Tankini verdict and making muslins

I finished the tankini yesterday. I am moderately satisfied.

I tested it out this morning. What a gorgeous morning for a swim. We have been swimming practically every morning at around 7:00 in the beautiful (?!) Rideau river. There was a lot of debris on the surface today (natural debris - pollen, feathers, seaweed), but once you are in and swimming it is lovely, and we managed to swim around the worst of it.

The bottoms look good, but are too loose in the back, and sag down while swimming. This is another case of 'I knew at the time' I should have modified it even more. But I was keen to finish them, and also not experienced enough with spandex fabric and knits in general. The pattern is the Apostrophe myfit underwear; the pattern is drafted each time to the measurements you provide.

The top looks good, and fits nicely. It was great under the rashguard, but when I tried swimming without the rashgard it felt as if it was bubbling up. Water was not getting in from the bottom, but from the top. It does not sit snug against my chest.

HOWEVER the point of this tankini is as something to wear under hiking or paddling clothes on occasions when it might be possible to go for a dip somewhere. It will be very comfortable under clothes, and suitable for casual swimming.

Am I tempted to make my own swim-suit (like the kind I wear for workouts in the pool)? Not sure. I have not seen a pattern that I like enough, yet, but will keep an open mind.

Why make a muslin?

For the longest time I rarely made muslins. Yes, I had the occasional disappointment, but in general things were fine. However, last summer, when I was embarking in the Marta dress projcct, I decided I needed to make a muslin before cutting into the beautiful fabric I was going to use for the dress. Glad I did. I ambandoned that project, for now. Well, not entirely. I made it for Montreal-daughter. And I made a few muslins (and it still did not fit perfectly. I wonder if she has even worn that dress this summer?!)

But I have made more muslins since then, and have also learned how to adjust fit as a result (otherwise, what is the point?!)

There are different levels of muslin, and different reasons to make them. And sometimes you muslin the entire garment, other times just sections, all depending on your purpose.  For example, when I made my first Clara leggings I wanted to make them as long johns out of Merino wool. At that price it was a good idea to make a muslin, to practise sewing on knits, and to get a feel of the pattern. I bought some less expensive cotton jersey to make up a wearable muslin. So muslining is a way to make a low-stakes version of your garment, and to try out techniques.

special occasion top - silk

Sometimes you want to modify a pattern. It is not always a good idea to make a wearable muslin from the get-go. When I was making my special occasion top recently I was using a self-drafted pattern I had used many times, but for this special fabric I decided to look critically at the fit, and I adjusted the pattern. I made several muslins before being satisfied. These were unfinished muslins - no need to do the facing and hems for example. (Possible mistake, there, because I find the final outcome a bit high at the neck!) For the fitted Liberty shirt I am making I made a quick muslin with the pattern I had purchased and did not like the fit. I still really like the fit of the McCalls 6116 that I had converted from dress to shirt (see here), but I wanted a more classic collar and placket. So I combined the two patterns. Obviously I had to make up a muslin to make sure it all worked out. 

At the same time I wanted to check the fit of the pattern. So I made it up with only one sleeve, and no cuff on the sleeve, but put the placket and collar on. I then decided to adjust the shoulder. I appear to have narrow shoulders, in spite of the swimming. Who knew?!

jacket muslin

But now that I have adjusted the fit I decided to make this up as a wearable muslin. Basically a wearable muslin is simply a "lesser" version of your final garment. I have this very expensive Libery fabric, and I Want to make sure it all goes well. So if I make up the pattern fully I get to see where any of the pitfalls might be, and it is low-stakes. (I bought some quilting cotton for $7 a metre for this.) And I will have an extra garment in mywardrobe. Good thing I did, too. I did my first seam and then remembered I want to do French seams. So that is something I will remember when I make up the Liberty.

I did this same process with my jeans, too. Several 'thow away' partial muslins, then a wearable muslin. Which, incidentally, I prefer over the final jeans... Oh well.

So enough for today - I need to get sewing!