The Wearable Muslin

I recently got a job working in the marketing department of a mid-sized art museum here in Washington, DC, and I'm LOVING it there.  And working at an art museum means art openings!  What a great opportunity to make a new dress, right?  I had some funky printed silk on hand from a splurge at G Street Fabrics a few months ago, and the museum's new exhibit opening seemed the perfect time to take on the challenge of making my first silk garment.  Silk isn't cheap, either, so I wanted to do this dress the right way.  The first thing I had to do was make a muslin.  I'm all for buying cheap quilting cottons for making my muslins wearable:  If I'm going to do the work of making a proper muslin, I might as well get something (a new dress) out of it!  The muslin:

Simplicity 2360

I chose Simplicity 2360, a simple, straightforward pattern for the silk dress; there is no zipper, the waistband is an easy, encased length of elastic, and it has kimono sleeves.  My muslin is lacking some of the details the silk version features, such as the flutter sleeves and the higher, rounded neckline.  With this muslin I was really just looking to test the fit of the basic pattern design, so I skipped all of the fancy details for this muslin version.  I ended up making the dress in the next smaller size for the final silk version, as the bodice was a bit too blousy and full around the waistline.  The smaller size was a perfect fit in the silk.  This is why we make muslins!

Simplicity 2360

I added thread-chain belt loops to this dress, as it seemed like a good dress for my skinny black belt.  The belt really isn't needed, though, as the dress is given a nice shape by the encased elastic at the waist.  I wear this muslin version to work quite frequently and it is absolutely comfortable thanks to the elastic waist.  The silk dress is also completed and it debuted at the recent exhibit opening.  Look for a post soon about the final silk dress.  Our next museum opening is at the beginning of January, time to start thinking about the next dress!