Fitting the Sewaholic Cambie

This is the story of 5 versions of the Cambie. This one was a pickle, and I've learned a lot along the way. What follows, though, may read more like the deranged ramblings of a woman with a French curve than a fitting mastermind, but perhaps you'll learn something, too.

Version 1

My first version wasn't made straight out of the envelope, so I was already tweaking (or ruining, depending on how you want to look at it) the pattern in hopes of making it work for me. I used my sloper to fit, which if you're curious about how I do that, Threads has a great tutorial on using a sloper for fit. 

Whoa shoulders! That's a look.  Here's what I saw and changed: 

• Way too much excess fabric at the shoulders. I took off 2", evenly from the back bodice and sleeve. 
• The darts were too high, so I lowered those 1/2". 
• I needed more at the back, seemingly all the way down including the waist, so I did a broad back adjustment. This involves drawing a vertical line parallel to CB, slashing and spreading. 

Version 2

Normally, working with my sloper works pretty well. Confident I had made the pattern changes I needed to, I moved on to the fashion fabric. How I wished I had someone else to help me fit, because I would have seen the error of my ways earlier on!

So onto the second version, which was actually a fully finished dress out of fashion fabric. I'll zero in on the places where I still had a few problems. 

Here's what I saw: 

• That gaping at the back armscye. Oh that gaping! 
• I needed a forward shoulder adjustment, which is hard to see in this fashion fabric. I originally thought the sleeve was more of a strap, so I left it behind my shoulder.
• Some wobbly bits in my back, which made me think I needed a larger broad back adjustment. 
• The back dipped (if you look closely, you'll see my belt is sitting above the waistband). I was actually seeing this frequently in the dresses I made using my sloper, and was beginning to wonder if I had traced it wrong at some point. 
• You can't see this in the fashion fabric really, but the darts were still a touch too high. 

Version 3

For version 3, here were my changes: 

• Did a 1 1/4" forward shoulder adjustment. 
• I took the excess fabric at the back armscye out at the shoulder curve. 
• I lowered the darts another 1/2".
• I increased the broad back by 1/4". At this point, I thought I didn't need anymore at my waist (I was wrong), so I took that 1/4" out at the back darts so most of the fullness was higher on my back. 

Here's what that change looked like at the shoulder, with the green line showing you how I adjusted the curve. 

This ending up working like so. 

Welp, that didn't work. Now I couldn't move my arms at all. But I got rid of the gaping! High five.

Version 4

For version 4, I concentrated on that shoulder area. I made similar changes, but with a less heavy hand. I took a wee bit out as a dart in the area where I had a problem at the back, and made a wee bit of change to the shoulder curve. 

Now, at this point, I had pretty much fixed my gaping problem (hurray!), but I realized I had significant problems elsewhere. First off, when did those darts get so pointy? And the back is looking worse by the minute. Too tight with a little bit of gaping up at the top of CB. So I gathered up all my muslins and went to sewing club to beg for some help. 

The Trouble in the Back

This is where the epiphanies really started. Thank goodness for the incredibly talented ladies at sewing club! I saw a problem in the back, so I assumed I would need to fix it by adjusting the back bodice. Not so! The adjustment isn't always in the area where you see the problem. It might be the adjacent area that's really the issue. 

We tied a piece of string to a tape dispenser and hung it from my underarm. It then became very clear that the problem was in my front. It was pulling around so my side seam wasn't sitting straight down my side. I didn't need anymore broad back adjustments. I needed extra on my front bodice! I added it to the side seam, tapering to nothing up at the armscye.

Problems with my Sloper

Now, remember way back in version 2 in my fashion fabric, I mentioned that it was dipping in the back? Well, I found myself going down an internet rabbit hole one day, and discovered this is actually a problem with Pattern String Code slopers, where mine is from. There is a fascinating article on using Pattern String Code Slopers from Fashion Incubator that documents this issue. 

The gist of it is that Pattern String Codes used my CB measurement for my CF. That's not right, because I have boobs. Apparently the correct measurement would be if you take off 1" from your CB measurement, then add 1" for every cup size. I needed 2" more in length. Since this pattern has a waistband the bodice is a bit shorter, I opted to take that 2" off the back instead. 

We did this in a really crazy way. I also needed a little bit taken off my CB at the top to remove some gaping, but we wanted to keep everything else intact and I still needed my side seam to match, so taking a full 2" off there would be problematic. So we drew this crazy line across, down, and then straight again and shifted everything down 2" at a slight tilt. This kept the length I needed at the side seam, so I only had a little bit to ease it to match the front, and it fixed my gaping problem at CB. Then we trued up the side seam. Does that make sense? It was crazy, I tell you! Crazy! 

We also curved the darts a bit on the front, which tends to help get a better fit for bustier gals (this is a great trick I learned in pattern making), and shortened them again. I swear, someone is sneaking into my sewing room and lengthening these darts overnight. They never seem to be short enough. There were two other tweaks to alter the curve a bit at the bodice area where the sleeve meets that were so amazingly detail-oriented, I could only gape at my sewing club friends. Needless to say, they were things I hadn't even seen.

Version 5

So here we are on version 5. I'm getting excited now! Those darts are still way too pointy (kapow!), but I can easily adjust the angle on those (knock on wood).  I've lost the gaping at the back armscye, and my back is looking pretty good now. I see some wrinkles there at the back, but I think that's just from me pulling the muslin on and off without a zipper in it.

I am contemplating one more muslin to try to adjust those darts, and because I really wanted my second version of this to be a button down. It would be a shame to go through all these fit changes, adjust the pattern pieces to button down the front, and then discover something was off. 

What do you think? Do you spot anything I should change for V5, or would you have done things differently? One of the wonderful things about sewing to me is there's so many ways to shine the penny! So tell me your thoughts! 

The Anatomy of a Sewing Pattern Envelope

Today's post is for those of you who are newer to garment construction or need a refresher. I'll show you the pieces on the back of the pattern envelope and what they mean. I'll be using Simplicity 3833 for this illustration.

How to Read the Pattern Envelope in 10 Parts

1. The Pattern Number. Each pattern has a unique number that can be used to identify it.

2. Pattern Pieces. The number of pieces you'll have inside the pattern envelope for a size. There will be multiple sizes within your pattern.

3. Pattern Illustrations. Just what they sound like! These illustrations allow you to see the variations included in the pattern, as well as details like dart placement and seams.

4. Fabric. This fabric will get you the best results for the pattern, as it was intended by the designer. For example, you likely wouldn't want to make a dress with gathers out of a heavy wool as it would be very hard to make the gathers!

5.  Notions. All the small objects and accessories you'll need to finish the project, like a zipper.

6. Body Measurements. Select the size that's closest to your body measurements. You can follow the line down to match how much fabric you'll need for your size. When selecting the bust measurement, choose from your high bust measurement. 

Source

Your high bust is a better indicator of your rib cage size. Your full bust just tells you how busty you are. The big 4 pattern companies (Vogue, Simplicity, Butterick, and McCalls) design for a B-cup size. You will get a better fitting garment if you choose the high bust measurement, then you can do a full or small bust adjustment to account for your busty-ness.

A note on Vogue patterns: Vogue likes to stick their body measurements and size table on the top flap of the pattern, as opposed to the back. On the back you'll only see the size and recommended fabric. 

7. Width of fabric. Fabric comes in different widths, so if you are buying wider fabric, you'll need less length. Validate the width of your fabric before purchashing yardage. 

8. Interfacing quantities. Interfacing is a somewhat stiff material that you place on the wrong side of fabric to help give it a bit of rigidity. It's usually used at necklines and in collars and such. This tells you the amount to buy for the version of the dress you're making. 

9. Finished garment measurements. The Big 4 pattern companies tend to put a lot of ease in their garments, so pay attention to this. For example, this garment has 2 1/2" of ease at the bust for my size, which is a lot! I ended up sizing down for this pattern and it fit much better. 

10. Notations on fabric with/without nap. Nap means that the fabric will look different depending on how it's positioned. This usually comes in the form of texture (velvet) or design (plaids, novelty prints, etc.). So if you have dogs on your fabric all lined up in a row standing up, you'll need more fabric to make sure all the dogs stay looking like that on your finished garment. This pattern has ** next to each fabric width, indicating that they've given you all fabric requirements with nap, which is the maximum amount of fabric you'd need.

If you'd like a bit more information on body measurements, see my body graph method of understanding fit.

Sew Along in January for this Pattern! 

Stay tuned for a Sew Along for Simplicity 3833! I'll be posting up schedule and basic information next month with the sewing starting in January, and I'll also give instructions for doing a bust adjustment. You'll really get to see the ins and outs of this pattern!

Buying and Using a Sloper

Slopers have always been a bit of a mystery to me. I theoretically understood what they were, but never how to use them. Not having serious drafting abilities, I also felt that I would never actually be able to create a sloper to use.

Well, have I got news for me (and you)! I'm taking a semester-long pattern making class at the local Stitch Lab, and I have new-found knowledge to share with you that makes the whole sloper thing much simpler! So let's dive in to the magical land of slopers.

What is a Sloper? 

I am going to quote the wonderful Adele Margolis here, from her book Make Your Own Dress Patterns. 

"It is used as the basis for creating new designs..It has no fullness, design details, or seam allowances." 

At the risk of repetition, I will summarize in my own words. A sloper is a building-block for a pattern, and it has just enough room for it to fit your body and for you to be able to breathe. They are also sometimes called: 

• Blocks
• Foundation Patterns
• Basic Patterns

Types of Slopers

There are bodice slopers...

Source

Skirt slopers...

Source

And pants slopers...

Source

With those three things, you can mix and match to create just about anything. So a dress would just be your bodice sloper + a skirt sloper, for example.

How Do You Use a Sloper? 

The two main ways you can use a sloper are to: 

1.  Design new patterns.My pattern teacher, Tina, describes design textbooks like cookbooks. You basically open it up and say, "I want to make a cowl neck sweater" and it gives you a recipe for modifying the bodice sloper to do that.
2. Perfect fit. 
   If you compare your sloper to the pattern you are working on, you can see where you'll need to make adjustments to make it fit you. Just don't forget your sloper doesn't have seam allowances. Threads has a great article on using a sloper for fit.

My guess is that for most of you, #2 is where a sloper is going to come in most handy. Essentially, it takes some of the concepts I outlined in the body graph method of fitting, and allows you to have a flat dressform to work with. 

How Do You Get a Sloper?

So, let's say that you're completely sold on the idea of a sloper. How on earth do you go about getting one? You can draft your own, Madalynne has a great tutorial on drafting your own sloper, but I think it's best to start out with a simpler route to focus on using the sloper first. 

Easiest: Purchase a Custom Sloper from String Codes

Site: http://pattern.stringcodes.com/

This is the method we are using in class, and by gollies, it's amazing! All you do is send your measurements to String Codes, tell them what kind of sloper you'd like to have, and they will send you back a custom-made sloper! The prices are even pretty reasonable.

BONUS! The size on your sloper is your name! That's pretty neat. 

Once you have that, you: 

1. Trace the pattern onto tracing paper, freezer paper, or something similar. 
2. Stitch up the sloper to make sure everything fits you properly. My changes were extremely minimal, and others in the class had zero changes.
3. Make adjustments as needed to create your final sloper.
4. Mount the final sloper onto a sturdy paper. We used tag board, which is about the weight of a manilla folder. 
5. Cut out the pattern, including the darts. 
6. Start using your sloper (methods outlined above)!

For more information on using Pattern String Codes, Kathleen Fasanella from Fashion Incubator has a great series. There are a few quirks I've discovered along the way that Kathleen helps to explain. Mainly, depending on your cup size, the CF may be too short because they're using your CB measurement.

Easy-ish: Purchase a Fitting Shell Pattern 

Site: Vogue or Butterick

The major companies have a pattern that is like a sloper that they call a "Fitting Shell." They come with instructions for how to alter the garment to fit you properly. 

Source

All my steps above apply, you're just likely to need more fitting than a custom-made one. And the pattern name is something ordinary like "14" as opposed to your name. Ok, so I'm easily impressed.

A Couple of Pointers on Buying from String Codes

1. There are varying levels of custom. We did standard custom fit. This means you have a sloper based on your measurements for bust, waist, hip, center back length, and waist to ankle. My teacher didn't recommend full custom fit unless you had a professional take all the measurements. See the FAQ. 
2. They have a few different types of pants slopers. Here's the differences between those.
   (a) Trousers fall down at the back from the waist.
   (b) Slacks hug the rear, then fall down from there.
   (c) Jeans are the most fitting and hug the body all around. 

Do you have other questions? Do you think you'd use a sloper? 

The Starting Point for Getting a Good Fit

Fit is one of the most exciting and challenging things about sewing. A well-fitting garment can make you look like you’ve lost 15 pounds, and it can also really improve the polish of the garments you construct.

So how do you do that?

Introducing the Body Graph 

The best book I have found to help me understand how to fit garments is Fit for Real People. It’s got lots of great details around modifying patterns for particular fitting challenges. It all begins with helping you understand how your body is different than what pattern companies design for.

Buy this book. Look at all these happy women and their properly fitting clothes!

The big  pattern companies like McCalls, Simplicity, Butterick, etc. basically use the same sloper (a master pattern with no seam allowances) for their patterns. In order to get a good fit, you need to understand how your body compares with the “ideal” that they have designed for. You can do this with the body graph.

How to Make a Body Graph 

The book has great step-by-step instructions with illustrations. Here’s a general idea of what to do:

1. Trace your body onto a large piece of butcher paper. 
2. Mark a few key points:
   (a) Top and bottom of head
   (b) Shoulder
   (c) Waist
   (d) Hip (where your thighs join, also mark the widest part of your hip if this is different)
   (e) Knee
3. Divide your body up based on these key points. In the “ideal” body, all these are equally distributed. 
4. Start comparing your body to what the pattern company’s design for. There is a wonderful worksheet in the book that walks you through it step-by-step. You’ll be looking at things like the width of your body at certain points, the slope of your shoulders, etc.

What I Learned About My Body 

Now is the part where I reveal quite a bit about my figure in hopes of helping you understand this.

Here is my body graph:

Notice something right away? 

My Left Leg is ¼ of an Inch Bigger than my Right Leg! 

Readers, let me tell you, I never even knew this was the case. Even looking at my legs now, I can’t really tell the difference. But, boy does it matter when you’re fitting clothes. Take exhibit A here, a pair of pants I am currently working on (Butterick 5895).

See that? Excess fabric because Slim is so thin. 

All I had to do was take in the leg a little bit on my right side. Ta da! Now I’ll have a great fitting pair of pants.

I Don’t Have Broad Shoulders, I Have Square Shoulders

I always thought I had very broad shoulders. So much so, that I would stay away from puffy or fluttery sleeves lest it draw attention to them. Turns out I have been operating under a misapprehension!

The shoulder slope the pattern companies are designing for is 1 5/8 inches. I have a ¼ inch slope to my shoulders! This makes them square. The shoulder width is 4 ¾ inches, mine is 4 ¼ inches. So mine are not broad. So now I have no fear about wearing things like the lovely Colette Taffy and looking like a linebacker.

I am Short-Waisted

According to pattern companies, your waist should be mid-way between your underarm and where your thighs join. I have 18 1/4 inches between my underarm and where my thigh join. So here’s an image that will show you the differences between me and the ideal:

If you’re more than 1” above or below the “ideal” then your short or long-waisted for your height. I am short-waisted.  I like wearing high-waisted skirts and pants because it allows me to accentuate the thinnest part of my torso. I also find it to be more comfortable because it matches the shape of my body!

How You Use This 

Going into any project, I know up front that I will have changes to the pattern based on my body graph. Things like:

1. A full bust adjustment. The major pattern companies design for a B-cup in the “ideal” form.
2. Shortening the waist.
3. Adjusting the shoulders to account for my squareness. 
4. Taking in the right leg a bit on pants. 
5. Etc.

See? You’ll have to make adjustments based on each of these items in order to get the garment to fit you properly. Fit for Real People also includes great instructions for how to make each of these changes.

A Caveat for Indie Pattern Companies

Indie pattern companies don’t work off the same slopers as the big ones, so you’ll likely have to make different adjustments. At least you understand your body enough to know what that might be!

For example, Colette Patterns designs for a C-cup instead of a B. I’ve found Gertie’s patterns from her book always require narrow shoulder adjustments for me, and I don’t usually have to make those changes for the larger pattern companies.

An Ode to Chubs 

In closing, I will leave you with a limerick in ode to Chubs, my left leg.

Oh Chubs, you throw things off kilter
It’s a wonder I don’t just change to a quilter!
Because of my body graph
I can just laugh
Instead of being bewildered!