line on the side is where the side seam should have been in my opinion. When I cut out the pieces I will cut on that line for the side seam. Oh and of course the front panel will be cut on the fold (I hope, since I forgot to cut on the fold for the muslin).

Initial muslin

Final muslin

The final muslin! And no. I'm not sorry for my socks.

As you can see the adjustments resulted in a change of seamlines. They were supposed to be practically straight. I like them better this way anyway, so it's really a design feature!