No Muslin This Time Around

I feel I do pretty well in the sewing arena, but I struggle in the fitting department.  It takes me awhile to figure it out.  Therefore, I usually prepare a muslin of an item I am planning on sewing.  Because I like to think I am getting better at fitting, I decided to make the top, version C of Simplicity 2917 before I start the actual dress.  I found this lovely batik rayon in my stash. 

The colors are coral red, peach, yellow, lilac, and gradations of such.

My main adjustment is for sloping shoulders.  I took two inches out across the back at the arm opening.  A second adjustment was a smig out of the waist curve for sad middle-aged issues.  My final adjustment is raising the waist, because I am short waisted.  I got the side and front pieces all cut and basted together; tried it on, but found it too big in the circumfrence (a good thing) and too high at the bust (a bad thing).  Hence my comment about struggling with fit.  Guess I haven't really made any progress. 

Rarely, do I send things to the trash.  I was tempted.  Instead I recut the waist curves a bit smaller.  In re-evaluating the sloping shoulder issue, I thumped myself on the head.  When making adjustments, if you take away somewhere, you have to put back somewhere else.  I realized that I didn't add the two inches across the arm in the front that I took out of the back.  That's why the bust was too high.  I asked myself why did I do two inches when in a previous garment I did one inch?  I have no answer, but I am going back to one.  Since I can't recut to make the pieces longer, I had to add one inch of fabric at both shoulders and basted it back up.  I don't think it looks too bad thanks to the batik.

The top and dress are designed with princess seams.  A princess seam is used instead of darts.  The challenge is sewing the curves with no puckers.  I matched and pinned up the notches.  Is it possible to fit these pieces together?

You bet with pins and clipping, and it is not difficult to do.  Falls into place quite nicely.

Once I was happy with the fit, I serged all the seams.  In reality I sewed all the vertical seams three darn times.  At least I am getting a summer blouse out of the process instead of a muslin that I would never wear; and hopefully, a perfect fitting dress.