Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Crepe Sewalong: Muslin II
Bodice Front, altered original
Front Changes:
1 inch Full Bust Adjustment
lowered bust dart 1 inch
1 inch "sway chest" tuck to shorten front chest length
lowered neckline 1 1/2 inches
decreased armhole depth by 5/8 inches
lowered front dart 2 inches
shifted front dart toward side seam by 1 1/2 inches
added 2 inches length to center front, tapered to original side seam
Bodice Back, altered original
Back Changes:
eliminated waist dart
3 inch tuck removed at shoulder, tapered to nothing at side seam
1 inch swayback tuck (proved to be an erroneous alteration, see below for details)
After about five hours of work today, muslin II is sewn and ready for analysis. It's not perfect, but I think there has been progress. It does needed tweaked again. I am hopeful I only need one more muslin to perfect this. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Muslin II Bodice Back:
In Muslin I there was still some gaping and falling at the shoulders that I corrected by tucking the front bodice shorter in the chest. I am not entirely sure I have the alteration perfect, but I can positively say that the shoulders are a snug fit now. Everything stayed in place as it should.
I am concerned about that pull line at the shoulder, wrinkling from the armpit to the "bra strap area." Not sure where is too tight to cause that pull... I am wondering if perhaps the arm hole itself is a bit too small and I need to drop the side seem a tiny bit for ease...
Also, I made a swayback adjustment in this version that I need to correct. It turns out I should not have taken that tuck. I need that 1 inch back in order to allow the lower waist seem to run parallel to my waist. Even still, there is a bit of excess fabric under the shoulder blade. I wonder if I should put a new, smaller, angled waist dart in to control that poofing, but I might just wait and see if waist ties help the fit, rather than fiddle too much.
Muslin II Bodice Side:
Muslin II Bodice Front
I am really optimistic about this front fit. It looks better than most bodice fronts I work with. That said, the bust darts are still too high. I need to lower another inch or so. The waist darts look really good. I think they are in the right place under my bust. They could stand to be lowered another 1/2 inch, and made to curve for a snugger under bust fit, as seen in the second picture.
The shoulder and front chest are really looking pretty solid. There is a tiny bit of excess in my armpits, but if I tuck it out then it becomes hard to move my arms up, so perhaps this is the price for ease of wear?
There are diagonal drag lines between my left side dart and my right bust apex. My right bust is a bit fuller, and I think it is pulling the fabric. Not sure how to fix this, except I might sew my right bust dart a tiny bit shallower for more ease. The drag lines are eliminated when I curve the waist darts, so perhaps a combo of lowering and curing these darts will fix the pulling.
Areas of concern for version III include:
Back Shoulder: The inside shoulder, near my neck. It seems to be pulling. I usually need a high round back, but assumed I would not on this wrap back style. Could I need a little bit of a high round on the upper shoulder to release this pulling? Then again, is adding a high round back sort of like putting back some of that big tuck I took out at the shoulder... I do not want to undo progress.
Back Sleeve: The sleeve, as it seems to be pulling, especially on the lower armpit area. The interesting thing is that it does not bind or constrict at all as I wear it. It doesn't feel too tight, only looks it. I wonder if slightly lowering the side seam in the armpit by about 1/2 inches would ease some of the strain? I also wonder, alternatively, if redrafting a bit of the curve of the sleeve shape would help. It feels low, and when I look at the stitching line, it is odd because it kind of arches near the armpit, then dips lower around the outside arm. I think a gently, even curve might be more flattering. I will have to look at slightly redrafting the sleeve hem shape.
Front darts: They both need lowered, and the waist darts need curved for under bust definition.
Front neckline: I may or may not deepen this a little bit. Any
What issues do you see? Suggestions welcome and encouraged.
The Swayback Mistake, documented:
I did take a swayback adjustment between Muslin I and Muslin II, which proved an error. I thought I would document the alteration and the result for educational purposes.
Muslin I, no swayback tuck, yet:
Muslin I, tucked for a swayback
Muslin II, pinned with swayback adjustment
Muslin II, pinned as though no swayback adjustment made
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Crepe Sewalong: Muslin I
Crepe Dress Muslin I complete and ready for critique. It's not perfect, it's not abysmal, and my general consensus is that just like Palmber/Pletsch suggests, it is important to fit the back first. Notes on each area below. Comments welcome and encouraged.
Note: I made one change to the pattern before the fabric muslin by completing a 1 inch Full Bust Adjustment, which also meant redrafting the waist darts. I retained the waist dart's original size, which also gave me a 1 inch wide waist adjustment, adding some width around my middle.
Original Muslin I - No Changes (yet): A glaring issue with the back surfaced right away, so rather than critique the fit before my first round of necessary alterations to the back, I waited to critique the front, side, and back fit until after fixing the glaring issue. Read on for the "post-tuck" summary for further fit analysis.
Note: I made one change to the pattern before the fabric muslin by completing a 1 inch Full Bust Adjustment, which also meant redrafting the waist darts. I retained the waist dart's original size, which also gave me a 1 inch wide waist adjustment, adding some width around my middle.
Original Muslin I - No Changes (yet): A glaring issue with the back surfaced right away, so rather than critique the fit before my first round of necessary alterations to the back, I waited to critique the front, side, and back fit until after fixing the glaring issue. Read on for the "post-tuck" summary for further fit analysis.
Fabric Muslin Front - no changes (yet)
Fabric Muslin Side - no changes (yet)
Post-back tucks:
Back with Tucks (two different types of tucks)
I should also note that the waist darts in the back are oddly placed on me. They are waaaaay too far toward the side seem. I should either eliminate them (the choice I am leaning towards), or move them under my shoulder blade, about 3 inches closer to center.
I also need a bit more length on the wrap, so I may just add about 2 inches to the edge where the wraps attache and true up the back angle. I will wait to release the darts and see what I need in added length.
Diagonal Tuck
Horizontal Tuck
Front with Tucks
Side with Tucks
Any other thoughts? Please share.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Crepe Sewalong: Tissue Fit I
I am pretty impressed with the fit in the front. That dart is too high, but I am going to wait until after my Full Bust Adjustment to worry about it, as the FBA drops the dart position. I know I will need to bring that waist dart down a bit too, it is nearly overlapping my apex. However, I noticed I have other shirts in my closet with a high side bust dart, and part of me wonders if the drafting purposefully placed the darts this high, to somehow wrangle in the fabric and fit in the armpit/cap sleeve area. I hope watching other people's fitting and alterations in the Flickr group will help me figure this out.
Thankfully, the center front looks pretty even all the way along my center front, which means I may not have too much of a wide waist issue to tweak. Again, I'll see after the full bust adjustment. The shoulder seems fine, the neckline width looks pretty good. I hesitate to be so optimistic, but this might be an easy fit!
Next up, the fabric muslin fit. Onward and forward we go!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Crepe Sewalong: Fabric
Anyway, I think it will be perfect for the Crepe dress. the shell fabric is an all cotton lawn. The lining is a lightweight silk/cotton blend lining. I have black lightweight Palmer Pletsch interfacing that I will be using for the first time and is reported fabulous. And I plan to pick up a bit of silk organza to stay the neckline and armholes per the sewalong agenda. The colors are sophisticated but the floral is feminine and soft. The fabric is light and soft with a gentle drape, but such a high quality that it is sturdy and opaque. But I plan to fully underline it anyway, as Elfriede would say "for modesty."
This will be a lovely spring/summer frock. I have a good feeling about this dress.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Colette's Crepe Dress Sewalong
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I am really optimistic about this dress. It wraps instead of button or zipper closures, which is brilliant for ease of fitting and simplicity of sewing. It has cute cap sleeves, that are not sewn in. The shape is flattering for all, and I even have the pattern and fabric already. Woohoo. See the examples from the Colette website for an idea of the project. I am already working on it!
Sewing optimism springs ever eternal.
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