The Sewing Room

Justamum

PootleFlump wrote: »

Hart, I have done a couple of new look patterns. I am normally a size 8/10 in skirts and it told me when doing my skirt (based on pattern sizes) that I was a 12. I did an 8 and it fitted (had to omit 2 darts but apart from that it was a perfect fit).

The darts are there for shaping, so if you had made the size 12 and put the darts in it would have fitted perfectly too. By not making the darts you made the skirt bigger than the size 8!

You should go by the measurements on the pattern and ignore the size you would buy clothes from a shop.

hart44

Bunny200 wrote: »

Oh thats soooooo much easier, I've just made a couple of tote bags and cut off the corner as a triangle (lining up the side seam with the bottom fold) but I really wasn't confident about doing it as you are lining up something you can't see. It came out ok but I'd be much happier doing it that way!!!!

Im no good without pic's :rotfl: but the description rang a bell :rotfl:

mollymunchkin

Thanks Hart, that makes more sense. The bit that is confusing me is the folding of the fabric and then sewing the seams. Hard to explain without the diagram. I'm going to redo it and bodge it myself. Wish me luck! *Not tonight though because my child is refusing to go to bed and if he sees me sewing he definitely won't go and will offer to 'help' which mainly consists of distacting me, lol.

hart44

mollymunchkin wrote: »

Thanks Hart, that makes more sense. The bit that is confusing me is the folding of the fabric and then sewing the seams. Hard to explain without the diagram. I'm going to redo it and bodge it myself. Wish me luck! *Not tonight though because my child is refusing to go to bed and if he sees me sewing he definitely won't go and will offer to 'help' which mainly consists of distacting me, lol.

Hope it goes well and sorry I couldnt help more
Don't you just love children :rotfl:

rosalie-lavender

Justamum wrote: »

The darts are there for shaping, so if you had made the size 12 and put the darts in it would have fitted perfectly too. By not making the darts you made the skirt bigger than the size 8!

You should go by the measurements on the pattern and ignore the size you would buy clothes from a shop.

I agree with this. Patterns sizing is different to shop sizing. Some years ago the shops changed the measurements on their sizes but dress patterns stayed the same. I am a size 10 to 12 in shop sizes but have to cut a 12 to 14 in patterns.

I find the best thing to do if I am in any doubt is to cut the main parts of the pattern out and measure the actual pattern. What can cause a problem is different patterns are cut with different amounts of ease and some are cut to be loose and others close fitting. If a pattern says it is fitted I am particularly careful because I know there is less scope for cutting mistakes. Another thing that can be helpful is to pin together the main pattern pieces and hold them up against you before you cut the fabric and see how it looks for size. I find this helpful for necklines and shoulders in particular. You should also find that somewhere on the pattern it will give the actual finished measurements for each size for bust, hip and length. Sometimes they are on the actual pattern not the envelope.

The sewing world magazine quite often has articles about how to alter patterns to take account of different fitting issues. One that crops up regularly is the bust alteration. Most patterns are cut for a B cup and people that are bigger than that can find that they need to cut a bigger size to get the bust big enough and then it is big on the shoulders. There is a fairly easy alteration that can be done to a pattern to put extra in the bust area only, leaving the shoulders/armholes etc alone.

I have this book that covers a lot of fitting problems and how to adjust for them. It is available in my local library too.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-Fit-Pattern-Alterations-Figure/dp/1561586498/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276924685&sr=1-1

hart44

Thank you Rosalie and justamum
I am going to trace the size 14 before cutting the pattern so I can do 12 or 14 if needed
I thought about tacking all pieces before sewing so I can adjust it if needed.
My daughter is a size 8-10 so I will have both sizes if all goes pear shaped :rotfl:

Hope to show pic later of finishes dress (well it is supposed to take 2 hours to make :rotfl:)

hart44

Just had a look at the book Rosalie I think it will be a book I need to get as I would love to make more clothes. Thank you

xxvickixx

I bought some lovely fabrics yesterday on the market. Kandi, they had the strawberry fabric too with the same print on a navy, white or pale yellow background. I ended up choosing white but now wish I'd gone for the yellow. It's such a pretty print and so Summery.

Now need to decide what to make.

23rdspiral

hi, just popping in on my way off to glasters to post a pic so i can remember where i've got to!

here's some little toadstalls that have kept me busy though the footie!

Kandipandi

You lot have been busy! I would love a girl to make for, my boys just won't wear those skirts