Thursday, November 21, 2013

Fitting Woes - To Wad or not to Wad

I have been busy sewing lately - just not busy posting! oops! lol.

First let's talk about the mess I have on my hands.  I'm working on a Burda Polo Shirt Dress.
The fabric: Red Lacoste knit with very little stretch.
I performed a square shoulder adjustment of 1/2"
I also completed a swayback adjustment of 3/4"
I used my size 40 top to 44 hip.
I added 1/4" to each hip (gently sloped from waist)

Here is the problem photo.


Why. Why do I get those stinking lines from chest diagonally to waist/hip?  I have googled my eyes out with no answers.  I am awaiting on Nancy's "pattern fitting with confidence" to arrive today from amazon.
Now I almost, almost think I need to add a bust dart? Check below picture.
On your left side (my right) I have sloppily pined up the fabric in a makeshift dart (as best I could while still wearing the dress).  See how the lines disappear? The right has no pin/dart and lines - the left has pin/dart with no lines.  Do I need to add a dart?

This is a work in progress, it has not been pressed out and seams are basted. Please excuse the massive amount of wrinkles and lack of buttons.  I also think the sleeve length is crap on me.

Suggestions? Please? lol.

Also, I've been slowly adding bits and pieces to K's wardrobe:

Some cute Jalie 3242 Undies. Seriously the best fitting undies. (Size O for K - 4 sizes up from her normal size) I love mine - too much! lol. I need to make more. And they use such little scraps. 

Jalie 2805 Size "O" - 4 sizes up from her measurements.  l/s tee - sort of a color block with leftovers. It fits her wonderfully and I plan to make more. (note: I do need to shorten it 2 inches as it is quite long)

Ottobre 06/2013 Leggings #38 Size 134 - wild leftover ITY from my recent tie knot tank. Perfect over K's leotard for dance class. 

So that is what I've been up too.  Currently, I am tracing out a l/s color block knock-off tee for me that I saw on J.Crew - excited.

What have you been sewing lately?
oh! and do you have any suggestions for my red wadder up top?


~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

17 comments:

  1. I agree about the bust dart! I think it looks better fitting that way, so I would go ahead and try it. Your neckline looks fantastic! You are way ahead of me on all the adjustments you do. I haven't gotten much into that; still seems a little overwhelming. I have done FBA, but that is about all. One of my girls wants me to make her some Jalie undies. Glad to hear they fit well. Leggings are something you can never have enough of. I need to get busy on some.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the advice Shirley Ann ! Sometimes you just need a second opinion other than your own ;-)
      Thanks on the neckline - I used a tutorial from here http://twoontwooff.blogspot.com/2008/07/polo-shirt-placket-tutorial.html and it worked awesome.
      I used nancy's pivot and slide method for the adjustments. they are so easy to understand - so easy.
      I agree on the leggings - I need to get going on some for myself! :)
      Thanks again!

      Delete
    2. I've got one of Nancy's books on my Christmas list! I've read how helpful her methods are from your blog, so I'm anxious to get it! I have other books that make my head spin, so they sit on the shelf until I am at that level. LOL

      Delete
    3. Awesome Shirley Ann! I'm so excited for you! It will really make sense to you. I promise!

      Delete
  2. Where you put in the quick and dirty dart, the fit is definitely better! My knowledge of correcting fitting issues is pretty slim so I'm really not any help. Sorry!

    The Jalie top is cute as are the leggings.:) Why do you sew 4 sizes up with the Jalie patterns for your daughter? Do Jalie patterns run small? I have an OOP camisole/shelf bra/underwear Jalie pattern that I keep meaning to pull out and use for new undies for my little girls. I used it one time to make a pair of panties for BK (my bigger little girl) and they were a little small. They fit MG (the older and smaller little girl) better. Since it was my first time sewing a Jalie pattern, I thought I just made a mistake tracing the pattern off.;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindy,
      lol "quick and dirty" so funny. Thanks though! I'll have to try it with the dart. so frustrating when my body doesn't fit patterns! ha!

      Jalie: they do run slim - even with my sizes; I've just come to learn that K has to be sized up because she is not a "slim fitting" girl at all! She's built well. In "normal" RTW she fits in an 8/10 and she is 7. So for Jalie I'm sewing at an 11! but her measurements put her in a 7? weirdness. For myself, I usually sew up 2 sizes from my actual measurements.

      You should totally make the undies. they actually fit nice and cover - way better than store bought.

      Delete
  3. Yes, I think you would like the fit better with a dart. I have darts in all my knits and I am hardly a large busted person. Just means that I don't get those lines. Of course, no one who buys RTW would notice since most of them have those lines:-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jane! You are so right, they do show in RTW too. Sewing my own clothes brings out the perfectionist in me!

      Delete
  4. I wouldn't chuck it, it's got potential! To my eyes the bust dart does the trick. I think there is no issue with having a dart in a knit if it's fairly stable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Philippa! I do hope it turns out. I fear it is doomed to be a shirt and not a dress. Being a pear shape sucks sometimes. I feel like my hips are the size of a small country!

      Delete
  5. That wrinkle says "please give me a bust dart" to me. If your knit has so little stretch, I would treat it as a woven for fitting purposes. Other than the pulling at the bust, the fit looks great and your placket is very nice! I also really love those wild leggings. My daughter would wear those all the time! And maybe not just to dance class... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! funny! I love when wrinkles talk :D
      You are absolutely right, there is so little stretch it really acts more like a woven. Thanks on the other parts!
      Yes, K will most likely wear them elsewhere too, if they last, she is so hard on stuff.

      Delete
  6. I checked my fitting books as well (I am using the Palmer Pletsch approach), but couldn't find any problem similar to yours. But seeing the great effect the dart has, you definitively have to add it. Especially if your knit is not so stretchy! I hope it works well :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for looking it up for me :) I will be trying the dart, when I stop putting it off! lol

      Delete
  7. If you have a straight garment worn on any kind of curves, wrinkles are unavoidable, unless you're wearing a heavy woven that will fall straight down. But with a knit, the curves in the front and back both pull the fabric, making those vertical/diagonal lines at the transition from curve to non-curve. I just made a straight knit tunic and have the same lines going from the back to the seat. With pooling at the small of the back, it's a little easier to tell what to do - pinch the excess fabric and you can see a fisheye dart would do the trick. Here, if you pinch the fabric, you can see a dart.

    It seems the traditional fitting books are showing alterations in wovens and aren't often addressing the drag lines and wrinkles we're getting because knits stretch and pull more easily. However, the same principles apply.

    Anyway, your wrinkles are normal, not terrible (: And the collar and placket are adorable. I think it'll be a cute dress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Joy! I agree, no help for fitting knits in any of my books. Darn wrinkles. I know, they have to be there for the bumps and curves but somehow I equate wrinkles with "problem". I need to re-train my brain! Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

      Delete
  8. Oh - one last thing (sorry!). On RTW, we don't usually see darts in knits, but either they're just letting the drag lines and wrinkles exist, or they're allowing for the curve by using shape in the seam lines instead of darts, or closely fitting knit fabric that just stretches for the curves.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments really make my day! I read each and every one. Thank you!

Sorry for the word verification. I've had too many spammers lately.