A Few Thoughts on Grainlines and Pattern Changes

Hi readers! Yesterday in my post I mentioned that I had taken ease out of the bottom center front of my bodice, and tapered up to the neckline, creating a new center front. (Edit: I should mention again that the reason I took out excess at the waistline this way was that I found wearing a corset required special fitting at the waist. Taking out from the side seams--which should be your first option for removing waistline excess--only caused horizontal pulls.) Of course, this created a new grainline. A commenter asked, "How much do you think you can take out of the CF and not effect the grain line of the bodice?"


Well, that's an interesting question that has a complicated answer. I'll give you my thoughts and you can let me know if you think I'm an idiot. (I know some of you aren't shy about that!)


First, you are definitely affecting the grainline anytime you alter center front like this. Hence, you have to re-establish the grainline. Your new line becomes the new straight-of-grain. It's not unusual to have to re-establish the grainline after making pattern alterations.


What you have to consider is whether or not you're skewing the rest of the pattern by re-establishing center front. For instance, in my change, pivoting the pattern causes the shoulder to move further outward. (Just imagine, if you were laying the bodice front out on fabric to cut, how you would have to turn the pattern to make the change I made.) This, in turn, caused some gaping at the neckline. My first thought was to fix the gaping by moving that excess into the neckline dart. However! The smarter thing to do would be to move the shoulder in by the amount that I took out at center front. (Thanks to commenter Mrs. C who pointed this out!) So my next change would look like this:

So! I guess my answer to the question is that you can take out however much you want at center front (within reason), as long as you consider the effects in other parts of the bodice and adjust accordingly. 


An aside: Another way to re-establish the grainline anytime is to fold the side edges of the bodice piece together and crease at the fold. The fold is your new grainline. I learned that at FIT, so it's totally legit, I swear. 


Readers, what do you think?

Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Muslin?

Ann from Gorgeous Fabrics wrote a really interesting and sassy blog post a while back called "Ain't No Such Thing as a Wearable Muslin." Her thesis, as you might be able to tell from the title, was that the "wearable muslin" is a contradiction of terms.

In her words:

There is no such thing as a wearable muslin. There are muslins, or test garments, and there are finished garments. The point of a muslin is to test out fit, proportion, style and construction. In couture, the muslin, or toile, is made of cheap unbleached cotton, or similar cheap fabric. It is used to determine fit. Once finished, it is torn apart and used as the pattern for the final garment. It is not worn.

When I hear someone say "I'm going to make it a wearable muslin" that sounds to me like "I'm willing to settle for second best." A muslin is a test garment, not the real thing. You deserve better than second best for your sewing efforts.

It was with these words ringing in my head that I went ahead and made what I called a "test drive" of the sheath dress from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing. But let's face it, it was a wearable muslin. And though I initially wanted to agree with Ann's points, I have to say that I think there is indeed such a thing as a wearable muslin. And that I'm glad I didn't do a traditional muslin for this project because I don't think I would have fixed all the fitting issues that way. Let me explain.

I'm not sewing in one of them there fancy couture houses. I need my garments to be able to take a LOT of wear - countless sweaty subway rides, weekly wear at the office, being covered in cat hair and de-linted, etc. When you make a muslin, you only wear it around your home, and usually without closures--so a seam might be pinned rather than zippered up. Now, this is a pretty limited way to get a sense of how a garment wears.

My sheath dress wearable muslin was a good example of this. When I had it on in my apartment, I was convinced it just needed a good tuck taken out of the middle of the bodice. Well, because it was wearable, I threw a cardigan over it and wore it to work that very day. Throughout the workday, I discovered what the real fitting issues were--half of the extra length needed to be taken out in the middle, as I suspected, but the other half needed to be taken out of the top of the straps.

I never would have discovered this walking around my sewing room with half of the dress pinned on. And I would have gone ahead and made this dress from an amazing, expensive fabric and not been completely happy with it.

So there you have it. I'm now a believer in the wearable muslin. BUT: I do think it's important to do tissue-fitting first to get rid of any initial issues. I also recommend doing a basted fitting in your wearable muslin, before you go ahead and stitch the seams.

And, sure. There are plenty of times when I would do a traditional muslin instead. Like before making an evening dress or a Chanel-style jacket.

Okay, the soap box is yours now. What do you think about this issue?

The Joan Holloway Dress: Take Two

Sometimes after I finish I project, I can't stop thinking about how to improve it. Especially the fit. I usually continue to obsess about it until the only option is to immediately make the project again. It's very exhausting to be me sometimes. (It also requires a lot of fabric.)


As I wrote about earlier, my first stab at Simplicity 3673, a reissued vintage pattern, involved a lot of fitting around the waist and bottom hem. As I wore the dress (twice in two days!), I found I was also unhappy with the bodice fit. It kept gaping around the front and back neckline, the armholes, and a deep wrinkle formed around the bust. Here's how I altered the pattern. While wearing the dress, I pinned out the extra fabric. Here's a couple views of the tucks I took out:

Then I measured the depth of the tucks and transferred them to the pattern. You have to slash and overlap the amount of the tucks, like I did in this sba tutorial.

So I made this again with my altered pattern, in a nice red double knit from Gorgeous Fabrics (it's on sale now!). The alterations on the bodice made the neckline a little higher, but I think it's a nice alternative to the original look. It's possible I got a little overzealous with tucking out fabric, because now the under-bust seam keeps riding up. See, this is why I should really always make a muslin after major alterations to a pattern. Live and learn, right?

I'd never worked with double knit before, and I liked it, but I think the wool crepe is a better choice for this dress.

I've been getting really into Ambiance Bemberg lining (I buy mine at B&J in the Garment District, but you can buy it online here), and I used a coral color to line just the bodice in this version. I like how it creates a rich monochromatic color scheme.

Whew. I think I can lay this pattern to rest now. On to the next VoNBSS project!

Channeling Joan Holloway

I am a huge Mad Men fan. When I first saw this emerald green wool crepe at Paron Fabrics, I thought "Joan would look fantastic in that color!" Alas, Joan is a fictional character, so I had to buy it for myself instead. I think she'd approve though.

I made this little sheath dress from a vintage reissue pattern from Simplicity.

This was my first time using a reissued vintage pattern, and I have to say it was a little disappointing. I made my usual size (14), and when I put it on, it looked like a sack. Perhaps I should have gone down a size, but then the fit probably would have been off in the hips. I really had to do a lot of finessing to get the hourglass look of the original pattern illustration. I took it in about three inches at the waist, and reduced the hem circumference by four inches (to get that nipped in look at the knee).

It seems like one of the major things pattern companies do to modernize a vintage pattern is to give it much more ease for a "contemporary" look. This seems kind of counterproductive to me. If I wanted a contemporary fit, I'd just buy a contemporary pattern design. The envelope photographs probably should have clued me in. Look how baggy the gray version is in the skirt!

But anyway, once I got the fit I wanted, I was pretty happy with this pattern. I especially like how the bodice is lined to the edges rather than using facings. I like the full-skirted view as well, so I might give that a go at some point.

What have your experiences been with reissued patterns? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

Parfait SBA, S'il Vous Plait!

So, I've been promising a tutorial on a small bust adjustment for the Parfait dress from Colette Patterns, and here it is.


Here's what you need:

-a colored pen or pencil
-two pattern pieces: the front bodice and the front midriff
-pins
-tape
-paper
-seam gauge or clear ruler

In a nutshell, what you have to do is try on the pattern tissue, pinch out bust fullness, and then transfer those changes on the flat pattern. Make any sense?

To start, we're going to do a tissue fitting of the front bodice. At the seam allowances, pin together the front bodice pattern piece and the midriff piece. Very important: for the fitting, wear the bra that you plan to wear while wearing the dress. Also layer on top a very snug camisole or slip that so you can pin the pattern to you.

Pin the pattern piece to your camisole at center front, the side seam, and the top of the bodice, where the strap tab will connect. Don't forget to account for the 5/8" seam allowance.

As you can see, I've got some bagginess going on in the bust.


And on the side. See how the paper is wrinkling and standing away from my body? We need to get that sucker in.


We're going to temporarily pin the bagginess out in 2 places: 1) the side bust, where a bust dart would usually be, and 2) the top of the bust, extending from the armhole.

The first thing you need to do, though, is to mark the apex of your bust. Books often refer to the apex as the fullest part of your bust. An easier way to think of it is where your nipple is. There, I said it. All decorum is out the window now!

Use a pin to mark the apex. (I forgot to mark mine while I was wearing it, but you get the point, right? [Hee hee. Point.])

Now, start pinching out extra fullness in the bust, first at the side, then at the armhole. Have your tucks radiate toward the apex. Here's how it will look:

And a view from the side:


When you're satisfied with your fit, take the tissue off and set it on your work space. Mark your apex with a circle. Use a seam gauge to measure the depth of each of your tucks at the widest part of the tuck. (You only measure one side, so you're getting half the amount you tucked out).



Record your measurements. Here are mine:

Tuck at armhole: 5/8 inch
Tuck at side bust: 1 - 3/8 inch

Keep your measurements handy, and remove all pins from the tissue. Smooth out the front bodice piece. Now you're going to mark two lines to alter on your pattern.

First, imagine where a bust dart would be if this pattern had one. Extend a line horizontally from the apex point. (You'll see that I apparently had trouble locating my apex--oops!-- so there are two circles. Only pay attention to the one in pen, with the lines extending from it.)

Second, mark a point halfway up the armhole. Extend a line from the apex to this point.


Cut these lines, leaving a hinge at the apex.


Overlap each of the lines the amount of your measurements you recorded earlier. Tape the overlapped pieces down.


As you can see, there will be a little wrinkling around the apex. Eliminate all the wrinkles you can and then smoosh the piece down with your iron so it lies flat. (Yes, smoosh is the technical term.)


Finally, true up the lines on your pattern. Tape the altered pattern piece down to a clean sheet of paper. Draw a new side seam and armhole seam to smooth out the jagged edges. You can see where I've done this in blue marker.



This is your new pattern piece! I'm going to make a muslin of the two patterns pieces we used earlier. (Actually, it's fabric from an old curtain. I'm just like Maria Von Trapp! Scarlett O'Hara!) If you're using expensive fabric for your dress, I suggest you do the same.

See? Nice and fitted!


That's all there is to it. You can use these principles on lots of other patterns as well. The method I used for the Macaron dress is a little different (since the front bodice piece is longer), and I'll do a tutorial on that one as well.

Update: I forgot to mention two other changes you'll need to make so that the new, adjusted front bodice piece will fit with the rest of the pattern. Here's all you need to do:

1. Lay the front facing over the top of the new front bodice piece. You'll notice that it will no longer match up between where the strap attaches and the side seam. All you need to do is tuck out the extra width from the facing piece and tape or pin it in place. Now it will match up with your front bodice piece.

2. The other piece affected is the back bodice piece. The back bodice edge will now be too long for the front bodice piece. So, just lay the two pieces (the front and back bodice) next to each other, as they would be sewn, matching them first at the bottom of the pieces. You'll have some extra height on the back bodice piece. Measure how much extra you have. Mine was 3/4". So I just used my clear ruler to shorten the back piece by 3/4" along the top. Your back piece will be shorter now, but I found that this worked better in proportion to my upper body size.

Let me know in the comments if you have questions!