The "Please, Strangle Me" Blouse and the Muslin of Hope

I think if I had chosen New Look 6078 to sew first back when I began sewing for myself, I would've been so disheartened, I might never have sewn for myself again.  A scary thought, actually... in an alternate timeline kind-of way.  I don't think I would have ever chosen this to sew before now because of the darts, cuffed sleeves, button plackets, collar, etc. so we shouldn't worry that there is another Sara out there in the universe who is missing out on the joys of sewing.  She knew better.
Still.... New Look 6078 did kinda ruin my day.
Some of it is my fault and some of it is the fault of the pattern.  Until I hear about someone having a super easy time with this collar, I'm gonna call it a pattern drafting problem.  The blouse was going together fine until I got to the collar.  It was way too long and hung off the edges of the button plackets.  I proceeded to do my best to reshape and resize it and made it too short.  Now there are raw edges that look like a little mouse has been chewing them where the collar meets in the middle.  Thus, the bow.  And thus, the name of the blouse, because I really don't care to wear blouses buttoned all the way up and I'll always have to wear this one that way.

I paired it with some tweed pants a la Sunni at A Fashionable Stitch.  Interestingly enough, I had seen this post of hers ages ago and thought to myself, "I really hope I can sew really awesome clothes like her someday."  Little did I know when I pulled this fabric from my stash for this blouse that there might have been something going on in my subconscious.  I found this post again after I had already started to cut out this blouse and got really excited because I liked her dress so much.  Now I'm just jealous again because I like hers better and I feel like I wasted my fabric and time.

My next complaint is my fault and not the pattern's.  I suspected with such a fitted blouse, I should probably to a petite adjustment and shorten it in the waist, but I didn't.  So, now it pools at my low back. I won't be wearing it with these trousers in real life, or anything that sits at my hips.  I'll have to wear it with high-waisted things only to cover those folds of unnecessary fabric.

Two other mistakes I made were over fitting and using too stiff of interfacing for the button placket.  I tweaked and tried on and tweaked and tried on until this blouse fit me like a glove.  The problem is... it's a blouse and not a glove.  Hands do not eat and breath.  I don't think I could eat or take a deep breath while wearing this.  Note to self.  A little ease is OK!

As for the interfacing, I was being cheap and trying to use up old pieces I had lying around.  The piece that was long enough was too stiff and I should have prioritized a little better.

The last gripe I have I'm going to blame on the pattern and, unfortunately for me, I'm in the situation that scares me most about sewing garments: I don't have the knowledge to fix the problem.  See the pulling from the collar to the armpit?  Those are there on both sides, no matter how I hold my arms and I don't know why they're there, but it's bugging the crud out of me.  I just read someone else's review of a shirt dress and she said something a bout "drag lines" and poorly drafted sleeves, so I'm gonna go with that.

I put New Look 6078 at the back of my pattern basket.  I don't know if it will be like birth and I'll forget the pain and try it again in a few years.... we'll see.  Hopefully, I'll read this post first.

Now on to the Muslin of Hope.

Simplicity 2187 is next in my queue and I did a quick muslin today to check the fit.  I was particularly interested in the length of the bodice and the fit of the crotch.

The plan for the real thing is to use a spring green gabardine (this looks grey green, but it's not).

Here is the muslin made from bedsheets and I'm thrilled.

I'm planning on doing the cropped length with the gabardine, but I might even do this again as shorts because I think this turned out so cute.

What a relief to know that I CAN still make SOMETHING right.