This is why we muslin ...

You may recall I chose Vogue 2269 from 1989 as one of my SWAP patterns.  I knew by experience of fitting my longish torso and because this is an 80's pattern that I would need to lengthen the pattern.  I've made halters before and they've been a little troublesome and this one lived up to my expectations.

Short version is this: I completely reshaped the front darts to allow this to fit snugly in the bust and waist and then flare out over my pear shaped hips.  In the back I widened the dart at the top as I seem to have a narrow upper back.  It was still too big, so I sewed some wide elastic onto the facing.  This not only helps the back fit more snugly but fixes a small gape at the arm hole.  If I make it again I will need to fold out a wedge at the arm hole area.

I've made a wearable muslin that I like.  It's cute and I will wear it a lot, but I don't love this pattern enough to mess around with it to get a perfect fit.  I may use the sleeveless blouse version of the same pattern or I may fall back on a TNT Kwik Sew sleeveless blouse.

This fabric is a cotton/linen blend that's been in my stash for easily ten years waiting on the right garment.  I think it's perfect for this pattern.  The buttons are a nice bit of serendipity.  They came out of a $10 bag I bought from All Buttons Great and Small in Sydney.  They sell mixed bags in vague colour selections (bluish, greenish, reddish etc).  Every time I buy a bag I sort out the buttons into fishing tackle boxes for easy selection.  There was 7 of these green linen buttons in a bag of mixed greens and I was sure I would never use them, but they are perfect!

 

There was enough fabric left to make a skirt.

This is New Look 6463 which is a very old TNT.  I can't find a date on it anywhere but I bought it about 10 years ago in an op shop (and it was old then) for 20c and I've made it more times than I can count.  One version has inverted box pleats and and the other doesn't.  Both have six gores, which subtly shape the skirt over the butt.  Although it's an a-line, the shaping makes it sit close on the hips and flare out just enough to be flattering.  It's a perfect pattern to make out of small remnants.  I find it's more comfortable to wear a skirt in hot weather so this will be worn immediately!