Peach Eyelet #2

Here is the second of the two tops I have recently sewn…Peach #2.

Yes, it is the exact same fabric as the first one…same buttons, too! I decided to use up the remaining fabric, and if this was the more comfortable top, I would donate the first one. Yep, that is what will happen, as this one is WAY better! Not perfect, but better.





























The first top used a D-cup to draft…for this one, I used a C-cup (and lengthened the CFL/FSS measurements to compensate for the reduced cup size). This makes the waistline of the red sloper-overlay even MORE scooped upward!



















The garment is still showing some strain over my prominent shoulder blades…especially the left one.

I think I want a tiny bit more width across the back between the arm creases…I KNOW I want the shoulder points (both front and back) to be located a little farther outward next time.

These are easy fixes…increase the shoulder width measurements!


















I thought the first top could use another half to three-quarters of an inch all the way down the pattern…so I manipulated measurements and settings to give me that, while only minimally changing the front pattern.







This makes Peach #2 much more comfortable to wear than #1. I got compliments on #1 when I wore it, even though it felt tight to me. When I wore #2, no one could see the fitting flaws that I mentioned. It is the way these garments FEEL that is key here, not so much how they look. And the comfort level is not quite ‘there’ yet…but it’s getting closer.


When my arms are forward, there is strain across the back, yet there is all this excess fabric in front over the bust. The front armhole cuts into my arm…but as you can see, I can’t really make the front any narrower across the high bust area…THAT is NOT the answer!


I need a longer front armhole, but I cannot ‘scoop’ it inward.


The only way to go is UP!

Ok, maybe I look like I am trying to do ballet...and failing miserably! But no, the point is to show the excess fabric over the bust that accompanies the strain across the back with forward arm movement. The overall bust ease/circumference is ok, but it needs to be forced to stay where it belongs!

I DID put a sleeve in this, temporarily. I wanted to test the armhole with a sleeve, just as I had done on the first top.



Let’s just say, I will NOT be BRINGING SEXY BACK with this one!!!



Look at the star-burst effect of pulls around the bust with the sleeve in (you don’t get that without the sleeve).



Once again, I would consider this sleeve a failure!
But once again, it is the armhole that is at fault.


Look at the side view:



See how the front hem is so much higher than the back hem? And how the back of the sleeve lays against my arm, yet the front hangs free? This sleeve is telling me to change the armholes. I think I hear it saying it wants the front armhole to be longer/taller! This jives with what the front armhole is saying when I put my arms forward…it digs into my arm, saying, “Make me longer!”




As mentioned before, I always have to manually scoop the F-AH to get the right shape. I just haven’t been able to ‘force’ the program to give me a good F-AH.

Of course, I’ve been trying to make the F-AH longer by scooping the lower part…but I am now seeing that the only way to go is UP! To make the F-ah longer, I must add at its upper end…the shoulder end.






There are STILL some drag lines from the bust, indicating inadequate front length. Really? How can that be? This CFL measurement is only .375” shorter than the CBL measurement, and when I reduce the cup size to B (for my next top) I will be increasing the CFL by .375” to compensate, making them EQUAL!!! Nobody uses EQUAL front and back lengths!!! But this shirt is telling me that I must make my CFL even LONGER than the CBL, to eliminate those drag lines! Really?



But think about it…

The front armhole is saying, “Make me longer/taller so I won’t cut in.”

And the sleeve is saying, “Make the F-ah longer/taller so I can hang level.”

And the drag lines are saying, “Make the CFL longer so I can hang level.”


So for the NEXT ONE, I will make the front even longer! For the next one, using a Bcup, the CFL will be longer than the CBL! That is crazy…and I can’t wait to see how it works out!