Dartless Top Part 3

I finally got some pictures taken of me in the new Dartless Top I made this week. Yes, I look like a deer in headlights, but whatcha gonna do? That's how it is.


As you can see, this is not too bad...it's wearable. Not perfect by any means, though!

And I always aim for perfect!








I have been thinking about my dartless pattern...about the various changes I made in order to make it fit better...like, mismatching the sideseams….and about HOW I would do it ‘next time’.

The part about mismatching the sideseams got me to thinking about how the PMB NO DART draft also raises the back armhole as it lowers the front one. I haven’t tried the NO DART draft yet in version 4, and things do seem to be different in this version than in previous versions…subtle, yet significant differences. So, I set out trying to duplicate my dartless pattern using the NO DART choice in the drafter.





I messed around with the settings a bit and I can almost EXACTLY duplicate *my pattern*by making choices in the drafter! The only thing that is different is the shape of the front armhole (which makes the sleeve also slightly different). The lower arc of the front armhole is more SCOOPED than my pattern. This lengthens the F-armhole seam and enlarges the front half of the sleeve. But I can’t tell if it would be better than what I just sewed or not! The front armhole DOES seem a bit high/out there on the front of the arm...perhaps lower in front/more-scooped might work?


The only way to know is to sew it!






So I did.


The fabric I used is stretchier, though, so the fit is NOT the same! Even though the patterns are nearly duplicates, this second one seems so much larger!

I cannot decide if I should--

1. toss it into the washer with HOT water, and then if it doesn’t shrink, I will disassemble and recut it smaller! Or,-
2. go ahead and take it apart now, forget about trying to shrink it, and find out how the pattern really fits!

After evaluating this one a bit, I can tell I need to raise the armholes significantly! Plus, I have decided that to change the balance of the patterns above ah level, I just either lengthen the front or shorten the back (above ah level)...which in PMB, means either increasing the CFL and FSS, or decreasing the CBL and BSS. I will do that latter...decrease the CBL and BSS...because that will also draft a shorter armhole, although I'll still need to raise it, too.







Can't you just visualize this one being better if I pinned out a tuck across the back from armhole to armhole? That would cause the upper back to become short and force the back to 'swing out' away from my bum! Also, it would hopefully pull the lower front in closer to the body.

I think I'll have to adjust the hang of the sideseams for this, too...moving the S/Hip position forward, even though that will totally make the sideseams NOT mirrored. In a dartless knit, I can't worry about that!

That is what I'll try next time, anyway...the shorter upper back. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else!

You can see that this armhole is a bit low...which makes the sleeves quite a bit larger than the previous one.

Amazing how differently they fit, considering the front and back patterns are identical except for the front armholes!

Drafting Choices

Ok, to duplicate the (blue) pattern that I created before-

I began with the same measurement chart I had used last time...the one with the reduced cup size, and reduced the Front Shoulder Slope measurement.

Then I selected NO DART as my Front/bust dart option.

Since my back shoulder dart measures .75" at the shoulder seam, I chose a Shoulder Point setting of (.75). This makes the back shoulder area as wide as usual but with no dart, but it makes the front shoulder area wider by .75". But once I extended the SHOULDER POINT, the front shoulder tip also went up about .125"...so I reduced the FSS measurement (in the measurement chart) an additional 0.125" to correct for that.

I needed to use 1.5" Bust Ease to equal the pattern width of before, when I used .5" ease.

I had to use 3" Hip Ease this time, since I wouldn't be rotating any darts to the hem to be left unsewn.

I kept the Armhole Depth the same as before, .25".

Cf/Extension: 0.5

Side/Arm Point: -0.5
Side/Waist Point: 1
Side/Hip Point: 0

Sleeve Cap height = +0.5", no ease--
---Because I extended the SHOULDER POINT, the sleeve drafts differently...so instead of using a (-.5) cap height, I used a (+.5) cap height to duplicate what I had before....again, reducing the cap ease as low as possible.

My Pattern Changes (yellow)

The only changes I made to the pattern were on the neckline, to cut away for adding ribbing, and to the create a shaped hem on both the bodice and the sleeve.