Clothes That Fit Are Always More Flattering

As expected, there was no sewing last night. By the end of the shift, I could barely stand on my feet and wondered why I had parked the car so darn far across the lot. On my to do list is researching gel insoles and what they can do for me. Lots. I hope.

I did print out a new shirt sloper with princess seams using the same ease amounts as the Vogue 8667 dress I'm working on. I'll sew the sloper today and see what happens. All this sloper business might seem like a lot of work however, it's all up front work because later, with a sloper that fits, it will be easy to adjust all of the patterns below and more in no time at all.

As annoying as it is to redo the sloper, it gives me a chance to double check my numbers and tweak them just a little bit further. Since it fits so well already, the only change I'm looking at is a slight amount of length to CB and CF. If the test today fails, I'll go back to using the old chart.

Here's why I bother...

The way Lynda Maynard's fitting method works is by placing your fitted sloper pattern underneath the pattern that you are trying to adjust. Then you match up specific points and bring the pattern into line with your figure while preserving the design aspects. It very quickly and easily answers questions like is there enough ease, is the bust point in the correct position, do I need a full bust adjustment, how wide are the shoulders, is this pattern too long or too short in the body, are the neck and armhole the right shape, will my hips fit... and more. VERY quickly. VERY easily.

The questions are answered without a muslin although I chose to then sew one to check fit again because even with those questions answered, there will be some minor tweaks as always but it's so much faster and so much more successful than any other method I've ever used. I'm a huge convert and unfortunately, it's a method that's better shown than described. However... if you're a lover of great fit as I am, I can't recommend her book - Demystifying Fit - enough. I doubt you'll regret it. AND... if you have PMB... all the better.




Vogue 8665 is one of numerous dress patterns in my stash. I rarely bought or sewed a dress before buying Lynda's book, especially not a dress with a waist seam because they bunched up at my back and fell off my shoulders while clinging for dear life at the hips. Read not flattering. Actually, I never bought blouses for the same reason. The width of my shoulders is about a size 8 pattern and the width of my hips is between an 18 and a 20 pattern. That's a lot of changing in a short distance. Not something you find in RTW.

Anything I did buy was along the lines of this dress because the flared skirt helped with the fit. In terms of sewing, the princess seams are wonderful for fitting a curvy body and look fabulous on the triangle figure type when all the dips and curves match. That's important to me - that all the dips and curves match - because even though the skirt is full and flowing, the dress will be more flattering if the shoulders are narrowed and the waist and the bust points placed exactly for my figure. Clothes that fit are always more flattering.




I am willing to spend a huge amount of time fitting my sloper to make matching those points easier. V8659 also has a full skirt that makes fitting wide hips easier and the waist gathers are perfect for a full bust adjustment however, this pattern is designed to sit a the waist and if you don't know exactly where your waist is, it cannot sit there.



A really fitted dress like Butterick 5314, especially one with darts instead of princess seams is a nightmare to fit for a curvy body. I wouldn't have attempted it in the past. Now, with the information from Lynda's book and my sloper, it's completely doable and... if I want... I can change some of the design lines to be more flattering. In this case, I'd change the bodice to an armscye princess seam in the front. I perfer princes seams to darts.

I had thought to clean house today. That's not going to happen. Maybe tomorrow. Today, a slow morning and then some sewing. I'm REALLY curious to see how this blouse fits and get those numbers just right.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - surviving eight hours