Dress-making - need some support and encouragement

[Katymac]

A long time ago (when I had a life) I used to make clothes. I successfully made jackets trousers and dresses. I never managed setting in sleeves or piecing a skirt on to a waist band - so my skills are limited.

I have decided to make a dress for a ballroom dancing competition. It doesn't have to be fabulous - it's just I can't find anything long enough, in my colours that I can wear a bra underneath.

So I need help, & support & nagging & advise and anything else anyone can help me with

Any takers

Surely you must have sewn shoulders together, before you put in facings...?

I think I fixed it

I machined the top and hand sewed the underneath

If I had sewn them firts I would have had to turn the whole dress through one of the shoulder straps (I think?)

Ahhh get your drift now....Yes you do pull them through one shoulder seam

As it is floor length, an almost full circle skirt and the shoulders are about an inch wide, I thought that would be a bad idea

The back doesn't lie very flat

The underarms are a bit wide

I think I might ask my mum to pin it on me, then chalk it, then unpick & have another go - what do you think?

Katymac: just a thought, but are you a B-cup? If not, that might explain the fitting issues at back and underarms.

There is a very good website for (mostly) sewers:

Patternreview which you can register for free or pay for membership (slightly more options for searching etc) and lots and lots of experienced people to help.

They taught me that patterns are designed for a B-cup (I'm a D-cup) and that was why I always ended up with wings under the arms, and shoulder straps falling off my shoulders.

God no - I'm a FF (I think or is it a G)

I have terrible problems getting clothes to fit me, I am very short waisted, have a small waist an enormous bum & very long legs and arms

I used to be a size 22 & it was much easier to get clothes then

I'm now down to a 14, sometimes a 16 or a 12 - depending upon the clothes

My pattern is so old it isn't on that site

Put it on inside out, and pin it to fit.

Take it off and make alterations equal on both sides

That's what I thought

I would love a 'form' (is that what they are called?) - but where on earth would you keep it

do you have a spare seat in the car? (!)

No - I have a 7 seater & I'm thinking of swopping for a minibus

You would think they would make a collapsable one

my wedding dress looked better on the form than it did on me!

dressmaker made form much more voluptuous than i am in RL. form looked ravishing

hell fizzbuzz. how's your wasphive?

hello

It's called a "stand" or a "stock".

Wasphive currently wasp free (at last check),
as no longer offers the tempting smell of hairspray

Right: apologies if I'm teaching grandmothers to suck eggs here....

Patterns (non-plus-sized) are generally designed for a B-cup bust ie they assume that the bust measurement you're using to choose your pattern size is 2" more than your chest measurement.

If (like me) you're not a B-cup, then to get the fit right around the back/shoulders you need to work out what your measurement would be if you were wearing a B-cup bra . So, when I'm not sporting a 7-month bump and boobs to match, that means I start from a 36 bra, and add the 2" they assume a B-cup adds to get a 38" bust measurement. That means I start from a size 16 pattern rather than the size 22 which my actual bust measurement would give me.

From there, you need to add fabric to cover the 'hills' at the front only - not at the side seams which will give you wings under the arms, and pulling over the boobs.

Patternreview has several postings on adjusting patterns for a full bust. There's also a tutorial on a Canadian website which I found very helpful.

I still have to add below the waist to allow for my hips/bum, but the shoulders etc. fit a lot better with the dart-style modification.

Katymac, how's your dress coming along, updates please.

That is really helpful thelady

So if I am adjusting under the arm (which is where I think the problem is) should I trim the front and back (ie take a dart) or just trim the back (no I don't think that will work - the seam will be in the wrong place) - so I guess a dart is the way to go - will that sort the back out too, hmm I will have a think

Screaminghousewife - it looks good but I have underarm wings and the back sort of pokes out a bit

Fixing the way I described is only really possible if you alter the pattern before you cut out the fabric . At this stage, I think your best bet is to take in under the arms, and possibly at centre back (if you have a seam there) to get it to fit as well as it can.

Next time, you can experiment with old sheets and just the top of a dress/blouse pattern until you get the fit right.

here is me writing about my adventures with changing a pattern to fit big boobs.... And here's another.

Thanks

My mum & I are going to have a play

At least it is too big - not too small

wish i had the problem of fitting clothes over big boobs >

i must say everyone has done a great job of describing and following instructions for how to adjust a pattern in a series of posts...

JoFan - at least you have the option of chicken fillets. I have to buy extra fabric to allow for the frontage - and discount lots of patterns because I don't want to draw attention to the Zeppelins which have relocated to my chest.

I used to be a B-cup. I wish!

wear the chicken fillets to be flat chested!

My mum pinned it on me & I need one tiny dart at the back and 2 fairly substantial ones under each arm

It does look good

I see from your post, Katymac that you're getting on ok. It's a bit late but I had this in my email box from threads today. Thought you might appreciate it for future projects.