Journaling - L
earning to fit and work with my sloper. |
| M6076 - Three princess-seamed shirts |
I'm also learning to
question, my sloper.
I'm starting with a basic princess-seamed shirt pattern -
McCalls 6076.Initially I'm working with the
princess-seam in shoulder seam option (
view A). (
others in line drawing below)
Noted so far- Learning to compare front or back pattern pieces to my sloper, I have to learn where to place them. Do I line up the base of underarm seam/armscye? If I start comparing at shoulder seam I can get thrown off because I often need to alter this area - except on some commercial patterns, when it's fine!
First time through with a
test-garment (that's the
one I'll actually wear, one step beyond my muslin) I'm making a
sleeveless version. I'm taking careful note of where I
-a- I
alter the underarm seam (armscye) to create a tighter fitting armhole
-b- Take the top of the armhole back somewhat, for this no-sleeve version.
Later I'll test the muslin with a muslin
sleeve, where I'll test the pattern
without both of these (a and b) alterations.
Another
benefit to a sleeveless test garment is, I'm getting it out of a piece that is
somewhat less than 2 yards. I will be
piecing the under collar, and also the front facing. But I don't expect those piecing line to show.
Waistline and Princess Seam AlterationsWorking on a very fitted look without overfitting Would be better to add an extra seam allowance - 1 inch instead of 5/8- for all this playing around
Lots of trying on here! Did same front and back on all 4 princess seams
I made sure to
safety pin the front closed matching up the button hole marks, so that I don't overfit. I want the shirt to button and need a certain amount of overlap for that.
- First I basted a 1/4 inch seam along the princess stitching line
- Then increased (still with a basting stitch) the princess line seam allowance to 7/8"
- Then I
unabasted the second line of basting below the bust and graded back to the 7/8"
- Finally I took in/graded the waist with a kind of elongated half oval, about 3 and 1/2 inch above and below the
waist. Challenging figuring out
when to alter waist and when to alter princess seams - lots of
safety pin basting helped with that
Altering Armscye/Armhole for Sleeveless Version I took the shoulder seam back towards the neck for an improved sleeveless style* Compared to my sloper, and graded in 1/2 inch at bottom of armhole/armscye on side seam for sleeveless. Then I graded back out to original side seam after, hummm.... about one to two inches? A
french curve is handy for doing that. I admit, I eyeballed it. I
kept the original full seam on the pattern, because I'll probably want it
for the sleeved version. I also kept it on the muslin so I can reuse the muslin when testing a sleeved version.
* I also tested raising the side seam up for the sleeveless version (based on what I learned in French Pattern Drafting class going from moulage to sloper) , but it was too tight.
* For sleeveless, I'm r
aising outside shoulder (taking it back towards the neck line)
for sleeveless style - 1 3/8" (11/8") without S.A. -
so probably either 9/8 (1 and18) or 6/8 (3/4) " cut back/off - the first for 1/4" and second 5/8" S.A. I'll
mark on the pattern what works for
sleeveless - but
keep the full original armscye on pattern for
sleeved version test.
In addition to desirability of a sleeveless shirt for our late-running summer-in-fall weather, this helps me to
focus on fitting aspects of the torso. The sleeve adds in a whole 'nother fit challenge, even though it means I have to make alterations when I go between sleeveless and sleeved. A good reason to journal!
 |
| M6076 - Test Garment Fit In Progress |
Shoulder Seams * I ended up adding 1/2" (better would have been more - because I only took a 1/4 "seam allowance (
S.A.) - so next time add in 7/8") to the
back* I therefore took back 1/2" from the front because of alteration to back. Again because I only sewed the 1/4" S.A., next time through I will add back another 3/8 inch and sew a full 5/8" S.A.
* I've made this shoulder line adjustment many times, the reason I didn't catch it when comping my Master Pattern Trace (M.P.T.) to the sloper? For the back - I
forgot that the S.A. is not included in the sloper pattern, as it is in the commercial pattern. (Often forget this). For the front, I don't know. The front of my sloper just looks too high. The No S.A. sloper comes out at the same time as the M.P.T.. So it seems like maybe I should make a
tentative adjustment to my sloper front - dropping it by perhaps.... 3/8 or 1/2 inch. It's challenging thinking between with and without S.A. But this is something to think about math 'wise as I continue to work comparing my sloper to patterns I trace.
- I pin basted the muslin to make sure I had a basic fit, but I really didn't see the shoulder issues until I cut out and stitch -basted the test garment. In the future, maybe encourage myself to stitch-baste that muslin. I have a way of not seeing the pattern as real until I move past the muslin. It seems good enough, and I really want to see it as an actual garment. And with the pins in, I'm always in a hurry to get out of it!
I
basted with a stitch length of 6 and starting out with 1/4" seams. Then I keep trying it on and increasing the S.A. up to 5/8" . Alternatively, I could have added a full 1" S. A. on the first pass, but I figured since the muslin was OK, I didn't need to.
Right now I'm happy with
accurately placed shoulder seams - which gives a shirt a
custom fitted look. I took in the 2 side seams more, but they are still a little loose. However, I haven't yet basted a deeper princess seam (4 actual seams). Once I check those, I'll know if I want to grade in - all or some of - the side seams to increase the fitted look.
~ ~ ~ Web Resources ~~~
An interesting related fitting post, that journals some of the challenges of fitting a basic princess-seamed pattern
http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php?topic=16322.0
Since I got my sloper done, I look at other woman's frocks with a new eye. I ran into Rebecca, on a toasty day while we were waiting for our devices to get fixed at the apple store, and she was kind enough to let me photo her in this great rose-embellished, gingham summer dress.
Had I not known that the ancient Unicorn Tapestries were here, somewhere, in the most populous of modern cities, I never would have sought out The Cloisters. 
I posted previously about the denim cap that I took along on my trip to New York to both trim and finish with simple hand sewing. I bought the beads and Swarovski crystals for this project in the New York garment district as well as the trims for the denim cap.
I'd also taken along the tapestry cap I had made to replace the one I began embellishing on my trip to Vancouver last year - and then lost. I talked about that project in the Enchanted by Sewing Audio/Podcast Capping off Summer, that you can still listen to. I've already worn this cap (and it's matching mobile pocket bag) practically all summer. They both came in pretty hand on our trip to England and Scotland, and have worn well. I carried the mobile pocket bag all over New York too - perfect for my MTA transit card, keys and small amounts of cash I carried with me.
Hand embellishment is the perfect sewing project for me to take along when traveling, and it's such a good excuse for some low-key and less expensive shopping! I used things I bought right away, and they didn't take much room in my bag. Also, I don't always take the time to do this kind of work when sewing at home - but I felt quite inspired to finish this embellishment, begun on the trip once I got home. Unlike the pearled-denim cap that I finished, and wore, on the trip. I still had some beading to do on this tapestry cap when I got home. But a few days after my return, it was done.
I went part way along with Rosalinda when she headed off to her graduate studies Friday night , then made an abrupt turn at Washington Square and headed for West Greenwich Village. Yah, yah, I know they call it "the village" around here. I was in the mood for a walk that involved more than window shopping, and I found it when I stumbled on Jefferson Market Garden. The garden is one of those hidden gems I always hope I'll discover on a ramble.
