Hey there!
I started my Hazel muslin for the Colette Sew Along today, and I just wanted to share a few photos of the process. I dug some old fabric out of my stash in hopes I’ll end up with a wearable muslin!
The first thing I do before laying out any of my pattern pieces, is open my fabric up and press it all out (no center fold). You’ll have to do this anyway after you launder your fabric, but I do this so I can re-form the center fold with the salvages matched as perfectly as possible. Fabric is rarely ever folded perfectly on the grain, so it’s important to take this extra step before cutting anything out.
By doing this, you can really tell that the fabric was cut before the salvaged edges were matched up. There’s a pretty big difference in where the cut edges line up now. Also note I’ve re-folded my fabric with right sides together! This makes it easier to transfer markings later.
Next, I make sure all of my directional arrows are as perfectly parallel to the salvage as I can get them. My rotary cutting mat makes this SO easy to do! This ensures that all of your fabric will be cut out on the straight of grain, and therefore, will hang properly once the garment is sewn together. I match my folded edge up with one of the yellow ruled lines of my mat, then use my giant transparent ruler to follow one of those yellow guide lines down the pattern piece. You can tell the above piece needs to be tweaked a bit before I can cut it.
Once your ruler is lined up parallel to the salvage, you just need to adjust your pattern piece to match. Now the piece is correctly aligned with the straight of grain, and ready to be cut out. I use the pattern weights/rotary cutter method to cut out my pieces. It took me a few months of practice before I could use a rotary cutter with out a ruler. It’s kind of scary to use one free-hand! Before that, I would trace my pattern pieces onto the fabric with tailors chalk, and then cut with regular scissors. I prefer both those methods over using pins.
I also find it really helpful to snip your notches IN to the seam allowance! Not only is it easier, but it’s much more accurate when matching up pieces. Unfortunately, this method wont work with smaller seam allowances.
I started tracing my darts like this because I’m lazy for one, and also because I seriously couldn’t make sense of the traditional way it’s supposed to be done. After the pattern piece is cut out, I just cut up one side of the dart, fold it open, and trace the inside lines with a pencil! Then when you go to sew your darts, you can use that pencil line as a guide. I’ll share more on that process, as well as some tips for invisible zippers, as I start sewing my muslin together.
I highly recommend attempting a “wearable” muslin. Not only will you get extra zipper practice, but you might just end up with TWO awesome Hazel dresses at the end of the month! How awesome would that be?
Remember to check out Sarah and Erin’s blogs for help with taking your measurements, and more tips for starting a muslin!
VERY smart way of marking darts!! I’m of the tedious tailor tack clan, and sometimes I’ve folded back my entire pattern piece to do this method too, but heck yeah, your way is MUCH easier!!
I am going to do my darts that way from now on! Thank you for the tip!
Of course! Happy to help
AWESOME POST!!
Thank you
Awesome tip on tracing the darts!! Why didn’t I think of that!?
I love the tip for the darts!!!! Will be trying it! I hate hate hate tailors tacks and blah blah, this is great!
Happy to help
I love your idea but I still cannot bring myself to cut into the patterns I have. Tracing wheel, wax paper, an evening and DEFFO a glass of wine. hahahaha
caffy x
I know, I know. lol! I swear I’m going to buy some tracing paper one of these days…
I’m soooo trying that dart method. I must admit I I have trouble marking darts especially on final fashion fabric (I don’t make wearable muslins so I write and mark all over my muslin pieces!) in a way that is accurate but also discrete
Omg that way of doing darts is INGENIOUS! Must employ this! Wouldn’t work so well for darts that don’t finish at the edge of a pattern piece though would it? Would it!??? HMMMM
I imagine that you could carefully cut it out with an exacto knife (or scissors, but that might be more fiddly) and trace the hole maybe?
This is an awesome way of doing darts though. Totally doing this on my next project.
That’s what I do– I just cut the whole dart out with a ruler and exacto knife. I save the piece (just in case I need to make changes) and chalk along the outline. Easy as pie!
Yep! Just cut the whole dart out
It definitely helps to trace your pattern piece first though so you always have the original. Just in case.