Look Ma, it Fits! (Part I)

I think I got it! For my next few blog posts, I am going to chronicle my journey to finally getting a woven blouse to fit. First, let me start with some background history.

For the past two years, I have been working tirelessly on trying to get a woven blouse pattern to fit. You see, I am small framed with a big chest - not quite Dolly Parton big, but big enough to have significant issues with woven blouses and jackets.

I have tried to fit a number of blouse patterns:

as well as a few now out-of-print jacket patterns:

• Simplicity 4698
• Butterick 4463
• Simplicity 4954.

With each try, came several muslins, intense frustration, and a shot to my sewjo that would take weeks to heal. I even took a class from a certified Palmer-Pletsch fit instructor in Richland, MI (about 2 hours west of me). The purpose of the class was to take the McCall's basic fitting shell pattern and fit it to me. The class was spread over two days for six hours each day. I won't say that the class was a waste of time and money, but I already knew most of what we covered and had already tried some of the techniques many times on my own. I did learn that I have narrow and forward shoulders, a slight high round back, and a swayback - issues, said the instructor, that will most likely require adjustment in every pattern. I'll comment more about these revelations in a later part of my series of posts.

Selecting the right pattern size has been somewhat of a problem with me. In almost every fit book I read (and I read a lot of them), it was always recommended that one purchase patterns according to the high-bust measurement. This way, you can ensure proper fit in the neck and shoulder area. The problem with that is the full bust area is so small, that I end up needing a substantial adjustment to accommodate my chest. Conversely when I tried to fit both a jacket and blouse pattern according to my full bust measurement, I found that the neck, shoulder, and armhole were too big.

Previous attempts at altering the pattern using a full bust adjustment created a number of challenges:

1. massive darts that were next to impossible to reconcile,
2. insufficient width at bust level despite the huge dart,
   
3. too much newly-added length in the high-bust area,
4. too much newly-added width in the waist area.

Below are some examples of two separate fittings of McCall's 5471. The first two photos show a muslin made in November 2008. I cut a size 14 (D cup) and adjusted from there. As you can see, there is too much length in the HB area and too much width in the waist area. Plus, the shoulder line looks too long.

The next muslin was made in April 2008. Here, I cut a size 18 (D cup) and adjusted from there. There is pulling at bust level and bunched fabric at the nape of my neck. Plus, the collar is larger than perhaps it should be.

As I study these pictures again, it occurs to me that the November muslin was made after having taken the fit class in October 2008. The April muslin was made long before I took the fit class and executed with knowledge learned on my own. Despite the pulling at bust level, the April version appears to fit much better. How about that? Based on these pictures, it looks as if multi-cup patterns should be selected according to the FB measurement in the chest area and perhaps a smaller size in the armhole, shoulder, and neck area.

Following now are some photos of my attempts to fit Simplicity 4077. This is the pattern that I attempted to fit as part of the class I took in October.



I started with a size 14 and altered from there. As you can see, some of the fitting challenges I mentioned earlier are everywhere. In no way is this pattern even close to looking half-way decent! I mean really, this thing is just awful!

Needless to say, after having several defeats with the fit demon, I gave up. Wait! I am a quitter. I just know when I've had enough. I took some time away from the blouse and sewed some pillowcases, pants, and a skirt. I made several knit tops and started working on my bedroom curtains.

Once I had time to reflect and refocus my energy, I forged ahead with another attempt at fitting. This time, I tried Kwik Sew 3620. This fitting wasn't as bad as the first...few. For this pattern, I cut a size medium in the neck, shoulder, armhole and morphed out to a large at the bust, waist, and hips. I did an unconventional 5/8" FBA. Instead of slashing and spreading a la Palmer-Pletsch, I drew a box around the dart and moved that portion of the pattern out 5/8". I did this so as to avoid the additional waist fabric created with regular FBAs. This method did not work at all. The shoulder area was just all wrong and poorly fitting.

As you can see, despite the attempt at fitting the centers front still don't meet. SIGH. What's a girl to do?!

Be on the look out for Part II!

L~

Many Versions of Kwik Sew 2694

I am finally blogging about sewing up Kwik Sew 2694. I started working on this top last summer and have since made five separate versions. I love this pattern because it is really easy to construct. I did 99% of the construction on my serger and, more recently, my brand new coverstitch machine.

The first time I attempted to make this top did not go well. I used a cotton interlock from Joann Fabrics. I quickly realized that though cotton interlock is nice to touch, it is not the right kind of knit for me. So I gave up on this pattern until attempting it again late last summer.

Version 1: Black off red/yellow floral print


Fabric: thin knit mesh with a lot of crosswise stretch purchased from the Fabric Warehouse in Romulus

Sizing: It's been so long since I made this, I don't quite remember what size I used. I think I cut a medium in the shoulders, neckline, and sleeve and cut a large for the side seam and hem.

Construction details: Since the knit is very thin and hence see-through, I decided to underline it with the same type of fabric. Luckily, I found some of the same mesh knit at the Fabric Warehouse. I cut the same pieces for the underlining fabric and hand basted each piece together. I think the pattern calls for 1/4" seam allowances.



The underlining gave the top much needed weight and makes the top hang nicely. To finish the edges, I used the rolled hem feature on my serger. I was so excited about the way this one came out, I decided to do it again in another mesh knit.

Version 2: brown & red floral print

Fabric: thin mesh knit from the Fabric Warehouse in Romulus

Sizing/fitting: The first version was shorter than I expected. Also, the empire waist seam appeared as if it were too high. So in anticipation of these fitting issues, I made a few changes. I added a couple of inches of length to the lower front and back. I also added some length to the upper front in an effort to lower the empire waist seam. For some reason, the changes to the upper front made the fit worse! I don't know what happened, but I get these weird diagonal pulls across the bust right at the waist seam and the neckline tends to fall open. Though I've gotten used to how it looks, the reason why this happen still intrigues me.

Construction details: I underlined each piece in the same fashion as version 1. I also used a rolled hem to finish the edges.

Version 3: stylized cheetah

Fabric: really soft polyester knit from Melody at Fashionista Fabrics

Sizing/fitting: After already completing two versions of this top, I thought I would need to tweak the fitting again. I tried adding length and width to the upper fronts, but decided to remove all of the changes. I figured that this particular knit was stretchy enough that it would take care of some of my fitting issues. And how! After making the top, I thought it was way too big. I contemplated keeping it because I thought it wouldn't look good on me. After wearing it a couple of times, I came to like it and am now ok with the fit.

Construction details: Nothing really special here. I used my serger to construct the seams and finished the hems by turning under 1/2" and stitching on top. I added a little snap on the neckline just above the bust level for modesty. Here is a picture of me wearing it:














Version 4: Black cross-over
Fabric: This is my second attempt at this version. As mentioned earlier, I tried to make this out of a cotton interlock. The fabric was quite thick and didn't move enough for me. The fabric pictured at left is of unknown origin. A burn test revealed that it's definitely synthetic. It's not too thick and has these fine little eyelash-like hairs all over. My intention was to use this fabric as a muslin to test the pattern again.

Sizing: I cut a medium in the neckline, shoulder, and sleeves and a large in the side seams and hem.

Construction details: Again, nothing new here. I used my serger on everything. I did make a mistake when sewing the side seams. Somehow I gathered the fronts together incorrectly which caused one of the fronts to be attached to the back in a way that made the top impossible to wear. I ended up having to cut part of the front out of the side seam. This "fix" isn't visible from the outside, so no one knows it's there but me and whoever else reads this. =)

To finish, I serged the edges and used a twin needle to give the illusion of a coverstitch. I recently bought a JanomeCP1000 after being totally enabled by the many commentaries about this machine found on Pattern Review. To test out the CP1000, I redid the lower hem. WOW! I love this freakin' machine! Pardon me as I wipe the drool from my face... More on the machine in another post...

Version 5: Pink cross-over
Fabric: A rather thick synthetic fiber blend knit from Field's Fabrics in Portage, Michigan. This top is supposed to be a part of my Neopolitan Ice Cream Themed SWAP. Progress on the SWAP is...um...slow. We'll see how that goes...

This fabric is not as forgiving as the black knit in version 4. It's thicker and has less crosswise stretch. The thickness of the knit also makes the lapped sections of the top feel bulkier.

I recently noticed that the fabric pills, a lot. I wore it to work one day and when I got home I had nice little pink fuzzies where my arms meet my sides. So, I don't think this will be a top worn often.

Fitting/sizing: I used the same sizing as in version 4, but I added some length to the sleeves and hem to make them both longer. I took slightly larger seam allowances with this top because the solid black one was a wee bit large in the waist. Mistake! I did not even think about the differences in fabric until after I serged the side seams! Oh well.

Construction details: Same as before: s e r g e r!

Here is a picture with me wearing it:













Whew! See, I told you I sew. I just stink at blogging. =)

Until next time,

L8r