Gill McBride - Understanding and adjusting sewing patterns to make clothes that fit and flatter

UNDERSTANDING
AND ADJUSTING
SEWING PATTERNS

to make clothes that fit and flatter

UNDERSTANDING
AND ADJUSTING
SEWING PATTERNS

to make clothes that fit and flatter

GILL MCBRIDE

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2018 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2018

Gill McBride 2018

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of thistext may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 448 3

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following sewing students for their help with the photographs: Christine, Rita, Ros, Nicola and Mandy. Thanks to Jane Hunter of Hunters Atelier, for help with the photographs and diagrams.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

When a well-dressed person passes by, you will always notice them. They look good, walk tall and clearly feel good about themselves.

The clothes we wear reflect the mood we are in. How often have you stood in front of the wardrobe, doors open, looking at the clothes hanging inside and you cant decide what to wear. You cant find the right garment to suit your mood for the day. On the other hand, you may need to dress to suit the things you will be doing that day. If you are going to have a lazy day at home, youll probably choose comfortable casuals, such as soft trousers, a sloppy sweater or a loose T-shirt. If you are going to an important meeting, a smart skirt and blouse with a nice fitted jacket might be your choice. Whatever the day holds, your clothes are an important reflection of who you are and who you want to be. Knowing that your clothes fit well and that you look good in them can boost your mood, no matter what you are doing.

Its so infuriating when we see something in a shop that we love, but it just doesnt fit us properly. We might try the garment on, only to find that the darts are in the wrong place, the waistline is too high, the bust is too tight or too big, the length is wrong or the waist/hips dont fit. Sometimes we can buy a new garment and take it home and fix it so that it does fit us better, but how annoying is it that we have to alter a ready-to-wear garment.

Fitting is key. Clothes that fit well make us feel good, make us look good and give us confidence. When we wear a garment that doesnt fit just right, we end up tugging at the hem, pulling at the waist, fixing the shoulders and so on. Sometimes we are not aware of this constant rearranging of our clothes. But if we examine our wardrobe and pick out the garments that we feel really good wearing, this is probably because they fit well and we feel very comfortable in them.

It is the same when making your own clothes. Fitting is key. We buy a pattern, we cut it out and we make a new dress/jacket/trousers. Then we try the garment on and it may be OK, but not quite right. Luckily, we have made the garment in calico first! So we havent ruined our gorgeous fabric on a garment that doesnt fit properly. We take our calico toile (also called a muslin, and sometimes a fitting garment or test garment) and we begin to make fitting adjustments. Once we have achieved what we want in terms of fit and design, we then transfer all those adjustments to the paper pattern, ready to cut out the garment proper in our gorgeous fabric. Thats how fitting works.

Shape and size dont matter. Fitting is necessary for big and little, cuddly and slim, tall and short people. Once the fit is right, though, the garment will look great. A well-dressed person wearing well-fitting clothes is just that. We dont notice size or shape when we are looking at someone who is wearing beautifully fitted clothes. Well-fitted clothes enhance everybody.

Is Fitting Difficult?

There is a lot of anxiety around fitting. Many of us think we cant do it. There are lots of books on fitting and many of them make it seem very technical and very specialized, and this is also sometimes the case if the garment being fitted has a demanding design and unusual construction methods. But actually, anyone can learn how to fit the kind of clothes that we make at home for ourselves and our families. All it takes is time, a bit of judgement, common sense and growing confidence. The more you do it, the more you will learn about fitting and the more confident you will become about actually doing it. If we learn about the most common fitting issues concerning bust, hips, shoulders and trousers, that will allow us to fit almost all garments on ourselves and others to a really good standard. Once we are confident with those fitting issues, then our ability to recognize finer fitting issues will increase, and our fitting solutions will improve and also become more creative.

Learn Your Own Methods of Fitting

All commercial patterns come with lengthen/shorten lines. It is sensible to use them if the length of the garment you are fitting is not right, because they have been placed on the garment in an area that will not affect the style. For instance, there are often lengthen/shorten lines below the bust, below the hips, above the knee and above and below the elbow on sleeves. Use these lines if they are in the right place and they produce the desired result.

However, if you are fitting a garment on someone who is long from waist to hip, then you will almost certainly need to lengthen the dress, skirt or trousers between the waist and hip. The same applies to someone who is long from shoulder to bust apex/bust point. If the garment needs to be lengthened or shortened at either of those places or any other part of the garment then make the adjustment on the pattern at the point where you think it is going to produce the best result. Dont always rely solely on the guidelines given on the pattern pieces if you think there is a better alternative.

There is no right or wrong way of fitting. There are lots of guidelines and there are many traditional and accepted ways of fitting. There are also many sensible and straightforward ways of fitting. For instance, many people will feel apprehensive about making a full bust adjustment. It seems very complicated and many of us will try and avoid doing one. But actually, the traditional method of making a full bust adjustment can work very well on garments with both darts and princess seams. Once you understand the principle and have completed your first adjustment, the fear of making this adjustment is removed. You will tackle your next one much more confidently, and the door will be opened to you for making many more garments with darts and princess seams.

There are also less traditional, more creative ways of making fitting adjustments that work well for lots of fitting issues, and there is a lot of information available describing those more creative methods and the philosophy behind them. The key thing is that you understand the principle behind the method you have chosen and you can follow the method. Decide which way suits you best for each individual fitting issue and use it. Ultimately, if you do enough fittings, you will find your own preferred methods, and your growing confidence will allow you to make judgements about how to fit each individual garment on different people. You will probably end up using a mix of traditional methods and some that you have developed yourself because they work for you and get good results.