This is my first experience with Itch to Stitch and it won't be the last. They recently came out with a new dress pattern (with a new release discount) that I liked, but wasn't sure about purchasing because I have a big stack of Burda magazines where I could probably find something to recreate it with and ItS was an unknown. Then I remembered that I already had their Seychelles top to make up and evaluate.
Seychelles is somewhat like a woven T top, with an interesting shoulder detail. I'm always on the lookout for things like that because they balance out my figure. The armscyes of Seychelles are cut in somewhat, and the sleeve cap is pleated. Other than that, it has a straightforward darted bodice and faced V neck. The pattern has separate front pieces for each cup size.
Step 1 was figuring out what size to use. The instructions walk you through this, and they had me in a 10 with the C front. I'm normally a 14-16-or even 18 in top sizes and a size 10 seemed crazy to me. The instructions also say to make a muslin (always good advice) so you can be sure I did, expecting them to be proved wrong.
It seems that size 10 was correct!😲 There did need to be a couple of adjustments, but they were easy. I needed to lower the bust dart 1-3/8", widen the sleeve, and widen the hip. The sleeve and hip changes were accomplished just by blending out to one of the larger sizes. I should also mention that the top is meant to be fairly long and I shortened it quite a bit.
The dart was relocated like this (note: this diagram is from a different pattern):
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| draw a line through the dart point, parallel to the grainline |
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| Draw a box around the dart, cut it out, and slide it straight down the amount needed |
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| true up your cutting lines (green) |
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| This is the way my pattern piece looked after the alteration. You can see that I also needed to add extra at the hip. |
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Fabulous. I love seeing pictures of paper pattern piece changes on a blog. The stuff I need to see IRL. Keep blogging for us newbies!
ReplyDeleteHi, I love your blog. It makes totally normal all the things that one must do prior to making a well-fitting top: lower the bust dart 1-3/8", widen the sleeve, widen the hip. Also it addresses picking the right size for that specific pattern company (not making assumptions). PLUS you give the perfect visuals for what soooo many woman need: just lower the bust dart 1" or so. But the point is you give all this information in straightforward practical language. Looking from afar, it all comes down to the flat pattern work you do before you begin. This simple summary of basic flat pattern work, made in clear language, is what so many other sewists need to see. Or learn. Cuz newbies experience failures that just a little bit of flat pattern work will solve. I hope you keep blogging. -- Patricia in Minneapolis
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments! I'm glad that you think my examples will be helpful to some, because that is my hope when putting them together. You sound like you know what you're talking about - sewing and writing, both.
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