... this morning, I'll go to Arts & Crafts Club. I'm working on the Sirdar 9018 cardigan using a variegated denim/fuchsia bamboo yarn that I bought earlier this year. It's being knit for the second time. The first sweater was okay however, there was bust shaping that was positioned too low and looked droopy so I unravelled the yarn. It was too expensive to not wear. Now that I've lost so much weight (including bust size) I'm doubly glad I did that and now, I'm enjoying it again. It's beautiful to knit.
The purple linen-look fabric used for the pants you saw yesterday conveniently matched the t-shirt I made a few weeks ago. Together, they looked more dressed down than dressed up so I wanted to make a quick something to go over top that would make the outfit more dressy than casual. The New Look 6149 wrap had good reviews at PatternReview.com and I had a grey knit in stash so I went with that.
I've referred several times to Lynda Maynard's book DeMystifying Fit and the method I learned from her for adapting commercial patterns. If you're interested in the DVD book, it's about two thirds down this page on the right hand side on Kenneth King's website. Here's an example of the method...
Using table paper, I traced the New Look 6149 back pattern in a size 14 at the shoulders tapering to an 18 at the hips marking the waistline. In the image above, the traced pattern is on top with another pattern underneath. That's my sloper. I begin by aligning the center back and the waistline of both pieces. The New Look pattern has a 5/8" back seam. The sloper does not.
Measuring the distance from shoulder point to shoulder point, I can see that the New Look pattern is 1 7/8" longer than my sloper (me). That's become fairly typical. I usually take out anywhere from 1 1/2" to 2". Where that distance is removed differs from person to person. On me, one inch comes out through the armhole because I have a petite frame. On every garment I make, I automatically take 1" out of the armhole and 1" out of the hip depth.
In this image, you can see where I've marked to take out the 1" of the armhole as well as where I marked to take out just above the waist. Just above the top green arrow, you can also see a dotted line where center front was on my sloper and a solid green line 5/8" to the left of that for the seam allowance. The reviews I read indicated the back was a bit gaping. Here I can see why.
With pattern adjustments, everything affects everything. The image above shows the top line of the sleeve. This garment has a cut on dolmen sleeve. Taking out through the armhole also takes out through the sleeve. The pattern lines need to be trued. With the sleeve, I maintained the shoulder and the hem and blended the difference.
When you see the finished garment below, you'll see that the fit is great through the armhole however, I found it a little tight through the bicep so I'll add a bit back. This will mean creating a shaped shoulder seam by drawing a line across from the neck to the shoulder point and then curving slightly to add width to the bicep before tapering down to the hem.
This picture is a bit confusing at first. There are two sheets of paper placed over each other. The top one is the pattern piece for the facing and to the right of it the pattern piece for the tie. Ignore the tie. Below is the pattern piece for the front. The green line drawn through the facing and the front piece below indicates where I'm going to remove the other 7/8". With adjustments, everything affects everything. Marking this way allows me to remove from the front and the facing in exactly the same position.
The more you sew, the more you get to know your own body. My waist is significantly narrower than my hips and I wide quickly. My full hip is 8" below my waist however, at the point 1" below my waist the high hip circumference is only one inch narrower than my full hip measurement. My shape goes out rapidly and then down gradually and is flat at the sides. In the image above, you can see where I shortened the pattern above the waist. When truing that line, I keep in mind that I need more width below the waist than I need above which means...
... blending the lower line of the side into the armhole as opposed to blending the armhole into the lower line. The first option maintains more high hip width while the second one would narrow it.
I made the same adjustment to the front facing. The pattern I used for the facing was the size 18 because of the hip width. Laying it over the front piece, I could see that the shape was correct and it was too long. The green line shows where I shortened the facing to match the front. The back, size 14 facing, was correct since no changes had been made to the back neck.
The only thing in my studio that is not pre-washed is interfacing. I know there are methods but IMHO they are fussy and messy and what if the stick comes off. Instead, I wait to cut out the facings until AFTER the interfacing has been fused to the fabric. That way the interfacing has shrunk if it's going to, the fabric is firm and ready to cut, and the facings will be the exact shape of the pattern without a chance to morph while fusing. It also minimizes the risk of mucking up my iron. Be sure that you know where the grainline is. Above, I can measure from the visible selvage. If I won't be able to do that, I mark the grainline with chalk before fusing the interfacing.
The pattern reviews also indicated that the top was quite short. I'm not sure why some people sounded so surprised as the drawing and the pattern both looked short and the finished measurement noted on the back of the pattern envelope is 20 1/2" for my size. After removing 1 7/8", it's only 18 5/8". For a tied top that will pull up and in, a length of 24" is better on me so before cutting out the pattern, I added almost 6" below the waist. You can see in this finished image that that's about right.
The reviews also noted a problem getting the facing to lie flat. I understitched, top stitched, and steamed and set this neck edge and the facing is still rolling. I made a note to either adjust the curve from back to front or use a band next time.
I have a wonderful friend, Lori-Jane, who I refer to as my black and white friend. She's the one that will tell me the real truth. Being a straightforward person myself, I really appreciate that aspect of her character. When I asked her, she didn't think the sleeves looked too tight which means I shouldn't be worried about wearing the top in public however, I will add a bit to the bicep next time for additional comfort.
I've just finished retyping this for the second time. Some quirk happened when I went to post it and instead of going into my blog, it went into the Chanel Sew-A-Long that I am also a member of. Weird... and time consuming... so now I'm running late.
Talk tomorrow - Myrna
Grateful - that I can type fast and accurate!
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