Blue Floral Lycra, Part Deux

I have two garments sewn but haven't blogged about them! It is hard to sew and write at the same time...but I CAN chew gum and sew at the same time (FYI). :)

After the sleeve series, I decided to do my next test with wearable fabric, as opposed to continuing to use the throw-away. So I recut the blue floral lycra blouse that had been started BEFORE the sleeve series. I could reuse the front, but had to cut a new back, because I had significantly widened the back shoulders.

I had a hard time getting decent pictures of this! It was overcast, which seemed like a great day to shoot outside. But apparently, that isn't the case, as my pictures did NOT turn out well! Here is the best of the bunch.

I used a small amount of dart override (again?) to increase the size of the front AH. This was a bad idea (how many times will I try this before I realize it just ISN'T what I want?)...it created awful folds at the F-AH. What I *should* have done is increase the FRONT SHOULDER SLOPE measurement, to raise the shoulder tip, as well as increase that FRONT SHOULDER WIDTH to move the front shoulder tip outward. This would have given me a large enough F-AH without messing with the dart or mismatching the front and back underarm points. Next time.

Here are my settings:

Style Name: _0_0909_widerSWs_longerCFL
Chart: widerSWs_longer_cfl 9-09_Trish_

Garment Type: Blouse
Style: Blouse
Closure: Single Breasted
Front Neckline: Curved Vee
Back Neckline: Jewel
Hemline Sweep: Straight
Hemline Shape: Curved
Front Darts: Side
Back Darts: Shoulder
Sideseam Shape: Fitted

Front Waist Darts: 1
Back Waist Darts: 2
Button Size: 0.5
Number of Buttons: 13

Front Neckline Depth: 6
Back Neckline Depth: 0.75
Neckline Width: 0.25
Neckline Point: -0.25

Armhole Depth: 0.25
Dart Override: -0.125

Side/Arm Point: -0.5
Side/Waist Point: 0.75
Side/Hip Point: 0

Finished Cb/Hem Length: 25
Hip Depth: 8

Bust Pt Vertical: 10.5
Bust Pt Horizontal: 4.75

Sleeve Cap Ease: 1.39
Sleeve Cap Height Adj: -0.75
Front Armhole Shape Down: -0.3 clicks
Back Armhole Shape Down: -0.5 clicks
Back Armhole Shape Left: -0.3 clicks

Chest Ease: 2
Waist Ease: 4
Hip Ease: 4


Body Measurements

Chest Circumference: 41.5
Back Shoulder Width: 18
Neck Circumference: 14.25
Natural Waist: 34
Hip Circumference: 42
Crotch Length: 29
Height: 66
Bra Cup Size: B
Center Front Length: 15.75
Front Shoulder Width: 15
Front Shoulder Slope: 18.875
Shoulder Length: 5.25
Center Back Length: 16.75
Back Shoulder Slope: 18.375
Bicep Circumference: 12
Notes:


As you can see by the back view, there are still some wrinkles to contend with! I do realize the back shoulder is now a bit too wide, and I did reduce the BSW a little for the next one.

I have gone round and round with whether or not lowering the back shoulder would pull those wrinkles out. Lowering the back shoulder point (by reducing the BSS measurement) would give me a larger back shoulder dart...which is bad on my body. Also notice...and I am not sure you can see it here in these pics...there is a tiny hint of a fold across the back neck, below the collar--the kind you get when the shoulders are too sloped! So I dare not make them much more sloped (lowered) or that will only get worse!

For my next one, I will lower the back neck depth even more (by .25") and see if that takes care of that fold (although, I have already sewn the 'next one' and since I didn't put a collar on it, I am not certain this issue has been resolved). Maybe on the next 'next' one.

But back to those wrinkles: Instead of reducing the BACK SHOULDER SLOPE measurement, I think I need to look at the width of the lower half of the back garment. I think the REAL problem here is the lack of adequate hip ease, coupled with back waist darts that are not large enough. Can't you just imaging this being better if there was a little MORE fabric at each side seam on the back, and also, if the back waist darts were sewn a little larger to pull some of the fabric from the side toward the center back? I can!

I used only 4" hip ease on this one...next time I will use 5" (which is what I usually use for a blouse, but used less since this fabric had Lycra).

NEXT TIME, I will still use the Side/Waist setting of .75, but (in addition to using more hip ease) I will also move the Side/Hip Point forward (-0.25) to swing that back sideseam out a bit, to provide more fabric over the bum. And I say, "next time", but I mean on the 'next' one I sew...which will NOT be the next one I blog about, since that one is already sewn! Confusing...I know. I really should get caught up!

BTW, I do realize this top doesn't match those pants. I just threw it on for the pictures over the pants I was already wearing...didn't try to create an outfit for this photo shoot! :) But I promise NOT to wear them together!