Mrs Mole's fit-a-long: Passable circumferences

Over the last week or so, I've settled on some measurements, and reluctantly traced the size 14 down to the armpit, based on underbust measurement.* 

On the front, used Mrs Mole's quick and dirty method to open up a bust dart, and match the ease I'm working with against a little less ease in the pattern. The good news is that it raises the armscye a smidge. While I was in the area, I chose the pivot point slightly below mid-shoulder, at a height that shortened the shoulder line to my measurements.

On the back, I kept the armscye, except for narrowing it in the top couple of inches to shorten the shoulder line, judging that 1/2" difference back and front would be too much to ease in. Actually 1/4" was easy, so I might reconsider that last step on the next tracing.

Plotted all the new circumference measurements, front and back. That is bust, waist, abdomen, and low-hip increased to abdomen. I curved in the underbust a little, but am not going to attempt shaping for the fit-a-long. 

Added a strip of fabric to each armscye before cutting the revised pattern. Chose a green pencil this time, and marked body measurements and seam lines on the fabric. With ease and extra seam allowance, I was only short of 1/8" fabric at the abdomen, and I'm confident I won't use that much extra seam allowance this time. Because this version is already showing its history, I decided to pin front and back along the marked lines, then stitch, rather than recut the sideseam area.

I think I'm close enough now on the circumferences - ease seems evenly distributed, front and back are roughly balanced. The shoulder points are good. The front yoke appears to have the right amount of ease. 

The back is capacious. Interesting, my fitting attempts earlier in the year increased width at back, mid armscye, and were still giving me little movement ease. I'm wondering if they were showing the effects of not enough height, relative to the front, rather than not enough width. Another explanation I'm considering for the July shell is not enough upper arm width, short arms and tiny wrists leading to an abrupt taper.

As expected with my body shape, there is loose fabric in the back shoulder region at this stage. And if I let the lapels close, they are tight against my throat. Shoulder pads (well, socks) help, but I'm hoping to fit me a little better.

I think I marked too low a back yoke line, using 4" which is half the armscye height. My remaining rtw shirt has 3" below the shoulder point, and the bone of my shoulder joint ends 2.5" below.  Reading the ruler, tied to my back in the fourth shot, it's about 1.5" above the faintly marked back yoke, so I think I'm converging on 2.5" below the shoulder for my yoke line

* The 35" underbust measurement is approximate. The tape measure wanted to slide either up or down from there because of my shoulder blades, an unstable local maximum. Reluctantly used the full armscye depth, because there's almost 3" between armpit and armscye. A dress with 2.5" difference starts to restrict me when reaching forwards - and petite people do a lot of that.

Mrs Mole's fit-a-long: Making my own life more difficult.

The smallest thing I could have done to was to trace my own fitting shell, undo the shoulder adjustments and redo at shoulder blade level. But no, I  was curious whether a remeasure and start again, using a different system, would converge with my last attempt.

I talked yesterday about various remeasuring attempts, and what I eventually settled on.

What follows is extracts from my sewing diary. Not pretty, but perhaps you'll find my chapter of mistakes and poor decisions useful. The lowlights were my failure to source proper gingham*, and my initial tracing onto wrapping paper rather than something transparent. Tomorrow I'll try summarise the aspects I want to keep.

* the excuse, a bus strike and an intermittent train strike. I sourced a very large man's shirt for version two, thinking it would take at least two attempts at the process. But should have followed both instructions and instincts that said printed 'squares' were a poor substitute in version one.

2022-08-16 The Tissue 

Since my ancient shirt pattern is fragile, tried but not yet trusted, I visited a charity shop. There I found an eighties-ish shirt pattern, Burda Easy 8957 petite, still uncut. It seems rather long at 32", but maybe I just don't remember what lengths were then. My size doesn't have a side bust dart, but the next size up does, I'll improvise. Otherwise it fits the brief - simple lines, no hidden darts.

Before I plotted the points, I  played a bit with my pre-internet techniques. Prep the tissue by blending sizes at bust, waist and hip. Pin to the centre line of a tee shirt. Crumple, then dart more tidily to fit. The back was an unholy mess - vertical dart, sloping shoulder dart, plus overhip darts spidering to waist of the vertical dart. Sounds about the usual degree of chaos for me.

Options for tomorrow. 

• Do a 1" upper back adjustment and fit only down to bust level, see what improves. 
• Add a back waist dart or centre back dart, or both. 

2022-08-17  Can I check the tissue pattern another way?

Plan A. The change to the pattern made today was to move the side seams backwards. Then the (invisible) dart above my protruding front hip crests becomes a very sloped seam,  but is balanced by the very sloped seam needed for the bony ridge, same height, at my rear. 

Plan B. Compare with my previous attempt. It seems to be in the right region. Usefully found 

• One mistake, that the shoulder width measurement was taken from the tee's neck,  not mine,  so should have been an inch wider. Oops. 
• One uncertainty, the abdomen circumference I used last time was an inch larger. Since my belly size can vary that much over a day, I  should use the larger number.
• And one real difference, the armscye height on the shirt pattern is similar at the front to my old shell,  but about an inch higher at the back. I need to measure the sleeve and check the armscye is plausible. 

Plan C. The quick analogue check. Rather than twisting and feeling for my spine*, I could cut a second back and front out of newspaper. Paper is stiffer than tissue, but it would give an indication. If I also remove seam allowances from neck and armscye, it'll give me some clue as to whether they are sensible shapes. Oops, forgot to add seam allowances to the newspaper pieces,  but I have enough spare on the tissue pieces to pin matching seams anyway. 

*I've been using spine location and the 5/8" width of my thumb nail to pin the centre back. Oh for a fitting buddy nearby. 

They say in Software Development that a failed test is a successful test,  because it finds a problem. As I  suspected, the rump section is twisted. Is this because of the 6" difference between waist and abdomen? Or because there is no ease, so the stiff paper isn't sitting tight at the waist? 

Tomorrow,  try get the 'fabric' in the right place. 

• Increase abdomen circumference. If that doesn't help, does the waist vary too? EDIT a few days later: there was a mistake on the bust circumference, no wonder everything skewed.
• Consider waist darts to reduce the sideseam slope between waist and abdomen. If so, how many, how long, and how spaced around the waist line?
• Alternatively, move some of the shaping to centre back seam. If so, consider moving shoulder dart to centre back. (Actually, I  think I'll save this option for version three, or four...) 

2022-08-18 Thinking,  then panicking needlessly. 

I marked the new shoulder points, and the midpoint on the tissue. Then got bogged down considering whether the size 10 armscye is closer to my measurements than the 14. (verdict,  yes in height but not width. Leave it for now) 

Then tried to flip the rounded upper back change for the lower part of the shoulder blades. Despite cutting the pattern apart, I couldn't work out anything better than I could have got by adding at the side seams. 

All I achieved was a photo showing the stress points at high hip and under bust. My instinct is to add enough width for a long dart here. Maybe I'll try in a day or two. 

EDIT: established that the horseshoe stress on the tissue was 6" from cb at high hip, and 5.5" at around bust height. This is about where my back becomes side. I  won't worry about it yet. 

2022-08-20 Another newspaper fitting.

Yesterday I awkwardly restuck the estimated rounded upper back adjustment nearer to the shoulder midpoint. While this will help the newspaper fitting, I think when I cut the fabric I'll undo the change and get a measured amount for that adjustment. 

Remeasured bust, waist and abdomen. Guess what? Waist is a full inch bigger today. 

Followed the tutorial to add ease and some seam allowances. I'll add another 3/8" as instructed to straight edges when cutting the fabric. 

Because I failed to source enough gingham, I'm being a wimp before even making a good tracing. I've traced back and front again onto newspaper, and pinned into a test "garment" to see if there'll be at least enough fabric. The photos show roughly the right shape, quite a lot of excess on one shoulder and a little at back waist.  I think Mrs Mole plans to talk about those two issues later, So I will carry on. 

What am I uneasy about? 

• The obtuse angle at the back armpit, because my "bust" measure is much less than "abdomen/high hip". I'd expect closer to a right angle. Should I have used the same technique as the full bust adjustment in the demo? EDIT a few days later: After changing the back/front balance, it seems more reasonable
• The shoulders are bigger than mine, and the mid armscye points are further from the yoke measures than expected. 
• The shoulder seams on the original pattern bulge upwards. I  usually end up with a slight scoop for a very sloped inner shoulder, less sloped at the outer edge. 

2022-08-21 Moving width to the front, First tracing. Yuk. 

I traced my changes, starting with a size 14, 36" 90cm bust. Note that my abdomen height measurement is bigger than my low hip measurement at both back and front, so I've plotted this extra point and need to make sure my side seam clears it. 

Undid the estimated upper rounded back adjustment. Later on I'll slash and spread to find out the exact amount. 

Shortened to 2" above the hemline, 28" below HSP. I expect to end up even shorter, but I  would like to see how things would hang below my rump.

I didn't dare cut my tissue pattern yet again. It's already papier-mache from failed attempts. But had no qualms about playing with the newspaper tracing. 

At the back, the smallest pattern size that will go over my tilted rump is an 18 (burda size)  whilst my bust-level size is less than a 10. Since I want to narrow the shoulder by 1/2" as well, I'm just going to slide the armscye in by that amount. To match sideseam lengths, I've dropped the underarm by 1/8". Then blend out to an 18 at abdomen height, and straighten up a bit heading towards the hem. Traced all this in green onto the tissue. 

At the front, especially with a bit more ease than the pattern specified, I need an 18 at bust, waist and abdomen height. The shoulder and yoke level widths are narrower than the size 14 tissue. I have also drawn on a dart, but haven't been clear where I'm taking fabric from. 

More by good luck than good planning... Mrs Mole's quick and dirty dart method pivots the armscye from the shoulder mid point, and opens the dart. Moving the shoulder point in, and then pivoting the scye opened the dart exactly the right amount. Is that jammy or what? Side seam lengths match, armscye shape is unchanged, and shoulder seams match. I'll watch the hem later, as I  haven't added length at centre front. 

I got everything traced tonight, though haven't bothered with a potential front waist dart yet. The back dart works for me, otherwise there's too much difference between waist and high hip. 

2022-08-22 Cutting out - making my own life more difficult.

Two bad decisions on materials. One was to use up wrapping paper  for the first tracing. I knew it'd be no good for the final tracing, since you can't iron it. But of course you can't see through it either, so it was easy to assume that if an edge was straight, so was the fabric near it. Only true for a small enough value of 'near'.

The other poor decision was, rather than trying to get to a fabric shop during a bus strike and intermittent rail strike, to make do with some printed pillow cases. They're off grain by about 1 cm in 30. Thought I could get away with it,  but when I drew the waist line etc, it's clear how much the print wanders.

Some other mistakes showed up while marking the fabric, unfortunately after cutting. 

One was that I hadn't twigged that the front bust +1.5"+5/8" takes me into the 'extra' seam allowance,  when I'd approximated using a size 18 front and size 10 back for the side seams. Second I hadn't plotted low hip +1.5"+5/8" on the front, and that also takes me into the 'extra' seam allowance.

More stupidly, hadn't noticed the point of the bust dart is slightly above the bust line. D'oh. I've marked a lower one,  and backed it off from the apex more. The zigzag at the seam will be off because of this, but not enough to need recutting. EDIT: the dart point is actually at the right height in the nominated bra, but it needs moving outward a smidgeon. The issue was the bust line wasn't quite horizontal, hence the confusion. 

Since I'm going to need a new tracing, I'm inclined to move 1" from all front measurements to back measurements.  (Pivoting out lifts the scye, pivoting in lowers it). EDIT: after stitching with the original measurements, yes, I definitely want to do this. 

So, 

• find out where the supermarket hides the greaseproof paper this season. 
• Check whether the local school uniform shop has proper gingham (They are our only very local dressmaking fabric supplier, though at this their busiest time of year, they usually use every square inch of floor space for their new term clothing). 
• Failing that, I have plain worn-thin sheeting. Or maybe face the crowds on the days the trains do run, and take a trip to a nearby city. 

2022-08-24 Trying on, attempts one and two. 

Put the fronts and backs together yesterday evening. Time for a quick try on. Oh dear, bust was way too low (Edit: it was cos I was wearing the 12-hour bra, higher and with more projection than my summer carp-print bra which I originally measured in). The lower back bulged out because I mirrored the front seams, so there's way too much volume from  shoulder blades downwards. Sorry,  no photos of this one, the light had gone. 

Another day, let's try again. Put on the summer bra, a tighter  tee, and the leggings with the visible elastic waistband. Small differences from the original numbers, an inch slimmer than two days later. 

Reversed the decision to use the bigger numbers, so let's use the smaller ones and allow the 1.5“ ease on each quadrant cope with daily variations. And restored the front dart back to its original height, but backed further, definitely in the no fly zone. 

This time I drew a probable seam line, back and front, then matched stitching lines as best I  could. 

I also took an underbust measure, and for the next version I stitched an inward zig there at the side seams. (My empire line is the narrowest point). A bit jaggedy, nevertheless the shape is promising, much less boxy. I'll defer working out the exact lines until upper back and  shoulder seams are sorted. 

I notice the yoke measurements, back and front seem small, and my guess of 4" below shoulder point seems too low. The mid-eighties sleeves are roomy but not Dallas volume, so I'll possibly get away with it. Despite my very mobile shoulder joints. 

The bust line sags a bit, the waist more noticeably. The armscye grazes my bra band, which might just be due to the eighties pattern. But if I channel my inner Terry Pratchett and pad the shoulders with socks, suddenly the shell looks like mine! 

Mrs Mole's next tutorial will probably be the rounded upper back. I could pin out about an inch dart along the back yoke line, so I know I need to understand how it will translate. The front neckline pulls against my own neck, which tends to confirm I need more centre back height. 

Tomorrow I can usefully 

• smooth the side seams 
• take out the tentative empire line and perhaps move 1/2" from front to back.  
• Then I'll be ready to follow the back adjustments. 

2022-08-25 Trying on, attempt three.

Photographed the fitting setup  - so the process will be repeatable. See yesterday's post.

Established that the back shoulder joint ends about 2.5" below the shoulder point, and the ball of the front shoulder about 4' below. 

Unpicked the side seams, moved them half an inch out (at back)  and in (at front). Straightened out the underbust curve. This time I was haphazard in matching exactly to the measurements, and haven't pressed the seams either, so the photos are approximate. But they do show an improvement. 

It does confirm 

• I want to keep the changes to the side seams, for better balance,  but plot the measurements properly. 
• For a semi-fitted look, I need to curve in somewhat at the underbust, since my waist height circumference is much bigger than my minimum. 
• The centre front is at least half an inch too high compared to centre back. It rubs my neck when the lapels are unfolded.

Mrs Mole's fit-a-long: Measuring up

Aesthetics warning: This is an everyday body, photos taken without filters, just using a phone clipped to the back of a dining chair.  Apologies for the poor layout - as I've dragged the images around in blogger the formatting has all gone awry. I'd rather concentrate on content for the time being than fix it.

What am I trying to achieve: I'm following along with Mrs Mole's fitting tutorial at https://fitforaqueen.wordpress.com/2022/07/22/getting-started/ I've dropped into her blog now and then, both for her hilarious descriptions and for her deep expertise. No way am I anywhere near that standard, but I'm hoping to gain a bit more understanding. One of my retirement projects is to move up from practiced* beginner level to somewhat improved improver.

What am I trying to fit?  From the front and back, you wouldn't look twice. Not unusual for my demographic. BTW - the safety pins are not a statement. They were to mark measuring points, and occasionally to hold the tape measure.

From the side, you can really see how far back my shoulder blades, calves and bum are. And how forward my tum is. I've added a folded arms shot, because that's how I stand quietly. When enthusing, arms will be further in front of my body, and waving wildly.

Where on earth is my waist? I've struggled even with the most basic. Yes, I know they say use the bend point, and I use the lower of the two I can feel, just above my hip bones.. I read that it isn't necessarily your smallest measurement. That's certainly true, my empire line is much smaller. One thing I learned in the last year was that your waist elastic can't be too thin - it'll walk- or too wide - if your curves are steep. I've known for a long while that it can't be stretched or it will try walk to a smaller part of the body (the unstable equilibrium dilemma). My workround is to use the elastic waist on some altered leggings (can't walk up), measure to the bottom of the elastic most of the way round, and to the top at centre front to compensate for the dip where the front goes over my belly.

And where are my hips? Well, the standard figure has a definite increase from high hip/abdomen to low hip, about 8" below the waist. But I have such a tilt on my pelvis, and my sway back pushes my tummy so much forward, that my bigger measurement is at high hip, 3.5" below the waist. For three quarters of that girth, the bone isn't far under the skin, though I admit to a little extra padding at the front. It means I have to increase abruptly just below the waist, and I haven't yet got wovens** to work without waist darts at the back as well as changing the slope at the side. I also compromise for tops and dresses by using at least the bigger measurement at low hip, because it has to cope with the empty space under my tum.

What is back and what is front?  This has been the hardest part to work out. I've tried and failed yet again with 'pin a string with a weight to the centre of your armpit, and measure vertically down from there'. You will see a red thread and a d-ring in the ninja side photos, though I wish I'd used a slightly heavier weight. The snaps below show how unbalanced the top looks from the side. It's not just an appearance thing. With the side seams so far back, the bust dart would need to be shaped to fit flatly at the sides. Even worse results came from the sensory approach 'poke your side gently till you get the sensation of back or front. There's a weird sensation at the mid point, which will be the changeover' That gave me a low hip even further back, a waist further forward, and a bust further back. After attempting to smooth a little, my second try was even worse. What I settled on was to pin the string at a repeatable point, in my case where the band on a particular bra was vertically below the mid point of my armpit. Then add 1" to all the back measurements, and take it off all the front measurements. This worked for me, but as a retired software engineer I have learned to be wary of fudge factors. At least I know it's a fudge, which depends on the length and the angle of the spine, and can use it repeatably or adjust it as my shape evolves.

How stable are the numbers? Not very, I got an inch difference in different girths over three measurements in a week. That's consistent with my weight pattern, which can vary a kilo or two during a day, even post-menopause. Since the top I am making is semi-fitted, I'm going to use the lower measurements and let the ease take care of the variation

* Lots of practice, but now need better practices, I've been dressmaking in some shape or form for 50 years, but until recently it was only out-of-the-envelope sewing. I began school and eventually left school still standing like a toddler, but got away without learning to fit during the frills and flounces seventies. Neither childbirth nor hours spent pushing kids and carrying shopping helped my posture. So in the childcare years, made do with whatever clothing I could find that didn't actually hurt, resorting increasingly to charity shops as RTW styles became longer and narrower. On my me-mades, the results were so bad on my maturing figure that I got really sloppy about finishing. With such a poor fit, it didn't seem worth taking care of the details. After going back to work full time, I got some pattern making software, with better but not great results. And started reading blogs as well as books. I've tried lots of techniques, and I'm slowly improving. But I'm still unsure which changes I should apply for my figure, or what order to apply them in.

** I do have a loose fitting bias-cut dress that's OK, but you know I mean stable wovens cut on the grain or possibly cross-grain.

Alterations - a slow process

DH's blue/black cotton shirt, textured with a raised diagonal, is beyond mending. The collar and cuffs have frayed, showing the white interfacing. No use making the cuffs an inch narrower, because the sleeves would be too short for him. And he dislikes grandad collars. I like both options and if I could do something with it, there'd be a partner in colour and weight for my blue/grey wool silk trousers.

First a very rough fitting. Will it fasten? With a size 16" collar it ought to. (It did.) And can I fit a yoked garment to my sloping shoulders? Pinned on the back yoke seam and similarly at the front yoke. Yes, that's ok, just adds a little fullness to the sleeve cap.

Then the battle begins, to narrow the shoulders and shorten the sleeves. If I take out the frayed section of the cuffs, that'll be one inch out of four or five needed. Taking off the 1.5" dropped shoulder looked odd - narrow caps and loads of ease at the cuffs. So took out one sleeve*, and initially marked the whole curve an inch lower. *Ripping two lines of black felled seam, it's a job for daylight.

Folded and pinned, the caps were disproportionately narrow. After a bit of experimentation, settled on 0.5" dropped shoulder, take 1" height from sleeve at armpit and shoulder point, but keep as much width as I can. That's better. Couldn't take more than an inch at underarm because the sleeves narrow downwards.

Why bother? Well mansize shoulders are much broader than mine, so the cap seam needed work anyway. For shortening, the standard procedure is to trim at the cuff, which is fine for an inch or so. For this job, on the one hand, the placket simply isn't long enough to take a 4" change. On the other hand, the placket would interfere with the drape if I cut and gathered the sleeves instead. 

Rant. This was a battle with a man's shirt that I chose to fight, rather than trying to get myself to a nearby city during a bus strike. Annoyingly, as rtw gets made for taller and taller people, I find myself battling both ends of a sleeve made for women. Even then, usually the maximum I can take out without ruining the whole thing is 3", and that's often not enough. Ever wondered why I prefer to sew rather than alter? 

Failed Experiment with sleeve tucks*.  

I'm playing, as a can't spoil it project. But I do expect to dismantle, cut nicely, and restitch. Instead of attacking the shoulder point as I thought I might, I tried putting one inch tucks in the untouched sleeve. 

It reminded me that:

• It helps to bring the cuff inside the sleeve (making a mountain fold) and press before stitching. 
• One inch tucks are too big with this taper. Maybe I used 3/4" or 1/2" last time. 
• Can't tuck the sleeve head (it's gotta be at least as big as the armscye) or the placket. The taper angle will be different on the tucked sections. 

Not at all a success. Lots of volume at bust height. I don't care enough to try shoulder pads to balance. I may photo for the gallery of shame. This attempt will be unpicked. 

* I got away with this technique a few years ago on a poplin floral ex-office shirt. Not one of the three relatives I visited, all better dressmakers than myself, noticed anything wrong. Phew! 

Can we get more fabric below back yoke?

Thinking I've been taking the right steps, but not necessarily in the right order. I unpicked the sloping shoulder adjustment, and patched in a ribbon under the yoke line for a round back adjustment. My estimate of one inch made a huge difference to comfort round the collar. 

Unfortunately, I  hadn't pinned my hair up in the before photo, so can't be completely objective. But from sensory feedback, I'm keeping this change! With the unpicker in my hand, removed the trial tucks in the sleeves, too. Looks like 3" to 4" reduction will be enough, but I'll wait until back, shoulders and the other cuff are correct before confirming. 

EDIT : Oops, I'd picked up a smidgeon of fabric near the cuff when stitching the lowest tuck. No wonder that sleeve looks short in the photo. The unhappy areas-of-volume comments from the other day stand. 

Making it permanent

Up till now, except for one cuff which had been cut and trimmed, all changes were reversible and have been reversed!

Firstly, the equivalent to adding ribbon under the back yoke is to raise the whole shirt an inch, everywhere except the centre back yoke. So stitched a horizontal tuck between the top and second buttons. And a long dart under the back yoke, straightening out for the middle 8" between my shoulder blades. 

The bonus for a small person is that the tuck and darts shrink the armscye by 2", which'll let me shorten the sleeves from the top. Using the grid on the cutting mat, worked out that with this particular sleeve taper, I can take 2.75". Together with the inch I get from cutting the frayed bit off the cuff, that's not quite as much shorter as I'd like, but good enough. 

Pinned the sleeves in. There's enough fabric, just. Notice that the sleeve cap is symmetrical, but the centre line is well to the back of the shoulder line. I managed to reduce the drop shoulder by 0.5", but it's still a lot of drop on me! 

The verdict

It's been a good can't-spoil-it project. The hours of fun have been notionally booked against the Continuing Education budget (grin). Overall, I'm pleased with the fit from the centre back adjustment. Might consider a smidgeon more another time. Less happy with the seam line just under the neck. Another time maybe unpick the collar and move the whole collar/front yoke seam down? Whilst I'll settle for the sleeve length I  achieved, I would prefer less volume as well. This is sounding like unpick everything except the placket, the front band and the hem, isn't it? 

Nevertheless, this'll give me something temporarily usable. It fills the wardrobe gaps labelled 'sleeves roll right up for medical appointments' and 'spring/autumn weight and goes with grey blue wool/silk trousers'. Or at least it will fill in until I get a women's shirt pattern Tried and Trusted.

And since DH has worn it many more than our target of 30 times, any additional wears from me are a bonus. 

    

Alterations. Quick wins to fill some wardrobe gaps.

The Me Made May project helped me get my clothes in good order, but gave me yet another reminder that I need fewer prints (shame) and more plain tops and trousers to fill my wardrobe gaps.

1/ When I found a pair of coral M&S chinos in a charity shop, UK size 16, it was an opportunity to try something different.  I have a 14 waist and low hip, but at high hip, I need every inch! I've had limited success in the past (understatement) altering the outseam or waist. Going back to basics, I compared with a successful basic pattern, a much modified descendant of New Look K6217. It's always harder to read the difference when a garment has darts. But it was clear that the entire back rise and the lower part of the front rise were the biggest differences. 

Safety pinned, tried, roughly stitched, retried, then took in the waist a bit. And it felt close enough for a short stroll. I'd an errand to drop something off at a neighbour's flat. That'd be a fair test.  Much better! Comfier than anything I can buy, but still needs a little more support. The mid part of the back rise provided some support, but I took in the upper part 1/4"×2 as well, above and beneath the bony  ridge. At front hip, pleated out 1/4"×2 each side, darting down to nothing a couple of inches below the band. Support above the tum was provided by darts in the waistband, 1/4"×2 at the top tapering to nothing at the base.

Shortened the legs by about two inches. To deal with the taper, unpicked the stitching line but not the serging above the hem fold. All changes were held together with long stitches until I'd walked into town the next day. All was well, so unpicked the old stitching and topstitching on the rise, then restitched it more tidily. Then I was confident to trim and zigzag (which gave me a fraction more ease to kneel comfortably as well as sit, stand and walk.) Not perfect, but perfectly wearable.

2/ As a can't-spoil-it project I did the same alteration to widen and scoop the rise of the size 14 M&S  navy chinos. They'd always a bottom-of-the-washing-pile choice. Wearable, sort of, but unsightly and uncomfortable for more than a few hours, you know the kind. And guess what? So much improved that I'd wear them to meet a friend. Comfy enough to sit all evening. I think this change might happen to at least one other pair of plain trousers.

Before

After

3/ A different gap.  I didn't possess a hot weather dress that I could wear in public. A couple of sleeved dresses. And some camisoles, whose pattern is Tried but not Trusted yet. When I found a cotton bias-cut sleeveless dress for a couple of pounds, size 18, a few days before the Saharan weather system returned to our parts, it had to come home with me. I love bias cut, it stretches vertically or horizontally to size, but doesn't walk around your body. On the other hand it needs TLC when altering. As I'd thought, the fit was good, but the shoulders were too long for a petite person. Without any effort, you could see the bottom my bra band at the underarm. I'd seen a tutorial on Mrs Mole's site (fit for a queen blog) a few days before, to raise a neckline in a lined dress. This was effectively the same problem, so followed the instructions, and the dress became respectable. Not only that, it was worn and washed nearly every day while the hot spell lasted.

I just need an overshirt which goes, now, for sun protection on my way out or home! 

4/ And finally, another charity shop indulgence. What mouselet wouldn't want a Swiss Cheese Plant top? This used to have a contrast hem band - making the top too long for me. And the sleeves were too tight, so I unpicked a few stitches at the lower curve. I'm not sure yet where I stand in wardrobe planning terms on short sleeves (protects overlayers from your skin) vs long sleeves (sun protection, good for many months of our year) vs sleeveless (I'd rarely wear in public). But I have enjoyed wearing this in our flat and on evening walks.

2022 July - mostly measurements and patterns from them

When I finished the MeMadeMay roundup for the items tidied in July, I was surprised how many small improvements I'd made. The post is at Me Made May 2022 runs out of steam.

I also finally got my head - and my needles - around the horseshoe scarf which is finished. Typically I've completed it in England's warmest spell for umpteen years.

The main theme, though, was going through the measuring process again, and revising the fitting shells to the minimum I can move in. As a bonus, one of them turned out to be wearable. The starting point was the PatternMaker 7.0 fitting shell, but I've added a lot of personal tweaks.

Since I'd decided to reuse the aran yarn from the abandoned Talvi jumper, I fed the better measurements into a knit pattern generator.  The first one I found that seemed suitable was at knitAnything.com, which is definitely useable but interestingly is also actively under development. I tweaked the measurements to raise the neckline compared with the lime top, and to smooth the sideseams - without vertical darts, there's too much difference between waist and high hip to do a very fitted style.  I will say that the schematics were really useful to see what the interface expected from the measurements, as well as to spot input errors. For instance that the jumper ends at the hip. Also that at one attempt I hadn't changed the armscye height.  I'm a slow knitter, so it's way too early to say if the generated pattern is a success. So far, the sleeves seem good, and the hip area seems good. I'll find out when I try on the shoulders (hoping I don't forget my own personal tweaks to the armscyes, offset to the front by 1/4" each side, and compensate by increasing/decreasing near the shoulder line). It'll be known as the Finchdale jumper, the manufacturer's choice for a warm grey mixed with white. 

Cropped to fit at high hip. Need to knit a few more rounds below.

    

Repairs and alterations

• Rtw coral floral knicks, purportedly a size 14,  Added sideseam gussets, in this case a 2.5" equilateral triangle which includes a selvedge edge. 
• Replaced a lost trouser button for DH. 
• Replaced, at last, two kitchen drawer handles to match the third (which broke earlier in the year, and was replaced with what's available now.). A tidier style and should be easier to keep clean than the ones we inherited. 

Me Made May 2022 runs out of steam. In July.

We had some very hot days in July. Our town was just on the edge of the Saharan air currents that hung over England. Luckily our flat is a bit of a cave, and didn't get beyond the high twenties even on the worst day outside.

I was glad to wear my few short sleeved tops, thin trousers and dresses. I also retested a few things that have had alterations.

Happy with

• 2015 ish Blue canvas trousers. Couldn't find a navy permanent marker to fix the bleach stains, however a black one has been good enough. Verdict: Keep.
• 2021 03 Harvest mouse Hawaiian shirt, worn for a short walk to the cheese shop, before the sun got too strong. I still really like this loose breathable top - with an added mice print - and it still fits well. Love this but only useful when it's warm enough. Keep.
• 2021 06 Distant descendant of VaVoom bra. This was in the possibly rescue-able bag, started in the hot two weeks last year. I stitched down the tuck that forms in the front band - it wants to be a curved band above flared ribs. Let out as much as I could, about 1/4",  where the back straps meet the cups. 3/8" would be even better. Elasticated the bottom of the backs (luckily, this cautious mouse did the first test-wear at home.)  Much comfier now, and no malfunctions. Verdict: Keep. Make more, but first check that the pattern changes are marked on the pieces.
• 2022 04 Paisley Freya skirt. Worn on the warmest days. Restitched a couple of dodgy seams. Good length and hem width for public seating, for shopping and most housework.  Awkward length for kneeling down household tasks. Some static sparks, but breathed ok. Verdict: keep
• 2022 04 TATB and SoZo short cami. In June, I modified the strap length. In July, I let out the back binding 1/4".  Both changes have worked well, Verdict: keep.

So-so 

• 2019 bibi underskirt. The underskirt will never be a favourite, either for fabric or fit. It was originally a trial garment. It's fine for hot messy jobs (such as setting the steam dragon on the bathroom and kitchen) as it is easy to wash and dry. At 21" below the waistband, it's an awkward length for walking, but fine for kneeling and climbing. Verdict: keep.
• 2020 Coral Rtw 3/4 sleeve top. Played with stitching a different shoulder slope. Feels better. Verdict: I've bought myself time with this garment, but this loose damask-y weave is wearing patchily. 

On the alterations pile

• 2022 04 TATB and SoZo long cami. In June, I modified the strap length. In July, I let out the back binding 1/2", but haven't given it a full day test yet. 
• 2021 tweedy jacket. Grabbed back from the donate pile. If I can reshape shoulders, it might lift enough to work. Verdict: pin to see if a rescue attempt is worthwhile. 
• 2022 04 paisley SS8 trousers. A few attempts to get the elastic length right. The safety pin is now in the right place. The elastic just needs securing properly,  and the channel needs closing. 

Haven't worn

• 1992 grey check dress. Too small but keep. 
• 2020 03 blue grey wool silk trousers. The colour only goes with the white tees among my current good tops.  Verdict: keep, some fabrics in the queue for tee-shirts will go well with it.
• 2022 gift of rtw silk waistcoat. Pinned underarm and shoulder blade darts. Make changes permanent, and think about what to partner it with.

What happens next?

• Wardrobe planning. Together with an extra charity shop item, bought and altered in the first days of August, I have a plan for my summer activities. Wear the so-so items whenever appropriate, like using up the short-date foods in the fridge. Sewing priorities will be wardrobe gaps, then building a tested pattern collection. 
• Winter wear is stored in a less accessible place, but has been roughly checked over. I have enough, though a few gaps in smart casual. I'll probably do a personal Me Made October.
• Fitting and finished measurements. What I learned can feed into my knitting.  I abandoned the Talvi jumper (sweater) and have started another with the Hayfield Aran yarn, henceforth known as the Finchdale jumper, from the colour name.
• UFO. The unfinished bag was intended for travel which isn't going to happen. It's not a priority.
• Alterations. Think I've hit on a reversible way to improve the fit of two pairs of so-so Rtw trousers. Since I'm short of plains, they'll be high on the list. I also succumbed to a tee in a charity shop  -  swiss cheese plants for a Little Mouselet. It just needs shortening to low hip, and a shoulder dart putting in. Though with short sleeves, it will only get priority if we get more heat or just because I like it.