Hulk Arms, meet Ms. MoneyPenny

Pattern: Sewaholic Oakridge

Fabric: cotton/rayon blend from Georgeous Fabrics

Notions: pro-weft supreme light interfacing, 7 buttons, time + patience

3 muslins later, I have come to the realization I have hulk arms.  

To be fair, I always have problems with woven shirts.  They always feel tight across my arms and shoulders, and although they look nice when my arms are loose, the truth is, I need my arms in day-to-day life.  I write on chalkboards, (well, whiteboards), I carry loads of laundry, I dig things out of ridiculously awkward places, I hug my family, I cook dinner, and sometimes I dance (badly).

Well, one of us is looking at the camera...

Last year I struggled with getting the Alma pattern to fit, and I might be ready to go back to it. 

 Here's what I did on this one:

1.  raised bust dart 1/2 inch.  

Easy peasy.  I may have been able to raise it up even further, but I went conserative there.

2.  graded from a 10 at the bust AND waist, to an 8 at the hips.  

I originally tried an 8 at the waist, too, but the curve was a little too steep, and it looked nicer and slightly more relaxed with a 10 at the waist.

3.  I raised the sleeve cap heighth by 5/8".  

Can I tell you that there are a million and two tutorials on eliminating sleeve cap ease, but try googling "adding sleeve cap ease."  

Crickets. 

 How did I know I needed this? Well, it was tight, so I unpicked the top of the basted sleeve caps, and let it gape.  There was about 5/8" gap between the seam lines.

Once I got the sleeve cap height sorted, muslin 1.5 (same bodice, new sleeves) was MUCH better.  Except, well, sleeves were slightly tight across the biceps.  I could stand demurely, but there was no muscle flexing happening.  You know, as you do.  So....

4.  Added 1/2" strong arm adjustment.

Doesn't that sound better than a big bicep adjusment? 

For muslin 2, I incorporated bodice changes, kept the higher sleeve cap, and spread the bicep about 1/2".  Much better, but it could be a tad more comfortable.  So, for my final version...

5. I ended up extending the biceps another 1/2".  

Which honestly, may be a touch too much, but you can't knock being able to move your arms in all directions.  You never know when Miss Moneypenny will need to tangle with secret spies.

6.  I did not in any way, shape or form lengthen the sleeves.

Scroll back up to the top there to peek; they fit me great, but I typically lengthen sleeves.

So, fitting drama (not really) sorted, I only have one actually complaint about this pattern.

The bow.

Sigh.

Now, I love me some Sewaholic Patterns.  

They go together nicely, and the directions are clear and concise.

However, maybe the issue here was me, and maybe the issue was sewing late at night, but I re-read those bow instructions about 97 times.  I even made the bow (half-assedly) on two different muslins.

In the end, I still don't know that I did it right.

But the only other way I could imagine didn't seem right, either.  

The directions for version C has you attach bias and finish the neckline before adding the button placket.  Then add the placket, fold right sides together and stitch across the top.  Turn right side out, and finish the back.  Makes sense on view C, but on the bow version, um, the neckline isn't finished.  But whatevs, I clipped into the seam allowance so I could do that, and attach the tie.  

Okay, so fold the tie right sides together, sew edges, turn right side out and...

handstitch the entire inside of the collar?  

I don't know that it would've been any easier to attach the tie before the placket, either.  

I may play around with attaching the tie like a band, then using bias to cover the raw edge next time.  Or, I may wait until someone posts the correct way to do this? 

Here's what I did.  Go look at that illustration again.

And tied.

If you're in the know, or have a better idea, whisper to me in the comments, please.