A hot mess, aka green and aqua tops

I had previously mentioned that I had an epiphany regarding the fit of my armholes. As you may remember, I have been trying to ‘scoop’ the F-AH for quite some time, and for a couple of reasons. One is because I always feel a ‘tightness’ there at the F-ah with arm movement, but two, is because of the way the PMB back armhole flows into the front. It seemed to suddenly change direction at the sideseam, and I was trying to create a smoother flow from downward in back…across…to upward in front.


I have long been plagued by diagonal wrinkles in the back of my garments. It suddenly occurred to me that if I scooped out the lower BACK AH a bit, it would help with those wrinkles. AND, if I scooped out the BACK AH, then there would be no need to scoop out the FRONT ah!



Well, this was a whole new way of thinking for me. But I already had the next top cut out…this green one.

This one was very similar to the previous Ladybug Top with a few minor measurement tweaks, including a slightly increased BACK SHOULDER WIDTH. Again, I used a Bcup, but this time, I had used a little negative DART OVERRIDE to loosen up the front ah, to see if that improved the sleeve. My CFL was equal to my CBL.

(BTW, the reason I used the D.O. was to see if it made the armhole better for a sleeve...I knew it wouldn't be great for sleeveless.)

The sleeves are probably better than previous ones, but are still not just right. In all fairness, this is NOT the sleeve pattern that I should be testing with! I should use a straight sleeve with straight hem…not a tapered sleeve! The narrow hem circumference makes it hard to see the relationship of my arm to the sleeve’s fullness. The too-short cap height isn’t helping much either! But the FEEL of the sleeve was still wrong…they were constricting with movement…so I assume the armholes still aren’t right. I didn’t plan to leave the sleeves in this top anyway, so I ripped and finished as sleeveless.

And FYI, I have realized that ALL these recent tops are too long in front and too short in back! I evaluate in front of a mirror and probably stand too erect...getting a false sense of what fits and what is level with what. *

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This next one, aqua, was also a B cup, but I had increased the CBL and BSS by 0.375”.

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When I got the facings attached and tried this on, the front swung open, as if the Center Front Length was too long (I had increased the back length, not the front!).

On the left is the original...on the right, I have pinned tucks in both front neck edges, to shorten the front length. It seemed to make the front hang better.

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So, what the heck, I cut off the front shoulder at neck point to reduced the front length by .5”…this made the front shoulder more ‘square’.

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Well, it also pulled the Bust Point up too high!

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And, it changed the balance of the garment…so now the BACK SHOULDER SLOPE seems long (see how the back shoulder has excess ‘ease’).

*I should NOT have adjusted the front shoulder...what needed to be done was to reduce the dart size and take the excess front length off at hem…as if slicing the pattern across the whole front through the dart and overlapping to remove 0.5”.

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Oh well.

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Since I had already messed this one up, I decided to play with it.

I had read some info on neck widths, which is the FIRST area on a fitting garment to correct. The back neck (on the pattern) should be 3" wide, and the front will usually be 1/8 to 1/4" narrower than the back.

I wanted to see what effect this would have on the F-AH.

I decided to simulate what would happen if I drafted a pattern where the front neck width was a full ½” narrower than the back neck width. So I ripped the shoulders and realigned them by moving the front shoulder OUTWARD. I had to cut off ¼” shoulder length at the back neck point…making the back neck ¼” wider on each side. I also had to unsew the back shoulder dart and sew it smaller to make the front and back shoulder seams match at the armhole ends. As you can see, this created a ‘gap’ in the front armhole. It felt awful, and didn’t provide ease in the ah.

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This is the left image...where I am holding up ONE finger.

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So I ripped it again and realigned the shoulders as intended…this meant I had to trim away ¼” from the front shoulder length at neck point…so now both front and back necks are 1/4” wider than they started with, but they have the same relationship as drafted…front neck is again 1/8” to ¼” narrower than back neck.

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On the right, holding TWO fingers, is after realignment.

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You’d think I had lots of time to waste!

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After sewing these tops, I have decided that there is NO ADVANTAGE to using the reduced cup size…well, at least, not a Bcup. The smaller cup sizes have a lower, more scooped front armhole….but as I discovered, if the back armhole has the right shape, the front doesn’t need to be ‘scooped’. Plus, if the back shoulder width is adequate, the pulling on the front armhole is minimized.

You can’t fit armholes in a vacuum!

So this week I have been sewing and testing again…to determine WHICH cup size I should use. I tried an E again, and it was crazy wrong! I also tried a D, and it was better, but just looked so matronly…finally I figured out that it was because it was too large! I could take a .5” tuck from shoulder to hem over each bust…like a princess seam! BTW, I have used the same bust measurement and the same bust ease for all these tops. The B cups were a little tight-ish and the D and E cups were a little large. So like Goldilocks, I have decided that the Ccup is ‘just right’! Now if only I could get those sleeves to be ‘just right’…

Speaking of Goldilocks…OMG, I have cut my hair.

And it is bad.

Seeing my hair in the pictures of that green top helped me realize it was time for a trim, but I got carried away. I cut that bangs…it looked a little better! So I cut some more. And then some more. This went on over about a week.

Then I decided I better GO get the back trimmed to match the now-shorter front (don’t want a mullet!).

Well, she cut the back VERY SHORT…stacked it….and left the sides longer like I had them…creating an inverted sort of look.

Well, the sides looked like lambchops on my face! I *had* to cut the front to match the now-shorter back…so now it is ALL short! (All the images shown on this post have the 'before cut' or 'during cut' hair.)

Yuk.

I am trying to focus on the fact that it will no longer be a HOT MESS.

Maybe.

Checking out other blogs

I was doing some blog reading today and followed this link. When I realized it was a video and not an art quilt, I *almost* hit the back button...but instead, I watched the short video. I am SO glad I did! It is amazing! The sewing...the blowing hair...well, you have to see it to appreciate it.

I also read where Shannon was talking about taking biotin to strengthen her splitting nails. I think I have some of that stuff around here somewhere...I had gotten that tip once before, and apparently forgotten it! I need to pull that out and start taking it again, as I have one nail that insists on splitting vertically as soon as it grows past the nail bed! Thanks for the reminder!

I am always amazed at the 'fashion recall' of Erica B. It seems that she just looks at a pattern and remembers that she has seen the design on the runway (or on the First Lady!). That jacket she made last week is precious!

Being a new quilter, I am always happy to find tutorials, like the ones Carla puts on her blog. She is so generous with her tutorials...I want to try that freeform beading, too!

Speaking of quilting...I AM still working on the Blue River Quilt, but the progress is very slow. I am beading it now...and I am NOT known for my speedy handwork! Ok, I am pretty much derided for my LACK of speed!

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.