I know I've blogged the Sabrina Slims before. But this is the first time I've made them in a stretch woven AND the first time I'm sewing up the stretch twill that I just got into my shop. So let's get to it!

These are my "wearable muslin".  I was a little too eager with the new stretch twill and forgot to double check the pattern measurements. So the hips fit great. Length is good. Problem is that both my thighs and my calves need just a touch more room. So you get wrinkles at my knees and stretch lines at the back leg. Dang it! There is just enough stretch in the fabric to make these still wearable. But I'd like to get rid of those wrinkles, for my next round. I haven't decided yet whether I just need to take a smaller seam allowance OR if I need to add extra seam allowance all the way down the leg. I may still need to take out of the back leg and add to the front leg. But these are wearable, so no need to go crazy making every adjustment possible.

For anyone wondering, the stretch twill is pretty awesome (if I say so myself). Minimal wrinkles (if any at all). Pressed well. And the sheen that it had when I cut it off the bolt completely washed out (whew. I don't like shiny pants!).

Ah, now on to the Margot Peplum. I have never shared this with you all because I'd never sewn it! Let me take that back. I did sew it, but I hated it so much that I wadded it up and threw it in the trash. But I wanted to try something new and this was in my stash, so it was time to try again.

I measure as a size medium overbust and small hip with a FBA in Love Notions Patterns. My intent was to make the Margot in rayon spandex, so I opted NOT to do the FBA. I removed my usual 1/2" at the overbust and then 1" at the waist. Except that did NOT leave me at my natural waist. So, I had to take a step back and start over. I REALLY need to start measuring side seams before I go chopping up my patterns.

So, I did end up removing 1/2" at the overbust (this tightens up the armhole for my thin arms and raises the bust point to my actual bust). I did NOT do the fba. I really should if I plan on making this in cotton lycra again. I did notice that my deltoids (the muscle on the outside of the shoulder) are getting progressively bigger. Probably from lifting 50 # rolls of fabric. That is pulling the sleeve and the shoulder seam in a weird way. To adjust for that, it may make sense to go with a size large shoulder and bust (thus eliminating the need for an FBA) and then blending to the size medium waist and small hip.

The sleeve pictured here is me attempting a cap sleeve from the original sleeve pattern. Short sleeves make my bust look wider, which is not the look I'm going for, so I prefer a cap sleeve. I really like the way the curve of the cap hits just under my deltoid, defining my arm yet rounding out my shoulder. It seems a softer look for my wide shoulders.

If we weren't heading into summer AND I wasn't super short on fabric (hence the black princess seamed color blocks) I would have gone with a 3/4 sleeve which is my most flattering sleeve length. I love that there are 3 different "skirt" options for the Margot and plan on playing with the pleated one next. This is the perfect top for my Sabrina Slims and I plan on making another pair of Sabrinas so I'll need another Margot to go with it!