Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Helpful Links for Bust Alterations

Hey peeps! I'm nursing a cold and am generally in no shape to be giving out sewing advice right now. But since we're working on bodice fitting this week, I thought I'd give you a quick run-down of links to help you out. Take it away, internets!

For the petite of bust:
  • "My Cup Does Not Runneth Over" on Hungry Zombie Couture. A great, comprehensive guide to doing a small bust adjustment.
  • "Small Bust Adjustment" on The Slapdash Sewist. Lots of good examples here.
  • "Parfait SBA, S'il Vous Plait." My own little (no pun intended) article on adjusting Colette Pattern's Parfait dress for a small bust. This is the basic method I plan to use on Crepe, if needed. I'm going to make my muslin first, and then pinch out fabric where needed, lengthwise and horizontally.
For the bodacious of bust:
I will say that if you're not absolutely sure that you'll need to do a bust adjustment, start out with the pattern muslin and go from there. Patty, who usually does an FBA, did not have to do one for the Crepe pattern (see her super cute version here!) On the other hand, if you think you may need an SBA, it's easy enough to start with your muslin and pinch out excess fabric from there.

If anyone wants to show how they're making pattern alterations, I'm always (more than) open to guest posts here.

Don't forget to come by the Sew-Along Flickr Pool and join up! We're going strong at 99 members, and there's some gorgeous fabric choices to look at. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter to meet other sew-alongers, hear entrancing updates on the state of my sinuses (stuffy), read about my triumphs over book deadlines, and other fascinating, pithy observations.

Off to pathetically blow my nose . . . 

25 comments:

  1. When Colette patterns first came out, I'm pretty sure I remember reading that they were drafted for a bigger bust than that of your average commercial pattern ie. at least a C cup rather than a B. Thus if people have 'normal' bust alterations that they do then those may not apply here.

    I personally like Debbie Cook's tutorials for FBAs, found here: http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com/2001/02/tutorials.html

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  2. PS. Hope you're feeling better soon :-)

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  3. The SINGLE BEST RESOURCE --bar none-- for full bust adjustments on the internet is Debbie Cook's tutorials:
    http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com/2001/02/tutorials.html

    She has a ton of other tutorials and techniques too, but her full bust adjustment pages are GOLD.

    Nursing a rotten cold here, so sending you get-well vibes! (hoping karma vicariously blesses me too for my generosity. ha.)

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  4. Ha, Lucy & I were posting at the same time. Proof positive. ;)

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  5. Thanks for this roundup of bust adjustment links, Gertie! As the petite of bust (darn you, pear shaped body! lol.) I can never have enough resources for how to do an SBA, especially since there aren't as many (at least that I've found) as there are for FBA adjustments. Shall be including this in my weekly links roundup too! ;)

    ♥ Casey | blog

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  6. Thank you Gertie! As an advanced beginner in sewing, I have struggled with fitting my C+ cup. You're a treasure of knowledge, even when you're down with a cold!

    Hope you feel better soon!

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  7. So I've never seen you mention the "pivot and slide" method for FBA. They're super easy and how I usually go about doing my FBAs. However, I wonder if maybe there is something flawed and that your method is better. I'm always eager to learn!

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  8. Thanks for the resources, Gertie!! Hope you're feeling better real soon!!

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  9. I concur with Patty, that the FBA on Colette Patterns is likely not warranted (unless you are extremely well-endowed). I fit a 6/8 in Sarai's patterns, I am narrow but my chest is more than DD, and I haven't needed to do an FBA with any of her patterns. Disclaimer: I haven't made this dress...

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  10. So sorry to hear you've got The Cold. It seems everyone I know has it, or has had it. No fun.

    I wonder if anyone is having questions about fitting their shoulders? I've had good luck helping people with that lately. Perhaps I will look on your flickr sewalong page to see if anyone has questions.

    Feel better!

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  11. Feel better soon! Thanks for the links!

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  12. Ladies - I have about a gagillion Full Bust Adjustment posts on my blog (actually only 19, but it feels like more). That first one Gertie linked to was the start of a wide world of bust adjustments. I have the FBA posts tagged for easy viewing.

    I am ALWAYS looking for fellow full busted seamstresses to share tips, techniques, and fit assistance. Please drop me a note if you document similar fit processes. I would love to see what works for you and how your fit turns out.

    Also, I did a tissue fit last night on my Crepe and was surprised that it only looks like I will need an inch or so of a Full Bust Adjustment. I usually need much more. I did however notice that the bust dart is really high, much higher than my apex, so I might need to lower that. There is a chance other busty gals might need to lower the dart points as well.

    I just joined the Flickr group and will start posting my progress soon. Good luck to all of you undergoing the FBA. :)

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  13. Another helpful full bust link is here at the So-So Sewist blog:

    http://sewing-lingerie-myself.blogspot.com/2010/03/fun-with-fbas.html

    This FABULOUS woman went through and did different types of full bust adjustments, noting how each adds width and length in different places. You can see how the armsyche changes shape and the pros and cons of different methods.

    Enjoy!

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  14. How do you know if you need an SBA? I pin fit mine quickly when I got home, and the darts are way too high, but there didn't seem to be much bagginess, at least not in the front. The back was another story and was much too big.

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  15. Just wanted to give a tiny tiny basic tip (from someone who always needs to do a FBA):

    Get a piece of string and roughly measure your bust from "side seam" (I use the side seam in my bra - tis perfect) to side seam going straight over your nipples.

    Fold the string in half.

    Place it down on your bodice piece and unless it's no more than a half inch or so longer than your muslin won't be a waste of time.

    One thing I've noticed is that a full bust can often easily eat into the ton of ease provided in patterns and RTW.

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  16. Hooray for FBA tips! Sometimes sewing for my body is a boob nightmare.
    Hope you feel better soon!

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  17. Bookmarking this page. Thanks so much Gertie, for the links. Hope you feel better soon.

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  18. If Colette Patterns are drafted for a C cup, and I'm a C/D cup, then do I use my bust size or my high bust size to figure out the starting size?

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  19. For my small-busted sisters, this is how I'm working through the SBA. I started with the tutorial from Hungry Zombie. However, because the waist dart on the Crepe pattern is so large compared to the bust dart, I found I needed to shift some of the fullness to the bust dart first to make it work. Basically the same idea -- just slash through the center of both darts and hinge that section to close up the waist dart a bit. Then the Hungry Zombie method will allow you to make a substantial SBA. Hope that helps someone.

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  20. Thanks for the links. I've been trying to draft a bodice from scratch and have struggled here and there to find the right sized darts. I found this link helpful:

    http://www.seamlyne.com/design/costume/bodice/bodice_index.html

    The site for constructing costumes for Renaissance Fairs, but they have a helpful bust size - dart size conversion chart that can be used for bodices of any era.

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  21. I'm a pretty buxom gal, somewhere around DD, and I didn't need to do a FBA with this pattern. Yay Colette! However, I did need to shorten the waist and bust darts by 1.5 inches and drop the bust darts by 1 inch. To my bodacious sisters out there: darts - both waist and bust - should end at least an inch from the nip :)

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  23. Thank you so much for this post. With full figure top and tiny waist, I have been going insane with ill fitting clothes for as long as I can remember.

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  24. Great post am a buxom but on a diet and normally shed from there so heres hoping lol

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Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! xo Gertie

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