Mom's Blouse -- Muslin 1

For a first stab, this blouse muslin is not terrible. Frankly, it fits no worse than most of the ready-to-wear tops my mother generally wears.

I decided to work from a basic fitted blouse pattern, Butterick 9232 from 1960, which has been sitting in my stash for many years.

I traced the pattern pieces, widening the waist (and not closing the darts) to give it more of an A-line shape. I added a yoke to the back and a sloping shoulder adjustment. I didn't change the sleeve at all (but skipped the cuff) and decided to add the collar. My fabric is an old cotton sheet.

I added a center pleat to the back but I'll remove it: the back is very full. My mother's biggest fit challenges are her forward-sloping shoulders and rounded back. I'll need to move the shoulder seam forward and perhaps re-draft the yoke so that, on paper, it will slope slightly upward at the edges. I'll likely narrow the shoulders and back at least 1/2" on each side.

I'll likely move the shoulder seam to where those pins are.

I think she needs some sort of sloping shoulder adjustment in front too. There may be other adjustments to make and if they're obvious to you please let me know.

She wants this to be loose-fitting for summer but not so over-sized that it isn't flattering. Originally we were going for a caftan top.

I'll add some shaping in front too.
I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying working on this. Since my mother lives with us, she can try things on immediately -- no waiting. This blouse goes together quickly, so once I make my changes I can whip up another version pretty fast. I hope to get another version done by week's end.

Have a great day, everybody!