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Moderated by Deepika, Sharon1952
Posted on: 6/1/21 8:31 AM ET
I know this is a bit of a cheat. I am new to making muslins, but sewing for many years, and I usually go by the rule of approximating the fabric. This time I am sewing with denim and haven't done so in a long time, by choice. But since I am sewing down stash I don't want to buy more similar fabric to make a muslin. I also have been wondering this for some time:
If your muslin is fit in a lighter fabric (standard muslin), what adjustments would you make when transferring to a thicker fabric - i.e. extra ease, seam allowance, etc.
Thanks for any suggestions - I have avoided denim because of how rugged it is to handle and how the indigo stains everything it touches, but I bought a few yards on sale (not rock bottom enough to use as its' own muslin) and am determined to use them for a pair of saddleback 'jeans'.
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If your muslin is fit in a lighter fabric (standard muslin), what adjustments would you make when transferring to a thicker fabric - i.e. extra ease, seam allowance, etc.
Thanks for any suggestions - I have avoided denim because of how rugged it is to handle and how the indigo stains everything it touches, but I bought a few yards on sale (not rock bottom enough to use as its' own muslin) and am determined to use them for a pair of saddleback 'jeans'.
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Once you get used to wearing clothing that fits, where does it end? :-P
Posted on: 6/1/21 8:47 AM ET
In reply to chloe speaks
I think you'll have a little trouble simulating denim with muslin. But if anything your final denim should fit closer than your muslin version. So if you use muslin and confirm the dimensions of your pattern, I think you could take that straight to denim, and the heavier fabric will be a more accurate fit. Is it 100% cotton denim? Even rigid denim has give. Which is why it's loved. The fit after an hour of wear is more body skimming than when you first put them on.
Posted on: 6/1/21 8:53 AM ET
In reply to chloe speaks
I don't know how to calculate a difference between muslin and final fabric. I have that issue myself. I can fit perfectly in muslin. Then, when I transition to final fabric, the fit is a little off.
Your best bet is to muslin in similar weight fabrics. What I've been doing is that if I have 1/2 yard or more left from any project, I save it for muslin & store it with similar weight fabrics.
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Your best bet is to muslin in similar weight fabrics. What I've been doing is that if I have 1/2 yard or more left from any project, I save it for muslin & store it with similar weight fabrics.
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My Herd: Bernina 790 Plus Upgrade, Bernina 735, Babylock Triumph, Bernina Record 931. Sewing Makes My Crazy Life Normal.
Member #25631
Member #25631
Posted on: 6/1/21 11:58 AM ET
In reply to JNE4SL
That's a good point. I love wearing denim, but sewing, not so much. Luckily I have been able to locate a few pairs that fit decently - I'm obsessed with this current pair of pants that look like the 70s Dittos that I wanted and never got as a preteen...
The denim I have was from Mood Fabrics and said stretch denim, so I guess it should be a shoe in to be wearing like a thinner fabric. I wasn't vey impressed with how stretchy it was though. I guess I should have checked but I think I was assuming it'd be like the super stretchy qualities that commercial jeans are being made of...
-- Edited on 6/1/21 at 12:24 PM ET --
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The denim I have was from Mood Fabrics and said stretch denim, so I guess it should be a shoe in to be wearing like a thinner fabric. I wasn't vey impressed with how stretchy it was though. I guess I should have checked but I think I was assuming it'd be like the super stretchy qualities that commercial jeans are being made of...
-- Edited on 6/1/21 at 12:24 PM ET --
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Once you get used to wearing clothing that fits, where does it end? :-P
Posted on: 6/1/21 11:58 AM ET
In reply to JNE4SL
repeat glitch
-- Edited on 6/1/21 at 11:58 AM ET --
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-- Edited on 6/1/21 at 11:58 AM ET --
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Once you get used to wearing clothing that fits, where does it end? :-P
Posted on: 6/2/21 10:00 AM ET
Well, even when stretch denim lists the percentage of stretch, what one denim says is 20% vs another one listed at 20% may actually be quite different. Perhaps the measurements were done differently. Also weight of goods used factors in. Also how it's actually woven at the mill. The end result: two seemingly similar denims look and behave differently.
I have quite a few 2 yard cuts of denim, bought early in my jeans making. They're similar in stretch percent. Yet I've had the experience of making a muslin in one denim (a color I've decided I like less, say, but otherwise seemingly very similar to my final denim), making a test garment with a new jeans pattern, getting the fitting sorted out, and then making it in the final denim ... and had it fail to fit well.
I've finally decided, if it really matters, I have to buy extra of the denim I'm going to use. A yard will usually do it for me - making long shorts/short capri length is a good enough test garment to give me a sense of how the legs will fall when full length, and will assuredly tell me about the crotch curve.
Alternatively, you can cut a new pattern with big seam allowances, like 1", which gives you some wriggle room. Now that I have a few patterns that I've got well-fitted, this is how I cut them - even though they are tested and fitted patterns, each individual denim has a mind (and fit) of its own.
I have quite a few 2 yard cuts of denim, bought early in my jeans making. They're similar in stretch percent. Yet I've had the experience of making a muslin in one denim (a color I've decided I like less, say, but otherwise seemingly very similar to my final denim), making a test garment with a new jeans pattern, getting the fitting sorted out, and then making it in the final denim ... and had it fail to fit well.

I've finally decided, if it really matters, I have to buy extra of the denim I'm going to use. A yard will usually do it for me - making long shorts/short capri length is a good enough test garment to give me a sense of how the legs will fall when full length, and will assuredly tell me about the crotch curve.
Alternatively, you can cut a new pattern with big seam allowances, like 1", which gives you some wriggle room. Now that I have a few patterns that I've got well-fitted, this is how I cut them - even though they are tested and fitted patterns, each individual denim has a mind (and fit) of its own.
Posted on: 6/2/21 11:02 AM ET
In reply to chloe speaks
Sounds like a fun project. I'm all for recreating that one item that got away, and those patterns look good. I really don't mind sewing denim. I find it's not as difficult as it looks. Finding the exact characteristics of a particular retail denim is very hard. You have to remember with denim fabric is fundamental to the design. They don't just sew, they process, so all the shrinkage and stretch properties of the fabric have been worked into the RTW draft. We just sew washed denim, which takes less calculation and development, but does change things. The seams don't shrink and pucker the same, etc.
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