Butterick 4132--A Muslin

Any normal person would be too embarassed to post fat pictures of herself on the internet, wouldn't they? Just as my family has long suspected, I am not normal. Evidence:

Photo 1-the front shot of my muslin for the cowl neck top, Butterick 4132, in a size 18:




Out of respect for the tender-eyed among you, yes, I have cropped off my head and lower body. The hair and face after a long day at work (followed by a two hour nap once I got home) are a little the worse for wear. And the shapeless yoga pants? Old Navy, five years ago, five bucks. Absolutely my favorite thing to put on when I come home. Jealous, are you?

I made this as a true muslin to test the fit, length, bust, and overall look of this top. It is 100% cotton from the pile of fabric upstairs. It is bias cut. This is View A and has only 3 pieces.

Adjustments I made before cutting out:

One, lengthened waist length 1" at adjustment line on front and back.

Two, made a 2" FBA to the front pattern piece, which was quite tricky once you factor in that it is bias cut and has NO darts at all. Nada. So I used the FBA adjustment guidelines in the new issue of Burda Plus that just so happened to arrive in the mail. If you do it their way, as a final step you have to add a dart from the hemline UP to the bust (which I didn't want) or you take out the dart amount from the side seams (which gives you a slightly curved hemline in front). I went with the latter method.

Photo 2-the side shot:




This photo shows several things:

One, the slight curve in the front hem area (I didn't put in a hem).

Two, the nice cowl in the front, which is quite nice even in a firm woven fabric with absolutely no drapability (I think I just made that word up!)

Three, the apparent gaping at the back neck. The back neckline is cut pretty much straight across, so if I were actually using a soft fabric it would form a small dippy cowl thingee back there, too, which is exactly what it is supposed to do.

Four, the armhole fit, which is pretty perfect as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I am wearing it now. No binding, no gaping, pretty happy with it.

Five, my butt isn't as big as I thought it was (from the side at any rate).

Six, this is valid evidence that I don't work out enough. Hmmm, should I sew or exercise.......?

Photo 3-the back view, also known as "She's About To Fly Away!":



This photo shows:

One, see, I told yall I had really long arms!

Two, the shoulder fit (I like it).

Three, photographic evidence nonwithstanding, I am NOT wearing droopy granny underpants.

Four, my hair is not shorter on one side than the other. That was some nap, letmetellya!

Photo 4-The simulated Hair Test:




Works for me. I really like the shape and scoop of the armholes.

Those of you who are actually WEARING your contact lenses, as opposed to letting them marinate in sterile containers, may have noticed the safety pin stuck in there among the boobage. It is not there solely as an Eye Test. It marks the middle of the area I need to work on.

Either I need a little larger FBA or I need to move the existing FBA down a bit. Since this thing has a cowl it is really difficult to decide for sure if the existing FBA is in the correct spot, but I'm pretty sure that it is. I'm going to take this top off and compare the bust point on this finished top with the original bust point on the pattern, even though I did all that before I cut the pattern. Who knows? Maybe I was caffeine-depleted at the time. Measuring again will tell the tale.

Finally, Photo 5-Random Teenagers making fun of their mother as she laments her appearance (droop, droop, droop):

The one on the left is showing off his guns, and the one on the right is demonstrating the concept of EXERCISE. You can only wish your own offspring would be so helpful and considerate, huh?