Screeching to a Halt

I was sure that by today I would have a blog entry with a picture of me arrayed in my newest masterpiece, the sweet little pink blouse I've been writing about in my last couple of posts. I can see it, the sueded silk shantung sveltly gliding over my body, showcasing my curves, my embroidery skill, my design style and my sewing expertise. But... as you see, it is not  to be. The sweet little top has a temporary home as an empty shell with ragged armholes, the sleeves lying demurely next to the blouse, unattached.

It seems that my sloper lied to me. Or, I guess the truth is that I didn't put enough time into the muslin/fitting process.

I made up the front and back of the muslin changing the top seam a considerable amount to allow the fabric to curve over the bust. Good plan. This part of the fitting worked. From the front the blouse fits beautifully, as though I had a whole bevy of tailors swarming around my body, tape measures in hands, pins in their mouths.

It's the shoulder and back that aren't right. I swear, in the muslin, the shoulder seam lay right on top of my actual shoulder, and the blouse back smoothly cover my back. And I I took the sloper apart and used it for a pattern so in theory the shoulder on the actual blouse should lay right on top of my shoulder and the back should smoothly glide over my back.

My body must have changed considerably between the time I tried on that muslin and the time I finished the the garment.  My back must have sunk in under the armholes, and my shoulders shifted forward. The garment does not fit! Let me clarify that, the back and shoulders of the garment do not fit. There's too much fabric around the shoulder area of the back, I have wrinkles where no wrinkles should exist and the shoulder seam has crept forward.

So that's my story. I'm on hold until I can get one of my favorite fitters to help me adjust the armscythe, shoulder and sleeve cap.

Dog gone!  I want to finish this guy.