And Then What?

Out of curiosity, I timed myself yesterday. It took 47 minutes to sew this final muslin from cut out to finished. That included marking all the lines, fixing a tuck in the first sleeve, and trying it on between sleeves. For me, forty-seven minutes is not too much time to invest in achieving great fit. I'm going to show you why but first ...




Behold, a straight hanging sleeve. The bunching at the back waist is because I didn't sew the waist darts and this is a well fitted sloper with 2-0-2" of ease.

It fits smoothly across the chest with no excess fabric at the armpit. The shoulders look well fitted without looking tight and the upper chest, underarm, and bust point lines are all level.




In the back, there is no excess fabric around the armhole or through the back width. The sloper is narrow enough to accommodate my frame - finally - LOL!

The interesting thing about this sloper is that the only aspect I changed in the software was to move the side seam forward 1". Otherwise, this is it, exactly as drafted with no trying to fool coach or use skewed measurements. That was one of the things that drove me crazy in the chat group - working from false measurements. This is the best fitting sloper I've ever achieved. In part, it's because I have started to learn what measurement changes what which is helping me to measure more accurately and make better choices.

And then what? Below I'm going to show you step by step, on the back pattern, in the most basic form, what you can do with this information using Lynda's method. Her book - Demystifying Fit - gives a LOT more details. This is just a taste.

To make a t-shirt, I drafted a sloper with zero ease at the bust, waist, and hips. I'm comparing it to Vogue 8536. I traced a size 14 widening to a 16 at the hip. Below, you can see how my shape (the white paper underneath) does not match the traced pattern.

It's not just a matter of shuffling or shortening. You begin the process by aligning the waist on the pattern with the waist on your sloper as shown below. The software drafts with back waist darts. One is scribbled out and manually transferred to the side seam. The other is still incorporated into the width of the sloper pattern. That's something for me to remember when creating a zero ease t-shirt pattern. The final side seam should be narrower than the sloper by the amount of that dart.

Once the waists are aligned, the next step is to compare the shoulder points and measure the distance between the point on the pattern and the point on the sloper. In my case, the difference is 7/8".

The pattern is then shortened 7/8". The book will teach you where to shorten the pattern - either through the armhole or below the armhole depending on your body/needs. In my case, it's through the armhole.

Once the length of the pattern shoulder to waist is correct, the next step is to compare the angle of the shoulder and the shape of the armhole. My shoulder angle matches the pattern exactly. If it didn't, I would alter that. The shape of my underarm does not match as you can see with the red line below. This is the EXACT reason why I was working on a sloper. Just shortening the armhole wasn't doing it for me. There was still unwanted bulk. Knowing my armhole shape, and being able to use it, is going to remove all that excess fabric at the underarm that was driving me crazy.

The sloper is drafted for a 23" finished length and includes a 1" hem. Even after shortening the upper chest, the pattern is too long. This is typical as I usually have to make a petite adjustment through the hips as well. To maintain the shape of the hem designed for the pattern, I shortened between the waist and the hem.

Remember that my sloper is wider than the pattern due to that dart at the waist. The difference is the width of the dart. The final step is to true the line of the side seam. The Vogue pattern has now been altered to match my body's proportions. I haven't insured complete success but I have upped the odds. From here on in, it's my sewing skills and the fabric factor.




There is a step by step format for adjusting the front and then the sleeves. It's important to follow the format as one decision affects another. Lynda's book is written in case studies. If you purchase it, have sticky notes and a highlighter handy and record the information and page numbers you want to remember. I've read it several times and I always find new info.

I'm not sure I'll get to sew today. Maybe later on. I have quite a few errands to run including returning some jeans. I bought four pairs yesterday and need to try them on and decide which ones are staying and which ones are going. Eventually, I'll be sewing some more. First, I have to figure out how small to make them because even though the two pairs I made were sewn quite snuggly, a few hours of wear and they are too baggy. I'm going to de-construct one of my purchased pairs that has gotten too short and work on a pattern from there. Later. Not this week. Not next. Later.

My eventual goal is to create tried and tested patterns for a t-shirt, a darted blouse, both an arscye and a shoulder princess blouse, a straight skirt, a fitted sheath and possibly pants. From there, I'll be able to design various fashions based on inspirational sources like Anthropologie and/or use some of the fabric manipulation, threadwork, and dyeing and painting techniques from textile art in creating one-of-a-kind clothing.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - that persistence pays off