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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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