Date: 11/2/09 5:29 PM

Are there any particular fitting issues (problems) that would help determine which method of pattern alteration, FFRP-FBA vs. Nancy Z Pivot & Slide, to use for upper body adjustments? Like a check-list of sorts where one method may be more useful if you have to make such and such adjustments.

I have been reading the articles and boards re FBA's and other upper body alterations and the many different ways to achieve them. Lots of folks seem to combine different methods. Others seem to love either FFRP or Fitting Finesse.

I'm a little too confused right now and would like to pick one or the other to work with. I had a class and trying to learn them together isn't working.

It seems you eventually achieve similar results by both methods but go about it very differently, so I'm wondering if other specific problem areas (in addition to the FBA) might be easier solved using one method over the other.

Thanks

Reply to hazelnut
Date: 11/2/09 9:37 PM

I think it's basically a question of trial and error Sorry i can't be more helpful. FFRP seems to work very well for full bust adjustments. Yes, I think each method has it's merits but I'm not sure there is one way that is better than all the others. I tend to over-think everything and I find that eventually I have to just jump in and make a decision. Otherwise, it becomes the paralysis of analysis and I end up doing nothing Much better to just plunge in and see how one method works for you. I don't think it matters which one you try as long as you give it an honest and patient effort. Pick whichever method appeals to you the most, or seems the least difficult, and jump in. You're essentially trying to evaluate an unknown, i.e., which alteration method will work best for your body. You can only find out by trying various methods, one after the other. I don't think there are any shortcuts. JMHO. Good luck!
Hope this helps.

Sue

Reply to hazelnut
Date: 11/2/09 9:58 PM

I don't think anyone can tell you which method will work for you. It is a matter of learning all methods but I understand that it's confusing. Learning one method at a time is definitely better.

So I would ask, which book/method seems more logical to you? Which method do you feel more comfortable with. Which ever it is, go with that method. Once you have it mastered then expand your wings.

Borrow the books from the library first, have a good read of both and then decide. Instinctively I think you are usually drawn to one more than the other.

------
Belinda. Melbourne, Australia
http://sew-4-fun.blogspot.com/

Date: 11/3/09 2:29 AM

Sue and Sew4fun, thank you both for your advice!

I started out with using FFRP and their full-bust DVD and was working on KS2900. I think I was starting to understand how to make the FBA changes and was working on the other fitting problems with my top. I hit a point where each adjustment I made created another issue and was getting discouraged. I found a class being offered on fitting a muslin and was thrilled to be able to attend. The teacher had me use the KS 2900 pattern, but had me make my muslin with the cotton sheet I brought along instead of my knit fabric. She measured my front (armpit to armpit) at 13 in. (33 cm), but then used my full-bust measurement of 46 in. (116.8 cm) to choose the pattern size and I cut an XL (everywhere). She used the pivot and slide method and a design curve to redraw the armholes higher and made the shoulders and neck smaller. We added a bust dart and then from that dart on the side seam down, added 3 inches width to my sides. It seemed somewhat opposite of the way I was doing it with FFRP and I think that confused me. My cloth muslin seems to fit okay in the bust after the added darts and the other adjustments. She pinned in additional front and back shoulder/arm adjustments for me to finish sewing at home. She also redrew the sleeve on my original KS pattern with a higher sleeve top (cap?) and made the front of the sleeve smaller than the back with a new notch placement for a set in sleeve and this is where she really lost me. We eventually achieved the FBA and a smaller upper body fit by using the pivot & slide method (which seems equally good) but unfortunately I don't fully understand how she determined those changes.

I've measured my two muslins against one another and the armpits are sewn quite a bit higher on the woven muslin (where they should be, which is good), so I guess I will try to incorporate those changes and take apart my new muslin, trace it to paper and then to some knit fabric and see what happens.

As far as methods go I think I feel more comfortable with the FFRP method, but only because I have been practicing with it a bit and the pivot and slide is completely new to me. I could go either way at this point (I have both books), which is why I've asked if one method might be preferable over the other for incorporating other fitting issues.

Sue, I also have to be careful and control myself and not over-analyze. The evening I came home from the class I stayed up most of the night reading Fitting Finesse, FFRP and the PR boards trying to understand my new pattern changes and what we did in class. I can easily get to the point of brain saturation and then nothing makes sense and even the little I thought I learned becomes lost in the mind fog! LOL

Thanks again :)
edited typos

-- Edited on 11/3/09 2:44 AM --

Reply to hazelnut
Date: 11/3/09 11:17 AM

Hazelnut,
I can see why you'd be confused. First your teacher measured your cross front measurement (Pivot and Slide) and then she ignored the measurement and used an XL pattern - I'd be confused, too.
How is the fit of your teacher's final muslin? Did the changes work? IMHO, she took a very convoluted way of getting there (changing the sleeve pattern, armhole, neck, etc.). But what counts is if you got a usable muslin for a top you can actually wear
The whole point of using your high bust measurement to choose your pattern is to eliminate or reduce the need to make a lot of adjustments in the neck, shoulders, sleeve, etc., areas, which in general are harder to adjust than adding for a full bust, so I'm puzzled by the choice your teacher made. OTOH, I'm not an expert by any means.
13" cross bust measurement is, I think, a size 10. What is your high bust measurement, as in FFRP? What if you were to trace off the KS pattern in the size your high bust gives you and make the bust changes from there? You should get a wearable top with fairly minor adjustments elsewhere, unless you have some major fit issues going on that you haven't mentioned.
Your teacher has had the advantage of seeing you in person. We on PR are working without the visuals, so it's hard to say what's going on. Could you post some photos of your muslins (on you)? That would help tremendously.
Let me know how you make out.
Sue

Reply to moushka
Date: 11/3/09 9:41 PM

The fit of the muslin isn't bad but I (and others) left the class with it unfinished, as the class ended earlier than it normally does. I had put my name on the waiting list for the next class (which was full) and was surprised to get a call today saying they had an opening, so I will be attending that one on Friday. They aren't offering it again until next spring, so I feel rather lucky. My first impression of this teacher is that she is very knowledgeable and dedicated (and very nice too). I think it became convoluted when she tried to adapt the knit to woven and kwiksew's sizing doesn't use numbers, but that's just my guess, she may have had other reasons. I definitely want to understand the "how and whys" of what she did so that I will be able to make those changes on my next top. I took some pic's of this muslin but I'm thinking I should just wait until Friday and finish up with her first - why pester people here if I don't have to. I spoke with the teacher and she said to bring my knit fabric along and we will make that up also. So I should have a good woven and knit muslin, which will be worth the two long trips!

My upper bust is 39 in. and when I cut the first muslin I did a medium through the neck and shoulders and out past XL on the sides. I was having a problem with the armholes (too big and I didn't know how to morph them) and the back seemed big and folded at my waist. I'm 5'2" so it could just be too long - I don't think I have a swayed back. Hopefully I'll find all this out Friday and I'll post some before and afters (and maybe even my first wearable top)! I probably should be doing that on a different Board though since this is for pattern related questions, maybe the fitting board is more appropriate. I'm hoping this will become a TNT top at some point - I'm starting to feel upbeat again!
Thanks!

Reply to hazelnut
Date: 11/3/09 9:52 PM

You've got the right idea to work with the teacher and see what she can do for you. I'd have started with size 16 pattern for you, though, and made the FBA. Please update us after Friday's class. Hope the tops works out well.