One of the challenges for me as a plus size sewist is sleeves. I have very large biceps and upper arms.
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So choosing a blouse pattern is not just based upon bust, abdomen and hip measurements but also the sleeves. BTW, I nevah post pictures like this of my arms because in all honesty I'm not that thrilled with them. But hey we all don't like certain parts of our body - this just happens to be mine.
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I really want to make Butterick 5678 a princess seam blouse with cup sizes. Those cup size pattern pieces will make getting a good fit through the bustline much easier to achieve. The princess seams will also make alterations through the abdomen and hipline easier too.
The challenge is of course the sleeve. I really want a sleeve with a placket because I see this pattern as a jump-off for a lot ideas for fall/winter sewing. But the sleeve...*sigh* My bicep measurement is 16" which means that I need a finished measurement of at least 17" to fit my arm comfortably. I like a looser fit in a woven. The finished measurement on this one is 16.5"- so I need to alter it.
Since I want this to be a TNT pattern, I want to make the correct pattern alterations instead of the cheater methods I've used in the past. So I pulled my book, "Fit for Real People" by Pati Palmer & Marta Alto off the bookshelf to use the "proper" method to increase my bicep measurement.
Following the diagrams in the book...
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1. I marked the center of the sleeve with horizontal and vertical lines as outlined in the first step.
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2. Then I pinned the original to cutting my board. Cut the pattern piece and spread the vertical line a full inch at the bicep line. Next I taped the sides of the pattern and pinned it to my cutting mat.
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3. Placed a piece of pattern paper over the altered sleeve pattern and traced a new sleeve making sure not to alter the sleeve cap. This gave me an additional inch in the bicep area of the sleeve which should work fine for me now.
This was just the first of the pattern alterations for the shirt. Unless I come up with some really challenging ones, the rest will be detailed in the finished shirt blog post. It's really important that I get all the fitting and alterations right for this first one.
Version one will be made from a blue cotton chambray which has been prewashed and is laying on the cutting table now. I will be working on this shirt this weekend.
...as always more later!
So choosing a blouse pattern is not just based upon bust, abdomen and hip measurements but also the sleeves. BTW, I nevah post pictures like this of my arms because in all honesty I'm not that thrilled with them. But hey we all don't like certain parts of our body - this just happens to be mine.
(Sorry but the pattern has been discontinued)
I really want to make Butterick 5678 a princess seam blouse with cup sizes. Those cup size pattern pieces will make getting a good fit through the bustline much easier to achieve. The princess seams will also make alterations through the abdomen and hipline easier too.
The challenge is of course the sleeve. I really want a sleeve with a placket because I see this pattern as a jump-off for a lot ideas for fall/winter sewing. But the sleeve...*sigh* My bicep measurement is 16" which means that I need a finished measurement of at least 17" to fit my arm comfortably. I like a looser fit in a woven. The finished measurement on this one is 16.5"- so I need to alter it.
Since I want this to be a TNT pattern, I want to make the correct pattern alterations instead of the cheater methods I've used in the past. So I pulled my book, "Fit for Real People" by Pati Palmer & Marta Alto off the bookshelf to use the "proper" method to increase my bicep measurement.
Following the diagrams in the book...
1. I marked the center of the sleeve with horizontal and vertical lines as outlined in the first step.
2. Then I pinned the original to cutting my board. Cut the pattern piece and spread the vertical line a full inch at the bicep line. Next I taped the sides of the pattern and pinned it to my cutting mat.
3. Placed a piece of pattern paper over the altered sleeve pattern and traced a new sleeve making sure not to alter the sleeve cap. This gave me an additional inch in the bicep area of the sleeve which should work fine for me now.
This was just the first of the pattern alterations for the shirt. Unless I come up with some really challenging ones, the rest will be detailed in the finished shirt blog post. It's really important that I get all the fitting and alterations right for this first one.
Version one will be made from a blue cotton chambray which has been prewashed and is laying on the cutting table now. I will be working on this shirt this weekend.
...as always more later!