S-dart on muslin - it works!

It took much longer than expected as I was sewing the darts by trial and error, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  I will have to take some pictures of the muslin with the darts and the final tunic without to be able to show the difference, but I think it will definitely be worth it to put in the s-darts. Having the new dart shapes transferred also was finicky work.

Happily even taking in an extra inch each side did not result in me having to put in a zipper/fastener.  It's definitely snug getting the tunic on or off, but once in it, the fit is very good. I also have to remember that I need to taper the s-dart under the bust since volume needed does start shrinking right UNDER the bust point.

I am washing the tunic muslin; although I ironed and steamed the new darts, I'm not terribly happy with the wrinkles, so will see how it works out in the washer/dryer.

It shouldn't have surprised me but once I removed my underwire, the wrinkles went away since without the support the volume is lower. However, I don't expect to wear the tunic without support!

I should redo the pattern; there's so many crossed out old lines that it's starting to become difficult to see the correct ones.

Tunic in Fashion Fabric - Lessons learned for next time

I've nearly finished the tunic with the fashion fabric. I did the mitered hems for both the lining and fashion fabric and hemmed the sleeves. Nothing terribly different, although I realized that my mitered hems are a little rough because I tend to be generous with my seams in case I need to stretch. But it plays havoc with the mitered corners because they're not even any more.  There was a really good tutorial at Sew4home.com.

Other lessons learned:

• I didn't cut out the collar 'overlay' because I was thinking of just sewing the fashion fabric and lining together with the shape of the collar, but then I realized I really didn't know where CF was so had to wing it. 
• Next time I will trace on the fabric the collar shape as well if I'm doing the same thing. 
• In terms of shape/fitting, I realized that I need to make the French/bust darts convex or even S-shaped to take in more fabric right under the bust. 
• Need to add the S-shape/convex shape to the pattern 3-4 inches from the dart end (wide-end).
• For additional shaping the Front waist dart can be shaped so that the end towards the bust will be an arc rather than straight. I would also have to extend the dart another inch up. 
• Note that I'll probably have to figure out some fastening because once I make these shaping changes I won't be able to shimmy in and out of it like I do now. 
• The pattern waist could also benefit from raising another half-inch.
• I did not stitch the lining armholes to the fashion fabric armholes. I think that was the right decision since I wanted the fashion shell to float on top of the lining. After experimenting with samples, interlining the loosely woven shell with the cotton muslin would have changed the hand of the fashion fabric.
• I had reduced the sleeve head before, but I realized it needs to be reduce by another 1/4 to 1/2 inch. 

What next: 

1. I'm going to top stitch the collar area next. 
2. I'll need to try some elastic smocking  under the bust on the muslin I last made to see if it will still let me get into the muslin while reducing the fabric. If that works I'll try it on the real thing.