Square Peg, Round Hole, part 1

At the late-September meeting of our quilt guild, we drew 3 crayons from paper bags which were to determine the colors for our quilt. As luck would have it, I was going with the Memphis Sewing Guild on a day-trip to Paducah in mid-October! I took my crayons along and scoured the isles of Hancock's of Paducah for any fabrics that matched my crayon colors. I scored big! I wasn't sure what I would make yet, but I had the fabrics!

Then, at the next few meetings, the rules were clarified a little...we were NOT to use lighter or darker values of our crayon...this was about saturation. There was some leeway as to hue...like, if we drew a red crayon, we could use orange-reds and bluer reds, but not pink or maroon. Don't go lighter or darker...try to match. Hmmmm.... The stripes were ruled out, as they had large amounts of the lighter value. Rats! Actually, I was worried that MANY of my fabrics would be deemed unacceptable!

I had already begun thinking I would do an expanding checkerboard design, but when I realized my fabric choices were growing smaller, I decided to try other designs.

I considered doing a play on boxes...and this is where the original 'peg' was born.

But this design really didn't trip my trigger! It was as if I was married to the idea of the expanding checkerboard...I couldn't fall in love with anything else! So I picked out SOME of the fabrics that I thought would pass and went back to the idea I liked best!

But I DID like the 3-D element I had created for the 'box' quilt.... the 'peg', or 'nipple' as we like to call it around here! ;) The expanding checkerboard would need a center circle, so I decided I could still use this 'box' idea, but make it circular instead!

Also, I made that first box (above) 1" tall and deep and wide. One inch is the maximum amount any embellishment can protrude from the quilt suface. I was afraid that the box might bulge a little after stuffing, so I reduced the size of the next one to 3/4" high by 3/4" deep by 3/4" wide. This way, even if it bulges a little, it will still be within limits.

To create the box pattern, I used the CAD portion of my pattern-drafting software (the Pattern Editor of Patternmaster Boutique). But any cad program would work...turbo cad, whatever.

I first drew the overall square to the size I wanted, then placed the 1" box in the middle. Then I made it 3-D and added seam allowances.

Below, you see the start of the square one, but the finished pattern is the round one...only the outer shape is different.
I fused interfacing to the back of my fabric and cut these pieces out. After sewing, pressing, and clipping the corners, the inside looked like this:

I didn't want this little box to collapse or become misshapened once it leaves my hands, so I needed to find a way to stuff it securely. My friend, Linda Wilson, suggested I use felt. Perfect! I cut 3/4" x 3/4" squares of acrylic felt and ran a needle with thread through them several times until they were stable.

I stuffed the felt stack into the box and grabbed 3 layers of batting...I wanted this area to be a little fuller than the rest of the quilt. I stipple-quilted this area on my sewing machine, getting as close to the nipple as I could (yes, by now I was calling it a nipple!).

When I was finished, I trimmed the batting around the edges, then began turning under the outer edges so I could applique this onto the quilt. Well, duh, it is way too thick around the edges! What was I thinking, using 3 layers of cotton batting and taking them all the way out? I had to start over!

So I cut new nipple pieces and new felt squares and batting...and put together another nipple. But this time, I used only 2 layers of batting...one was smaller than the other, and the larger one was stopped about 1" from the outside edge. When I quilted it, I stopped the stippling where the batting stopped.

Below, you can see my nipple collection! The original square one, the newest one with pins, plus the too-thick one, which, BTW, makes a great Frisbee! That sucker will fly across the room better (and more level!) than any plastic Frisbee I have!

Before I sewed the new nipple to the quilt, I added the ring with the bead. I used a monofilament dental-floss threader and ran it through the golden earring (with the ear wire removed) and used it like a needle-threader: I put thread through the loop then pulled the thread through the ring. Then I put sewing needles onto the ends of the thread that was sticking out each end of the ring, and pierced the nipple, stitching through the felt stack and tying the threads securely on the back.

Now the new-and-improved nipple was pinned onto the center of the expanding checkerboard and I stippled around the outer 1" to secure it.

But there was a visible ridge at the edge of the batting that bothered me. I needed to soften that ridge...so French knots it is! I did a series of knots around the outer part of the batting area.

This is looking more and more 'anatomically correct'! My DD calls the French knots the 'no-slip grips'...a term that was new to me, but I liked it!

More later, so check back!

White roses

Stubbornly determined to get a decent sleeve from PMB, I have continued working on getting the armholes ‘right’. I am still *trying* to believe that if the sleeves are bad, that means the bodice/armholes are still wrong, too.

After several aborted attempts, sewing only darts, shoulders and sideseams, I was beginning to run out of this white fabric. I decided to take apart two of the aborted attempts to reuse the front of one with the back of another…recutting them both according to the newest pattern, of course!

But when I got them both ripped apart, I found that my back pattern would NOT fit on the fabric back…the fabric wasn’t long enough for the new pattern! So I had to use the last of the remaining uncut fabric to cut the back…which meant that if I wanted sleeves (which I did) I would have to cut them from the two fabric backs of the previous attempts…so I ripped apart two other previous attempts also, to salvage the backs to use for sleeves!

Well, these backs had had the waist darts marked…twice, actually, in two different colors! So the new sleeves have waist darts marked on the insides…and it shows through this white fabric!

I have enhanced this image so you can see the marks better, as they are much easier to see ‘in person’ than in a picture.






I mark my darts in the traditional way…using a tracing wheel and marking paper. This paper is very old…I don’t like the new stuff I can find. But these marks don’t wash out very easily!

This is how I mark my buttonholes. When I am drafting my PMB pattern, for the number of buttons I choose TWICE PLUS ONE…that way, I can use every other button and omit the bottom TWO button marks…getting a larger space between the last button and the hem than I have between the buttons. For example, I wanted 6 buttons, so I choose 13…twice plus one…then only use 6 of the marks. ALSO, I find that the first mark is slightly lower than I really want it…I don’t know why…so I mark my buttons about ¼” above each mark. I use a hole punch and punch a hole on the center line just above the button marking. Then I use a washaway marker to place a dot in the center of each hole. If it soaks through, I can mark both the buttonholes and the buttons at one time!


As soon as I put this blouse on to check the fit…before putting in sleeves…I could immediately feel the difference! This one felt good! I had made the back longer this time, and it helped a lot. So I decided I would finish this one, complete with collar and sleeves, even if it wasn’t “perfect’.

Since I had decided to put sleeves in this top, I wanted a collar, too…the Italian collar.

But I’ve used this one before, and am not crazy about the way it fits into the CURVED V neckline.

So I altered the pattern, slashing in two places forward of the shoulder mark.

I pivoted the slashes open and inserted paper, so that the slash width at outer edge was .25” at each slash…lengthening the outer edge of the collar by .5”.

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This made the collar’s neck edge better match the shape of the bodice’s front neck edge.

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*But then I decided that the point area was a bit wide, so I used my curved ruler to reshape it some…trimming away about .375” width at the front edge.

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After completing the collar, it was time to tackle the sleeves. The first sleeve I set was drafted with a (-.5) cap height. It had obvious pulls, so I ripped and removed to recut with a .25” cap height. There really wasn’t much change.

I released the sleeve cap and immediately, the cross grain hung much more level. Suddenly it occurred to me that what I REALLY needed to do was EXTEND THE SHOULDER of the bodice, as opposed to making the sleeve cap taller! Of course, I have only .375” seam allowance at the armhole, so that isn’t possible on this one…there isn’t much fabric there to steal! But just to see, I pinned the sleeve using only 1/8” seam allowance…as seen on the right…and it was much better! Of course, I couldn’t sew it that way…I needed to use .25” minimum, so I knew it wasn’t gonna end up as nice as it looked at pinning. Oh well! Next time…

The finished blouse *looks* nice enough!

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I am very pleased with the collar changes.

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But the sleeves are binding.

As usual.

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I am wondering if I should increase my Bust to Bust setting...to move the front waist darts outward slightly? Not to affect the sleeves, but just to make it look/fit better!

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The back still needs some more length over those protruding shoulder blades, especially that left one!

Hopefully, a bit more Center Back Length will help eliminate those diagonal wrinkles, too, by effectively giving the back pattern more shoulder angle.

I will also raise the back neck depth next time, as I lowered it too much…0.75”…on this one.
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The back REALLY strains with forward arm movement.

To try to figure this out, I turned to the wrinkle charts in Total Pattern Fit, Minott Method.

I have already raised the armhole depth, so that isn’t it. The cap is definitely NOT too long, so that isn’t it. I could use more width across the blades, although with the arms at my sides it looks ok. The sleeve IS too narrow. I am thinking that fixing the back width will also fix the sleeve.

See how she moves OUT the back underarm? That is NOT just moving the sideseam forward…that is a NET GAIN. To accomplish that with my PMB pattern, I must do two things…reduce the Bust Cup Size (again?) and increase the Bust Measurement.

Neither change alone will do it---

• Increasing the Bust Measurement will add to both front and back at underarm points…not just to the back.
• And reducing the Cup size will add to the back underarm point but will take from the front.

No, it will take BOTH of these changes to increase the width of the back pattern without changing the width of the front.

And once the back pattern has been increased at underarm point, I can use the ARMHOLE SHAPE TOOL to increase the width at the blade level…halfway height of the armhole.

And the sleeves should take care of themselves, once the armhole changes are in place!

Here is the pattern for this white blouse (pink) superimposed on the NEXT ONE.
For the next one, I increased the BUST CIRCUMFERENCE measurement by one inch, and reduced the Bust Cup Size by one letter (C to B, which meant I also had to INCREASE the Center Front Length and Front Shoulder Slope to compensate for the lost front length the larger cup size provides). I also had to increase the Bust Point Vertical setting, lowering it 0.25” (again, because the larger cup size would have done that for me).

On the front pattern, the next one will be wider through the shoulders (longer shoulder length). Notice the odd shape of the new upper front armhole…almost like that ‘arc’ is backwards. Actually, it is…I will redraw it to scoop inward instead of outward. I don’t know why PMB draws the upper armholes whacky sometimes. Trying to do a complex shape with too few components, I suspect.

The front armhole is lower and the bust dart is smaller…because of the reduced cup size (B for next one, this one was C). I have been getting fullness at the tip/release of the bust darts on many of these last few tops…indicating that perhaps the bust darts were actually too large. Also notice that the front shoulder is higher on the new one…since I extended it outward, I think it will also need a bit more height to go over the ‘roundness’ of the shoulder joint!

Also, since the upper sideseam was moved forward as a result of the cup change, I used the SS placement tool to move the lower sideseam forward also, to get mirrored sideseams.

The back is a little longer/taller through the center, but the back shoulders are not taller. The back neck depth has been raised .25” (although it looks like it is much higher when the patterns are aligned at the waist, instead of at the Neck Point!) The back shoulder dart will be slightly smaller next time, because I increased the Front Shoulder With MORE than I increased the Back Shoulder Width.

I am hopeful that these changes will produce a comfortable sleeve. I am hoping that adding that extra inch of BUST Circumference will not make the blouse fit too loosely.
People ask me why I need for the back pattern to be so wide. Since I have a full bust, they expect me to need a wider front pattern. But perhaps it is those protruding shoulder blades…perhaps the wide shoulders…perhaps the forwardly rolled shoulders? All I know is: there has GOT to be a way to get a well-fitting pattern with comfortable sleeves!

And I think this next one might be ‘it’!!!

Ladybug top

I recently finished sewing another top, but even before finishing it...it suddenly occurred to me what I might need to do (on the next one!) to get my armholes to be 'right'.


For this top, I sewed the pattern just as drafted in PMB, with no editting in PE...well, except for the facings, which don't match the pattern (arrgh!)...UNTIL my alterations during fitting, that is!

Now, on the last top, Peach#2, I had decided that those diagonal pulls in front meant I had to increase the front length. Well, I tried that and it was NOT good. I did NOT need the extra front length. I finally realized that what was causing the diagonal pulls was inadequate waist and hip ease at the sideseams…so I altered to sew the SS a bit smaller to provide some ease there at the waist/hip area. For some reason, I had drafted with 1” less hip ease than usual (trying to control the size of the waist darts, I suspect, as I had also used less waist ease which produces bigger waist darts).









I also tried lengthening the shoulder slope measurements, thinking UP was the only way to go (as mentioned in my last blog post). Well, UP was NOT the way to go! I got linebacker shoulders, with lots of room for pads! Trying to be thorough, though, I did go ahead and set in a sleeve, just to see what happens. It looked awful…that is what happened. The sleeve pushed all this excess fabric downward. So I restored the shoulders to their proper height and tried various alterations to the sleeve pattern to improve the pitch…still, the sleeves were bad. The armhole is not right yet.

In my research, I ran across something that made a light bulb light up over my head, and I *think* I will do better next time…well, not next time, as that one is already underway and nearly finished! But the NEXT 'next time'! :)

Here is a clue: Look at the front armhole depth compared to the back armhole. The back armhole is as high as I can get it…touching skin. But the front is lower…there is room to come up.

Now, you may remember, I have been TRYING to get that front armhole ‘scooped’ to provide adequate ease in the armhole for forward reaching…that was my goal, and I accomplished that by reducing the BUST CUP size I was using to draft with.

To illustrate, I put on this Ladybug top over the Peach#2 top, to show how the F-armholes compare. The Bcup (Ladybug) scoops the front ah a bit lower than the Ccup (Peach#2). And actually, I am now wondering if I might prefer the Ccup!

But when the ‘light bulb’ lit up, things just began to make sense. It seemed like this ‘solution’ would solve ALL my armhole and sleeve issues…and it is such an easy fix! Of course, I can’t tell you what it is until I test it…

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!

The Problem with PMB

I wanted to answer some questions and comments regarding this recent bout of tweaking I've been doing.

Plus, I will be busy with house guests this weekend, so posting will be delayed...that is, I haven't had time to create all the visual aids to go with this new 'break-through' in fit! But since some of you are really anxious to know about it NOW, I will do the best I can with just words...pictures and more will follow!


>>>I'm not sure about what 'mirroring' the front and back means <<<

When the bust dart is placed in the shoulder position, the front and back sideseams have the same (but opposite) relationship to the vertical grainline. One angles \ and one / but the angle to vertical is the same...you don't have ( with / or anything crazy like that. When placed side by side, they are mirror images of each other.


I mentioned the "levelness of the waist" on the red overlay...aka, the dress sloper...but want to make it clear--

• It is not the LEVEL of the waist...and not the height...when on your body, but the fact that the sloper (pattern)'s waist line is nearly 'level' on screen....horizontal...as opposed to being 'low' in the center and 'scooped upward' on the side. I am NOT talking about the levelness of that waist seam on the fitting garment when on the body...just the pattern shape.
• I know that 'level waist on the sloper' is the goal of WG's fit/tweak suggestions, but that is what I am saying is ruining the fit of the armholes and sleeves!
  

To make the sloper pattern's waist 'level', many of us have increased the cup size we were drafting with.

Bad.

I did it, too, and now have some guilt over echoing the recommendation! I was trying to be a good team player (and we all see where THAT got me! :))...but I have since figured out that using larger cup sizes is exactly the WRONG thing to do!!!


>>>The top of the back fits fine since I reduce the back width, but as it goes under the arm is where the issues lie.<<<

And where it goes under the arm is the part controlled by the front/back bust-width distribution! There is no getting around this...cup size is the key!

>>>I need more darting in the back waist area than in the front.<<<

Me, too. You don't sound all that oddly-shaped to me! The problem is the F-B distribution of bust width AT underarm level. Once you get that equalized, you will be better off. And if your body needs MORE width in back at bum level than in front, well, then maybe you should give your back pattern MORE WIDTH at underarm level than in front, too! It is just that simple. Forget about whether or not the waist of your red overlay is 'level' or 'straight' across...let it scoop as high as it wants!...it is just a pattern! and it is NOT the pattern you will be sewing! Just get the F-B distribution the way you need it for your body, and everything else will take care of itself!

>>>You've told me what needs to be done - how do I do it?<<<

In a nutshell, if you want to go ahead and 'test' this theory with me, here is what to do:

• Save your current best chart with a new name, like 'B-cup Trish'.
• Reduce your cup size until your F & B patterns are equal in width at underarm level...using (-.5) Side/Arm placement (important)...probably need to use a B-cup.
• You'll have to increase your CFL and FSS a lot to make up the front length difference. It takes MORE than just .375" per cup size lost! Don't be alarmed if the CFL grows to be the same number as the CBL! The FSS will be about 1" or maybe 1.25" longer than the back one...
• Compare these new patterns to what you have now, to be sure the front length on the new pattern is as long as it is now (on the pattern made with your big-bust-cup chart). Adjust measurements until the new patterns are as tall (from shoulder to waist) as the old patterns.
• Increase the BP-vertical to put the bust in the right place (it will be higher with the B cup).
• REset AH shape tool to zeros...don't reshape for this test.
  

You will notice that your F-ah will be lower and more scooped in this B-cup pattern...this is a good thing! The back armhole will also be better, I bet! And if you compare the sleeves of this new one to the old one, you will also see a difference.

Ok, so now that you have tweaked the measurement chart to equalized the F&B pattern widths at underarm level, NOW you choose your drafting choices:

• Use S/Arm position of (-1)...this makes the BACK pattern WIDER than the front at underarm level.
• Use S/Hip position of (-5)...this makes the BACK pattern WIDER than the front at hip level...good, since most of us have a larger bum in back!
• Use S/Waist of zero to start with, since the forward S/H point will make the back waist darts larger than the front ones. This can be tweaked at fitting.
• Use 2.5" to 3" bust ease and 3-4" hip ease...whatever you'd normally use. I use 1" waist ease.
  

Print and sew!

Don't worry that your red overlay looks crazy! Mine shows only a tiny sliver of a bust dart, with a VERY upscooped side/waist.

Like many of you, I wear a D cup bra and was using an E-cup setting to get enough dart size. But I have already sewn/tested this at C-cup, and and got marked improvement! (Pictures to follow...what can I say, I am slow!)

I have already drafted and compared and determined the settings to use for the B cup one...just haven't had time to blog about it or sew the B cup one yet! But as I said, weekend company will delay the sewing a bit longer...but if you wish to test along with me, have at it!

And let me know how this works for you!

Peach Eyelet #1

Last week, while suffering with a head-cold/bronchitis, I began tweaking measurements in PMB, to see how things changed. I found that without changing cup size, I could affect the size of the bust dart by just reducing the Bust Measurement.

For example, a 39D-cup produced a larger bust dart than a 41D-cup.

Hmmmm.........

So I decided I would reduce my BU measurement and use more EASE and see what happens.

But of course, I couldn’t leave it at that…I had to make other changes, too!

As you know, I have ‘issues’ with the front armhole in PMB.

• 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 AH.
• Plus, the sleeves are never ‘just right’….the front of the sleeve hangs free of the arm, but the back of the sleeve tends to lay close to the back of my arm…this is a clue to me that something is wrong with the armhole shapes and sizes, but I just haven’t been able to figure it out (until now!).

So I thought, what the heck…I’ll reduce my cup size, too, and see how THAT affects the armholes.

• I do know that reducing the cup size DOES scoop the F-ah a little.
• PLUS, it changes the FRONT to BACK distribution of the patterns at underarm level…the larger the cup size, the narrower the back width at underarm level.
• PLUS, the larger the cup size, the larger the bust dart.
• PLUS, the larger the cup size, the longer the front length on the pattern. This meant that if I reduced my cup size, I would have to increase the Center Front Length and Front Shoulder Slope, to make up the difference in what the reduced cup size would eliminate. In PMB, each cup size makes a difference of .375” in front length. So, going down one cup letter meant going UP 0.375” on my CFL and FSS.
  

But along with this reduced cup size comes another change...not to the blouse pattern that I will be sewing, but to the RED OVERLAY (aka the dress sloper) that PMB drafts with my measurements, upon which the patterns are based. I have been trying to follow the advice of the company…and that advice is to INCREASE THE CUP SIZE in order to LEVEL THE WAIST OF THE SLOPER.

This is the way my previous patterns looked, with my previous measurement chart (which uses an E cup), before I began this recent tweaking:





Look at where the ARROW is pointing….to the amount the Side/Waist is ‘raised’ above the level of the CF waist. The S/W point on my red sloper is .9” higher than the level of the CF…already a bit higher than recommended.




But look at what happens to the sloper’s waist when I REDUCE THE CUP SIZE from (E to D):







Now, after reducing the cup size, the sloper’s waist is even MORE unlevel…the S/W point is now 1.75” above the level of the CFL!





If I were listening to the fitting advice being given, I would immediately reverse this, and increase the cup size to level that waist.

But “been-there, done-that” (and it didn’t work). So now I am going the other way.

What the heck…it is a test garment!


So I created this new measurement chart and set about drafting my patterns.

Because the reduced cup size changed the width distribution at underarm level on the F & B patterns, this meant I needed to use different settings for Side/Hip placement than before in order to keep my sideseams as mirror images.

I found that I didn’t have to move the S/H point backward as far as before (since the new back underarm point was now more forward) so I used the (+.25) setting.

This also meant I no longer had to use an extra 2” of hip ease and remove it at the front waist darts, as mentioned here.

So I used:

Side/Arm Point: -1
Side/Waist Point: +1
Side/Hip Point: +.25


The Side/Arm Point in PMB will not go any farther forward than -1.

I always use that (-1) setting, to try to widen the back pattern at underarm level as much as possible, although I always WISH I could make it even wider.

Since that S/A point is sort of ‘fixed’ (maxed out), to get mirrored sideseams the HIP must be balanced to that point (wherever it is) by moving the S/H forward or backward.

Here you can see the sideseam relationship of my new pattern.


I didn’t sew it with a shoulder dart…but it is necessary to put the dart ABOVE the armhole to evaluate the sideseams! The actual garment has a side/bust dart.




Ok, so here is the pattern I sewed.

As you can see, I manually scooped the F-ah as described previously. But that was the only change I made…the rest of the pattern was used as it drafted.














And here is the blouse. The sewing isn't my best work...it is hard to do a good job when you are sick (well, for me, anyway)! At first glance, it isn’t too bad (if you don’t count the way the bust dart puckers at the tip!).

But it is too tight.

The back needs more ease to be comfortable. There is no room for my ‘wings’ to spread when my arms move and no breathing room when I sit. Well, it is wearable, but I am ‘aware’ of the tightness all day.

The Bust Point/Level is too high on this one, and the overall front length is still a bit skimpy...too short (I took care of that on the next one though!).


I have reached the point of having made my shoulders TOO NARROW. I have been gradually reducing the shoulder width measurements on each garment I make...and I should have stopped already!


Combined with this close fit, it is apparent that the shoulder width measurements are much too narrow for my body. For a sleeveless blouse, they are ok, but this blouse was designed to have sleeves!

Because these shoulders were so narrow and the bust/back a bit snug, I decided to NOT use the sleeves, and make this top sleeveless instead...much more forgiving!

I DID sew the sleeves in, though, and evaluate the fit before ripping them out...so I know how this would fit if I DID use them.

And the fit would NOT be good.


This blouse is ‘wearable’ and I did learn a few things by sewing it, but this is NOT the measurement chart that I will continue to use in the future!!!



I learned that using the 39" bust (when I really measure 41") was NOT the way to get a larger dart, even though I used more bust ease. The point of this was the larger dart size...but that is so variable, and can be affected by Side/Waist placement and ease and other things, so I am going to restore my BU size for the next one.


Reducing my cup size from E-cup to D-cup WAS a good thing…the waist on my sloper will just have to continue to be 'unlevel', I guess, because the smaller cup size seems better!


The angle of the sideseam above the bust is better now, but as you can see in the side view above, it looks like it could even angle a little MORE toward the front above the bust dart…next time.

With the new cup size comes a new armhole-- BETTER, but still, my sleeves weren’t ‘just right’. But I’ll have to reevaluate that once I widen the shoulder widths and increase the bust ease.





As you can see in these pictures, I STILL have plenty of ease on the sides under the arms, yet the blouse is constricting across the back with arm movement.

This top could use another 0.5 to 0.75 inch width all the way down the back sideseam, from shoulder to hip/hem, without changing the front.

So after making this one, I tweaked measurements and settings and compared patterns and created yet another NEW CHART that will give me that!

And that was the second top I sewed recently….stay tuned!

getting behind...

Well, my blogging cannot keep up with my sewing!

I have sewn 2 new tops back to back and cannot wait to tell you about them!

But gosh...I gotta get the pictures ready...and the patterns (OMG!)...I'll need to post some pattern images to really make things clear, because I KNOW I tend to be the only one who knows what I am talking about once I start talking pattern drafting!!

But I have made some terrrrrific progress in the fit of my basic blouse (finally!). For the first one, I made a very close-fitting top...so close, that I couldn't add the sleeves, because the shoulders were so narrow~! But more about that later...

And that first one led me to experiment with my measurements even further...which has finally got me moving in the RIGHT direction with PMB! The second one is much better....more about that, too!.....and the next one will be better still!

Ok...I'll start working on the visual aids.

Empire Crinkle Rayon, the pattern

To make the pattern for my Blue crinkle Rayon Empire top, I started with:

• the PMB DRESS,
• Empire Waist (raised setting 3),
• Double-breasted closure (button size 0.5),
• Curved V-neck with a depth of 11.5”.

In retrospect, that neckline depth was probably a tad low for this neck shape, but I was trying to make the neckline seam meet the Empire seam. If I had chosen the STRAIGHT V-neck instead of the curved one, this depth would probably have been fine, but when you add in the curve,...well....I had to 'tack' the fronts together at the overlap to prevent exposure…and where I tacked them is probably ABOVE where the pattern was designed to overlap! I put on the top and overlapped the fronts as low as I could and still keep my bra covered and tacked it in that position. This DID pull on the fronts a bit…they were telling me they didn’t want to cross that high!...but I forced them to!

I did as before…I divided the single under-bust dart into 2 released tucks. To do this, I first rotated the dart out of the way. Then I placed a point on each side of the bust point, distance away equals .75”. I drew lines from each point to the waist seam. Then I rotated HALF of the bust dart to EACH of these lines.

Next I drew a circle around the bust point, r=-2.5”, then drew another one .25” away. This is because if I cut both lines off at the SAME circle, the lengths of the tuck’s legs don’t match. Making the medial leg longer compensates for the angle of the tucks.

I had just about finished when I realized I might want to shorten the front neck a bit and transfer that to the bust darts, so I did that last...you can barely see the difference in the last two patterns, but look at the empire seam near the CF...it angles upward slightly (you probably can't tell that the dart/tucks are slightly larger.

Oh, gosh! I forgot to explain that front armhole!

Well, as you may remember, I have been trying to discover my perfect armhole shape. I have found that by deliberately MISSHAPING the armhole with the AH SHAPE TOOL during drafting, then reshaping it manually, in PE, gives a better ah shape and sleeve.

I am doing 17 clicks down and 2 clicks to the Right….each click is 1/10th inch, and the tool is moving the F-notch.

Basically, I am creating an armhole with a LONGER seam length by making it more square, so that when I manually scoop the lower front, the sleeve will have adequate length to fit the new armhole.

Ok, to redraw the F-AH
I locate a point 1” ABOVE the F-notch, then draw an arc from there to the underarm point…this arc will scoop 0.375” below the original lower armhole curve.

Then I draw an arc from new point to the shoulder point, again, curving slightly inward…but this time, only 0.125”.

This creates a really good armhole shape. When you align the front and back patterns at shoulder seam, this armhole shape flows smoothly from back to front.

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Ok, so that sounds like a lot of changes….really, it isn’t all that much. Reshaping the F-armhole is critical, but the dart-to-tucks is just a design thing.

Of course, as mentioned before, I must add length below the bust dart….I did report this problem, but was told it couldn’t be fixed. However, PMB’s MIDRIFF style does appear to have the needed dart length…I don’t know why the EMPIRE style can’t (?). But I don’t write code…

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Ok, for the LOWER FRONT area, I eliminated the closure part (shown in pink) as I planned to cut this on the fold.

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And remember, I draft with 2” MORE hip ease than I need in order to get the sideseams correctly shaped, then I eliminate this extra from the front patterns.

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Because of this, I need to remove 1” of width from this lower front pattern.

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I selected the outer part (shown in aqua) and moved it over 1”…basically making the front dart much smaller. I decided that tiny dart wasn’t worth sewing, so I just rotated the front sideseam just a little to close that dart over…yes, this made the sideseams no longer EXACTLY identical F to B, but I figured it was close enough for this crinkle fabric which ‘gives’ so much.

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For the BACK, I compared the size of the waist dart in the lower part to the size of the darts in my TORSO/Blouse pattern, and again, this Empire dart is smaller.

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Because of this, I enlarged the dart by .25” on each side.

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Then, to make the waistline seam of the BODICE back match this now-shorter lower seam, I ROTATED the lower ah and SS (pink area) CW to remove 0.5” at the waist seam.

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The upper dart was sewn as drafted.

Now about those sleeves… I have read where people join the front and back at the underarm seam and cut this as one pattern piece. Sounds ok, right? Well… Notice that when you align the front and back at underarm points, there is a GAP created at the hem edge. Obviously you can’t rotate the pieces to align that underarm seam, as the hem would form a inverted V there…and that would not be good to sew.

So I tried it as shown…with the GAP in the pattern.

The sleeves were awful.

They were large…like circle sleeves, hunging flat against my side under the arm with no shape. The inside of the sleeve was VERY visible.

Yuk.

So I sewed a dart there where the underarm seam SHOULD be…this corrected the problem. In the future, I will NOT join my petal sleeve patterns!

Ok, that’s about it.