M6649 the blouse muslin

Hi dears,

I would like to show you my muslin version of the McCalls M6649 blouse. This is my first go on a woven blouse and I wanted to do it because I’ve never found a blouse that fits my bust properly: if it fits at the shoulders, it doesn’t fit at the bust and hips, and if it fits around my bust the shoulders are way too big.

The pattern:

I got this pattern in a bundle with the Craftsy class One pattern, many looks: blouses by Sarah Holden. I like it! Sunni from AFashionableStitch has been making this blouse over and over with different variations and I love every single one of them. So inspiring, you should check them out!

I decided to make my M6649 muslin out of an old cotton duvet cover I didn’t like much. Turns out I love the look and feel of the fabric on this blouse.

 

Selecting the pattern size:

To select my pattern size, I compared my body measurements to those of the pattern (see table below). I selected the pattern size based on the pattern bust size and my chest measurement as we have previously discussed (the table below might make this clearer). I chose to go for a size 22.

Pattern modifications:

After selecting the pattern size, I usually take the difference between my measurements and the measurements of the pattern for the bust, the waist and the hips (shown on table). In this case, the difference comes up to 3″ at the bust and waist and 4″ at the waist.

I decided to grade 1″ total from the armhole to the hips smoothly (over 4 side seams: 1/4″ per seam). I located the position of my apex on the pattern, did a full bust adjustment (FBA) of 1.5″ (to add 3″ total at the bust) extending all the way from the apex to the hip, shifted the darts towards the bust apex and aligned the waist dart with the vertical line coming from the apex. After that I proceeded to make my muslin.

Note: I did the FBA following this tutorial by the CSC.

 

The result:

 

 

All in all, I was impressed with the look! It has an oriental feel to it! I love it!

The blouse fitted almost perfectly. I had no gaping at my bust line and almost everything else fell at the right place. The construction time was well worth the comfort and pleasure of wearing it.

 

Modifications based on this muslin:

For this muslin, the waist dart went a bit high towards my apex, so I decided to retract the top apex of the waist dart by 2″  in order to allow it to sit lower. I made a ~2″ swayback adjustment by basically pinning out the excess fabric at the center back and tapering towards the side seams. I also verified that the waistline at the back bodice fell at my waist.

 

How do you like this muslin?

I’ll come back next week with my final version and possibly more ideas! Have fun and do let me know if you ever make it! Or if you need more details on any adjustments.

 

❤ M