Mountainlove
 
Intermediate
USA
Member since 10/18/10
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Date: 10/27/10 3:25 PM I'm pretty crafty with the sewing machine - so, not a total newbie. However, where I suck is at sewing my own clothes that are supposed to have a shape.
Is there a good pattern out there that can teach me about fitting a pattern or making a fitted garment? I'm particularly interested in skirts and dresses.
AND - should start looking for a dressmaker's form? |
luckysweetheart
Advanced Beginner
TX USA
Member since 9/17/07
Posts: 229 |
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Date: 10/27/10 4:40 PM Everyone is usually quick to point out Fit For Real People, and there are a couple other books (which I'm not familiar with) that people like to reference for fitting.
You can get some gingham and a fitting shell (Vogue 1004 or McCall's 2718) and use that to dial in the major fitting issues you have.
For me, I know that I'm short-waisted between the bust and shoulders, and that I have a sway-back that I need to take in several inches on (makes for some interesting pattern pieces but they turn out OK!). So I usually trace a new pattern and incorporate those changes first before I make a muslin. |
becca a
Intermediate
VT USA
Member since 11/6/04
Posts: 792 |
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In reply to Mountainlove
Date: 10/27/10 4:44 PM The book Fit for Real People is very helpful. Each of the major pattern companies has a pattern for a fitting shell which you can use to help you learn what adjustments you need to make for your body. The McCall's fitting shell McCall's 2718 is by Palmer/Pletsch (the authors of FFRP).
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MNBarb
Intermediate
MN USA
Member since 4/3/10
Posts: 1522
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Date: 10/27/10 6:31 PM I'm going to go against popular opinion. I thought I HAD to have Fit For Real People when I started sewing because it was so recommended. I haven't found it helpful at all. I feel like it's geared more toward large-busted, curvy women (if that describes you it might be just the right book). I also can't do the "tissue fit" thing they recommend where you try on the pattern in it's paper stage. Paper is NOT fabric and doesn't behave the same.
I like Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina.
This is what I did after buying FFRP and deciding it wasn't the best for me. I checked out every fitting book from my local library and perused them until I decided which seemed useful. I now have a list that I want to own and will watch for them used on Amazon.
Fitting is a challenge but it's a great look when you get a garment just-right. ------
Barb
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Edison
"I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow." Woodrow Wilson |
FaithM
Advanced Beginner
ME USA
Member since 2/22/09
Posts: 177 |
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In reply to luckysweetheart
Date: 10/27/10 8:24 PM I agree with luckysweetheart that a fitting shell pattern is a good first step. I learned some basic adjustments from the fitting shell I made and have been successful in applying them to other patterns. |
Apron Strings
Advanced Beginner
GA USA
Member since 12/21/07
Posts: 128 |
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Date: 10/27/10 8:32 PM A fitting shell is probably a good idea- but the idea of using my precious time sewing something I would NEVER wear isn't that exciting.... ------
As a mother of three....I'm sewing my way to sanity. |
frame
Advanced
USA
Member since 2/19/04
Posts: 2039 |
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In reply to Mountainlove
Date: 10/27/10 9:25 PM Sewing PATTERNS are not really fitting tools. They are design options. Patterns are not meant to TEACH fitting or sewing. A good sewing or fitting BOOK is a better idea. Or a class. ------
"framed" was taken |
my horse
Advanced
NC USA
Member since 5/9/05
Posts: 803 |
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In reply to Apron Strings
Date: 10/27/10 11:29 PM I think you would find you are more excited than you imagine you would be when you turn out a wearable dress that fits to a T because you learned about yourself first. The few hours you spend learning your shape and how to fit it while making a shell will come back to you so many times in confidence and finances which both add up to time saved. Notably, fewer wadders.
I suggest using a fitting shell along with a good reference book. You can't have too much information in this area. There is more than one successful way to address many fitting issues and you should know them because every pattern/fabric combination is not the same.
I agree with MNBarb about FFRP. I'm a celery and it doesn't address as many issues for my shape as I'd like. I recommend The Perfect Fit from Creative Publishing. Excellent information with lots of pictures to help you pinpoint your fitting issues as well as detailed instructions and pictures of the altered pattern. ------
She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. Proverbs 31:13 NAS
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Lynnelle
Intermediate
MI USA
Member since 4/8/07
Posts: 2377
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Subject: Topic moved Date: 10/28/10 5:45 AM This topic has been moved from Creative Sewing to Fitting Woes |
knitmachinequeen
Advanced
MI USA
Member since 9/3/07
Posts: 82 |
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In reply to MNBarb
Date: 10/28/10 6:13 AM FFRP is the best thing that ever happened to me. And yes I am large-busted and curvy! Tissue-fitting for me is absolutely the best fitting technique in my arsenal. Since I've been using the Palmer and Alto techniques, I've only had one wadder. It was a style that was all wrong for me but I tried it any way.
I do have Sandra Betzina's Fast Fit but I haven't found it useful at all for my particular fitting issues. I guess it just depends on your preference and your particular fitting issues. As long as you end up with great fitting garments, that is the only thing that really matters. ------
knitmachinequeen
I aspire to be the kind of woman that when my feet hit the ground each morning the devil says,
"OH CRAP, SHE'S UP"!!!!
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