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Member since 8/16/13
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Posted on: 4/10/21 9:43 AM ET
A few years ago I ordered a Boostrap custom fit sewing pattern for this top:




Before I even had the chance to print the pattern I became pregnant, and what with young kids etc, I never got around to making it. Now I would like to make it, but I had it customised to my pre-pregnancy measurements. My bust before kids was 92cm (c 36") and now it's 90cm (more like 35").

The design is not really close fitting... but it's not loose either. Will a 2cm difference make it look sloppy? I can reorder it to my current sizes, but I would have to pay again. That said, given that I now have less time, if I did reorder it I would go for A0 and send it off for printing, rather than assembling A4 sheets. So I'm on the fence. Buy it again with the new measurements, use what I've got as-is, or manually adjust the pattern I already have?

Thanks for your help.
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 10:04 AM ET
In reply to 9dcx
When I find that a bust is too loose after making a pattern, I find I can just take in at the sides and it is perfect!

I turn the shirt inside out, pinch out and mark what needs to be taken in, use a french curve to mark the seam line. (Different knits will give you a different fit, also, in the same size). Hope you make a muslin and see how it works out for you.
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 10:10 AM ET
If I had to worry about a 2cm difference in my bust mmx every time I wore a garment, I would never get anything sewn!! (Or be able to get dressed. LOL)

I know Bootstrap doesn't go in for finished garment measurements, but unless you like a really fitted top I don't think this will look sloppy. The fit in the shoulders and neckline will dictate how well it appears to fit you far more than the amount of ease in the bust.


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Posted on: 4/10/21 10:37 AM ET
In reply to stirwatersblue
right? That's a difference that happens monthly for many of us!
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 11:17 AM ET
Or hourly...
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It's just fabric; we can out-think it.
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 12:41 PM ET
I thought of this immediately after I posted, but I had to run and get vaccinated (!!!) so I didn't have a chance to edit my post.

...But I was going to say, are you still wearing/again wearing any of your pre-pregnancy tops? The fit of those might be your best gauge for how this pattern might fit.

Second additional thought: Have you made any other Bootstrap patterns so you have a good sense of how well they fit? I know they're custom-designed to your measurements, but sometimes you still need to make some alterations (in particular I've heard that the fitted knit tops tend to be VERY fitted. That's completely second-hand hearsay, however, since I've never tried them. Why have I never tried them? I need more than one size in a pattern because my size fluctuates between the time I buy a pattern and get it made! LOL)
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~Elizabeth in the prairie
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Member since 8/16/13
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Posted on: 4/10/21 2:02 PM ET
Thanks so much everyone! When you put it like that I guess 2cm isn’t a big difference... I suppose I’m just conscious of it because I have gone down a whole cup size and things fit me rather differently now than they used to.

Stirwatersblue, your point about pre-pregnancy clothes is an excellent one - yes I do still wear them, and the only difference really is that attention is no longer focussed straight on my chest (which is great) and I look thinner in general, even though I have lost exactly zero weight. They fit just fine, and you’re right, it’s the shoulders that’s important.

Carla that’s a great point - I can always run it in a bit at the sides. I’m not going to make a muslin as such - muslin here is about £6 / meter and I can find nice-enough-to-wear polyester for £2 / meter. So as well as usually getting something wearable out of it, and a better idea of how it will fit from using a silky woven similar to my “good” fabric, I save a fortune But don’t worry, I’d never cut into “the good stuff” without doing a test run.
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 3:05 PM ET
In reply to 9dcx
That was my first thought - did you need to get new bras. Due to my diet and weight loss I needed new bras - it wasn't just the circumference - it was an actual boob decrease

However, I really doubt that 2cm is going to make all that much difference - if it is too loose in the bust area just adjust at the side seams.
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 3:35 PM ET
In reply to carolynw
Thanks Carolyn, yes it was an actual boob decrease and I had to replace all my bras too! Since that’s one thing I don’t make it was rather an expensive endeavour

Good to hear I can use the pattern I already have, I will go ahead and print. Thank you all.
  
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Posted on: 4/10/21 5:00 PM ET
Another thought....if the extra 2cm really bother you, you could make an SBA (small bust adjustment).
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iPad's auto-correct is my enema.
  
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