Washi muslin

I have an embarrassingly large amount of fine, lime-coloured cotton fabric. Fortunately, I think I've finally found a use for it - it's destined to be muslins, toiles, whatever you call them (is there a difference?). This lime green will be perfect for quickly testing the fit of a pattern before cutting into my treasured fabric. To be honest, I have NEVER made a muslin before. But, in my quest to know all everything about sewing, I thought I'd give it a try. And do you know? It's a jolly good idea. I'll definitely do it again :)

This lovely lime number is my Washi muslin. You only need to test the fit of the bodice, hence it's short. I did have a fiddle around with the darts thinking that maybe I should lower them for a better fit. I think I was just looking for unnecessary complications because after trying them lower, I ended up back where I started - the darts in the pattern are fine for me just where they are... 

But I did learn a few things fiddling with my bust darts:

• Your "bust apex" is your nipple;
• All seams should point directly there;
• Dart seams tend to end between 1 and 2 inches before they hit your bust apex but that appears subject to fashion, once upon a time they went right to your bust apex making for quite a pointy look;
• If you're thinking you might have to move your dart, mark your dart seams on your fabric, but don't cut the inside of the dart out just yet;
• When they suggest you baste all your side and shoulder seams, do just that. And don't back stitch out of habit;
• Wear a decent bra when you are trying on your muslin;
• Moving darts isn't actually that tricky.

There are a bunch of good tutorials on moving darts listed on the bottom of this page under "resources - bust adjustment tutorials". I found two more here and here and thought they were particularly good too.

My dress is finished now. I've opted for cap sleeves and a keyhole neckline and both look great. Actually, I'm tempted to sneak in a cheeky second. There's fabric on my pile calling to me "I want to be a Washi top!"... We'll see. This week was supposed to be the week of the bag, but so far I've made no progress on that... 

Anyway, muslins. Do you make them?