Make a Mockup - Be a Better Sewist!

Especially if you’re a beginning sewist, you may feel too impatient to make a mockup . A mockup (also called a muslin or a toile) refers to a practice garment that you make to test the pattern and your skills before cutting into more expensive fabric.

I had dabbled in craft and garment sewing for years before I made my first mockup. Those early items were usable, but always more flawed than I liked. My eagerness to have the final product always took over and I figured I knew enough about what I was doing that I could make it work.

First mockup plans

My mockup adventures started because of cosplay. After the delightful Mary Poppins Returns came out in 2018, I wanted to cosplay as Mary for DragonCon. I knew I’d have to modify a commercial pattern to get to something that was screen-similar (I’m not after screen-accurate) and would fit me. I searched for movie stills to get a good look at the coat. I found a commercial pattern that was close enough with the silhouette and lapels. (I didn’t plan to make the shoulder ruffles. I figured if I had the fabric color right, it would still be recognizable without the cape-like extra details.)

The right fabric was going to be essential for this costume. It was unlikely I would find an exact match, but if I could find something that included the blue and black, it would still read as Mary Poppins. I ordered a handful of swatches from Mood Fabrics. As I waited for those to arrive, I started pinning and cutting the pattern, while reading the assembly instructions to understand how it should come together.

I quickly saw that making this coat was going to be a bigger project than I had time or motivation for. I hadn’t made a coat like this before, I hadn’t worked with fabric like this before. This would be a learning process (and we all know the learning process is full of mistakes and fixes!). I didn’t know if I would return to this project, but I did know that I needed to put it away at that time. (I came up with an easy Captain Marvel cosplay instead that year- a ballcap, tshirt, and flannel did the job.)

Another mockup plan

After abandoning Mary Poppins (the pinned fabric pieces carefully folded and tucked into a nook in my closet), I settled on a new cosplay: Claire Fraser from Outlander Season 3. The key piece in her outfit is a fitted jacket with a peplum. (The costume also includes a simple gathered skirt and a waistcoat. I knew from the outset that I could skip the waistcoat because the coat covers most of it anyway. I’d made similar skirts before, so I wasn’t worried about that piece.

I hadn’t made a fitted bodice garment like this before, and I wanted it to look great (not just half-assed), so I committed to making a mockup. Again, I ordered fabric swatches from Mood and found buttons online.

I completed the 10-piece mockup, fiddling and replacing pieces as I went, until I was finally satisfied with the fit and appearance.

At that point, I realized that next I had to essentially make two more jackets—the outer jacket and the inner lining! I wasn’t excited about that prospect, but I knew I wanted a finished (lined) garment since that would look better and last longer. I decided to use the muslin mockup as the lining. You can still see some of the markings I made on the muslin (thinking it would never be seen).

Costume success!

Enough of the ugly inside. Let’s see the full cosplay:

I’m so proud of this jacket. I wore it to a few fan conventions in 2020 and got several compliments on it. When I look at it now, I see other changes I would make to slightly improve the look and fit, but I’m still thrilled with it.

What do we really learn from a mockup?

Sure, we all get the concept that practice in any circumstance is good. But what, specifically, do you learn from making a mockup?

how the pattern pieces fit together
issues using the machine- are there tricky bits like curves that can be more challenging on your machine?
material issues- how does the machine handle the fabric (assuming your mockup fabric is similar to the final fabric)
detect thread tension issues
adjust presser foot tension if needed
test how accurately you cut the pattern pieces
fit issues

Lastly, the process lets you practice new-to-you techniques, so you feel more confident when you start using the final fabric.

Will you make a mockup for your next project? If any of these factor in, I’d strongly recommend it:

making a closely fitted garment
using woven fabric (no stretch)
using expensive fabric
you have limited fabric (you don’t have the option to buy more if you make a mistake)

I’m curious- have you ever made a mockup? Why? Or why not?

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