I've been having a bit of a bad run with dressmaking lately, allsorts of problems but mainly around fitting. I am pear shaped with rounded shoulders and a High Rounded Back (Don’t want to use the Dowager Hump description!!) so I always seem to have to modify patterns a lot and I don’t feel I’m doing it properly and every pattern seems a uphill battle. Of course Sewaholic patterns aren’t so bad as Tasia is designing for me…
…but the Big 4 are giving me problems and I get very disheartened. So I came to a conclusion yesterday that I need to find the ultimate solutions to all my problems, specifically the HRB/DH. I’ve found lots of resources with lots of possible solutions to the problem, ranging from shoulder darts, to a kinda FBA on the back to moving shoulder seams to easing the fullness into the seams. My first thought was that I would get a pattern that doesn’t work for me and try each method out and see what works the best. Once I have the best solution I could apply that to any new pattern. Then I got to thinking, how about I drafted my own bodice pattern? Surely that would immediately cater for my lumps and bumps as I would have measured around them and dealt with them. Once I had that bodice pattern I wouldn’t need to buy Big 4 patterns as most of my patterns are the same, Fit N’ Flare dresses so in theory I could use my ultimate bodice pattern, adapt the neckline (scoop, boat-neck, jewel, sweetheart, peter pan), add sleeves (cap, short, 3/4 length, full) and a skirt, (circle, a-line, full gathered etc.).
I’m fairly conventional in my likes and dislikes and I seem to keep buying similar patterns and I don’t mind wearing the same dress pattern over and over again IF it works for me so why not spend my time building and reusing a block/sloper? Although I don’t have a huge amount of experience in drafting there are loads of resources out there I could use.
So what do you think, neither solution is quick n easy, they both require time, commitment and measurements but I can’t decide which to do
- Find my optimum adjustments and apply them to commercial patterns as I need to?
- Draft my ultimate bodice and use that to design my own dresses/tops
I think I’m veering towards option 2 as that's always been my long-term goal but I’m just not sure if its something I could accomplish? What do you think, 1 or 2?
I'd say do the one that most appeals, so option 2! Either way there's going to be a lot of fitting iterations involved. (I say this as someone who's done neither though!)
ReplyDelete