Date: 9/20/09 2:14 PM

I really don't know, what next step to take to make this pattern go nearer my form. --

What I did so far:

Pattern: from WEndy Mullin's Sew U, the Shirt

1. Selected the size based on my high bust measurement:
S
(I had previously sewn unaltered from the pattern in size L)

2. First tissue fit:
-found that the center back did not meet my center, and that the armhole area was too short, so

3. Altered pattern:
-added 4 cm to the back width,
-added 1 cm length to armhole area back and front

4. Second tissue fit:

BAck:

what I think:
-Shoulder is too wide
-There is a lot of tissue between the waist and the shoulder, what’s up with that?
-ok: Back width

Front:


What I think:
-Lots of wrinkles pointing to the armscye
-Shouldres are too wide,
-center front does not reach my center
-Looks like there is too much room in the breast
-Ok: Waist length is perfect
-ok: Breast dart height is perfect

I am at a complete loss of what to do next.

These are the things I'm contemplating:
-Lower the armscye by 2cm?
-Make a small bust adjustment?
-Add width to the front, so center front of tissue reaches my center front
-Add width to the side seam?

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Date: 9/20/09 2:52 PM

Since the cf doesn't meet your cf you need more room, not less. The back is way to wide on you since you picked your pattern by the high bust you need to do an fba. You would only use this measurement if you are more than 2 inches bigger in the bust than in the high bust. My biggest piece of advice is to make one adjustment at a time. Follow the instructions in ffrp one step at a time. First, make sure that all lengthwise marks line up with you. Does the bp match yours? If not adjust that first. Does the waist meet yours? It appears to. Have you taped the underarm so that you can clip to it and see where the seam really falls. Is this pattern a drop shoulder or does it have set in sleeves? I can't tell you what to do without some more basic information. Can we also see a side view, this way we can tell what your posture is like.
-- Edited on 9/20/09 2:56 PM --

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www.nancyksews.blogspot.com

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Reply to Nancy K
Date: 9/20/09 3:10 PM

Thank you Nancy for your quick reply.

I will try and answer all your questions:

-pattern is a set-in sleeve.

Actually, my high-bust and bust measurement are identical (yes, I measured three times to make sure I wasn't wrong). -- An FBA sounds funny to me, just because the last time I was beyond and A cup was during the time I breastfed my son...

Does the bp match mine? Do you mean the apex? yes, it seems to. The breastdart points towards my apex. -- the breastpoint itself is not market on the pattern tissue.

the waist meets mine in the front, not in the back (I have elastic around my waist, as it's hard to see in the photo, I put the red line over it):
-it's spot on in the front, while in the back the pattern's waist is still about 2cm above my waist. (this is after the 1cm length I added through the armhole area).

Yes, I have taped the underarm. And yes, I have clipped to the seamline.

Sideview


(also, what with the red tank, one sees the waist much better), therefore another front


and another back (without the 4cm additional width, therefore pattern center back is 4 cm away from my center back
-- Edited on 9/20/09 5:13 PM --

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Reply to lara900
Date: 9/20/09 5:11 PM

You look like a perfectly normal person to me, so I'm surprised to see a draft where the neck looks OK; the shoulder sleeve is waaaay too long (or is this a drop-shoulder style?); the distance from shoulder to bust point is a little too long while the armscye is tight; the bust is too tight on a not terribly bosomy woman; the back shoulder width, underarm to underarm, is immense; and the whole back below that is oversized. It's such an odd combination of fitting problems on a normal-seeming body that I'm inclined to think there's a problem with the draft itself.

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Date: 9/20/09 6:47 PM

I think you need to start again with a larger size. Unaltered, neither the center front nor center back matches yours, even at the top.

FFRP fails to emphasize that their choose-size-by-high-bust rule is only supposed to apply if FB is more than 2 inches larger than HB. I see similar issues when I follow their rule because it's putting me in a size that's too small for my shoulders. Widening the back and doing an (unnecessary) FBA just to get the center front and center back to meet just results in an ill-fitting mess with a too-tight armhole.

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Date: 9/20/09 6:51 PM

Is this the same pattern as the white shirt you did a review of? If it is, the size you used for the white shirt looks like a better fit and a better starting place for changes .

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Date: 9/20/09 9:44 PM

It's a weird fit. The cf and cb don't meet your, but your shoulder is way too long, yet you don't look like you have narrow shoulders. You can start with a bigger size and then try reducing the shoulder seam. You look like you have a broad back, but not broad shoulders.
-- Edited on 9/20/09 9:46 PM --

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Date: 9/20/09 9:52 PM

Are you looking at the picture where she added 4cm to the back width? That is making the shoulders way too wide in the back.

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Date: 9/20/09 11:26 PM

Well, I'm not a fitting guru by any means, but it looks as if she could add to the side seam(s) to bring the pattern's center back to her center back.

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Reply to ccris
Date: 9/20/09 11:45 PM

I would go up to the correct size if you can purchase the pattern again (what a bummer).

But since it is a shirt and has a collar and sleeves it will be far too much work to alter.

I teach my students to tissue fi t by first rough cutting around the pattern (multisized) , pin it together with the seams on the outside. Then look in the mirror and using a highlighter, mark the lines that look like it would be the best fit. You may have a couple different sizes at different points.

From there you need to blend in your lines. I start with the front and make all the corrections then using the front I make the back match up.

Fitting a shirt is not an easy project and is a more advanced garment. You do seem to be quite knowledgeable and certainly understand fit more than the average sewer.
Just think of this as a great learning experience and not so much about having a perfect shirt to wear.


You use your measurements to give you a starting point but you don't cut out your pattern until you have done a trace while you are wearing it. I also have them cut 1 1/2 inch inch side seams (these are also referred to as fitting seams).

There are many steps to fitting and you learn along the way and make many mistakes but it is all part of the learning process. Now you know what not to do.
-- Edited on 9/20/09 11:57 PM --

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"I am still learning" ~ Michelangelo
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