Toile

A toile is a practice version of a costume made in cheap fabric so you can test the fit and shape before cutting into your real materials.

A toile (sometimes called a muslin in North American workshops) is a trial garment sewn from inexpensive fabric — often plain calico or a similar woven cloth — that lets you check whether a pattern fits your body before you commit to the materials you actually want to wear. Because fitting problems are much easier and cheaper to fix at this stage, making a toile can save you a great deal of frustration later, especially for structured pieces like corsets, fitted bodices, or tailored jackets. When you sew the toile, use a long stitch length so seams are easy to unpick, and mark any changes directly on the fabric with a pen or chalk. Once you are happy with the fit, you transfer those adjustments back onto your paper pattern before cutting the real fabric. Even a rough, unfinished toile gives you far more information than guessing from a flat pattern alone.