Test Run

I hope you are enjoying the Sewing Indie Month festivities!

My sewing project for this month was the 1940s Tea Dress from Sew Over It.  This was my first time working with one of their patterns, so a muslin was in order.

A mock-up is a great way to test a new pattern, but sometimes it does not tell the whole story.  First of all, a stable cotton will drape differently than a lightweight rayon.  But I was able to tell that the dress was a pretty good fit with a few minor tweaks.

In the case of PDF patterns, I love having my muslin pieces to use as pattern pieces.  I absolutely hate pinning into paper!  So once the pattern is traced onto muslin, I get to ditch the printed paper.

I never work through an entire project when I make a muslin - I eliminate facings, hemming, finishing, etc.  This saves time, but it can be nice to run through the entire process before working with a precious or difficult to work with fabric.

So before I cut into my precious velvet, I wanted to go a step further.

I never really know just how much I am going to love a garment until I have spent a day wearing it.

Does the length really work?  How much mobility do I have?  And most importantly, do I really want to use that fabric I have been hoarding for years on this particular design?

Sometimes a muslin is just not enough of a finished product to get a real idea of how much I will love a dress.

So I made myself a rayon dress!

I am going to live with this version of the pattern for a bit and decide if I want to make any other changes before I spend a lot of time basting pieces of silk velvet together.

And to be honest, I did not need much of an excuse to add more polka dots to my wardrobe!

Happy National Sewing Month, everyone!

[I received the pattern and the rayon fabric for this project because of my participation in Sewing Indie Month]