Quick & dirty - muslins

So I cut the Vogue 2770 top out of cotton muslin and have quickly stitched it together.  Based on the flat pattern measurements I decided to cut a size 8.  It fits, sort of.  But I will adjust the pattern pieces to do a better job of fitting me. 

The pattern has princess seams which do not pass over the bust point but rather to the sides, by approximately 5cm (2").  This means that there is no dart or seam shaping that aims directly at the point that most needs it, and it's a bit tight there.  At the same time, the V neck is too long for my frame which causes gapping in the upper chest area.  And there is too much width through the upper chest. 

I am going to take a wedge-shaped tuck through the upper front to take the length out of the V neck.  I am also going to figure out what kind of dart is needed to remove the width from the upper front, and I think I'm going to add a small amount of length over the bust, which I'll ease into the side front piece.

Before:

Hugely gappy neckline!  It's too long

At the back, there are little "wings" of fabric at the armscye. 

Here you can see the excess fabric at the princess seam line.  The CF piece is too wide.













After:

The excess length in the neckline is pinned out in a long wedge.  The excess at the seamline is pinned in a fisheye shape.

In the back, I've pinned out the little "wing".  I'll shorten the side back and take the extra length out of the shoulder seam in the CB piece.

Next task:  transfer these changes to the pattern.  Stay tuned.