Revisiting the Raglan

I am close to settling into my summer routine, which is to work in the garden in the morning and sew after lunch. Yesterday morning, I worked for a while in the greenhouse, pruned my lavenders and raked around the beds, and cleaned up the strawberry bed. After lunch, I sewed until the husband came around 3:00 pm. We went out and planted four 30' rows of potatoes, which should be plenty for us for next winter.

My sewing project yesterday was to make a muslin of this pattern:

I’ve got a couple of woven top patterns that fit me well, but I’m always looking for variations. I like raglans and I bought this pattern because it had bust darts, which seem to be rare in a raglan. Oftentimes in raglans, the darts get rotated into the neckline in the form of pleats or gathers, which make more of a peasant-style top.

This style has been niggling at me for a few days. How would this fit? The pattern was already traced—I must have traced it right after I bought it—so all I had to do was to find some fabric and test it. I made a top rather than a dress just to save a bit of fabric and work.

I LOVE IT. I need to make a few modifications. The bust darts fit perfectly but they are too low. Either they have to be moved up about 5/8" or I need to shorten the upper bodice. I need to take a good look at the top again in the fresh light of morning to determine which is the proper fix.

I also have to take out the curved back seam. Curved back seams and I don’t get along. They can add refinement to a garment, but on me, they inevitably hang up on my high hips. It’s far better if I just have a straight back seam that allows everything to flow nicely from my shoulders.

Other than those two issues, this is very flattering on me. The neck opening is high, finished with binding, and closes with a button. I am wondering if I can lower it enough to pull the top over my head and finish it with a facing. In a light linen or chambray, this would be a wardrobe staple for sure.

The sleeves are made in two pieces, which makes them fit very well. I’ve seen that in coat patterns but never in a top or dress. Often, the top of a woven raglan sleeve will have a dart.

Once I get the top dialed in, lengthening this pattern back into a dress should be relatively easy. I’m also going to revisit the Remy Raglan by Sew House Seven to see if I can add bust darts into that pattern.

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Has anyone else noticed that thrift stores aren’t what they used to be? Our Salvation Army store has a list of what they will take and what they won’t, and the list of what they won’t take is longer than the list of what they will take. Sheets—which I sometimes use for making muslins—are virtually impossible to find anymore. I don’t even bother with Goodwill because their prices for pie plates are higher than what new ones cost at Target. I have better luck with the smaller, privately-run stores, although our local Flathead Industries store has had the same 1990s-era BabyLock serger priced at $100 for the past six months. It clearly needs to be cleaned and serviced before it could be used, which would basically double the price. I could clean and service it myself, but I still don’t want to shell out $100.

Get off my lawn. 🤨 I long for the olden days when thrift stores had great deals.

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Next week is a busy week. I have two mastery classes scheduled—machine and serger—and I’m teaching the Tamarack Jacket class at the end of the week. But at least it’s all sewing.