Hi everyone! I'm a beginner dressmaker, not a confident one as yet! I'm just starting to move towards fitting patterns to my size without using gathering but have come across a big problem. I'm finding that with basically all patterns my waist, hips and bust are three different sizes, for instance I might be a bust size 10, waist 14 and hips 8! (No wonder shop-bought clothes don't fit lol). I know I can grade between sizes but surely grading from a waist 14 to hips 8 would change the entire silhouette of a skirt/dress/trousers. What's the way forward here please? Thank you!
anna_sews81
· 1 week ago
Help with pattern adjustment please!
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SewHayleyJane
· 1 week ago
Admin
Hi Anna
thanks so much for posting, I totally get the frustration here, my waist and hips can sometimes have a difference of 5 sizes - every pattern company is totally different though.
What types of garments are you looking at making at the moment? Some garments this is completely fine and very easy to grade between 4 or 5 sizes, others that are more fitted might need a bit more work.
My biggest tip is to get a French Curve ruler so that you can draw nice smooth lines between sizes for grading which you can easily repeat on the front and back.
anna_sews81
· 1 week ago
Hi! Thanks for your reply. I'm looking really at skirts and dresses. I'm a way off trousers that aren't elasticated! So it's ok just to use a French curve? It's just such a short distance from waist to hips on most patterns, and such a big size reduction that I'm worried it will look silly. Presumably then once I've graded to the hips I then gradually draw back out to the original silhouette and pattern line? Thanks again!
SewHayleyJane
· 1 week ago
Admin
Don't forget the hip line will be your fullest area normally around your bum - not where your hip bones are. So mark a point on the pattern where that hip line is and grade down to there, making the curve smooth and gradual between the two points so that it blends into the hip size the rest of the length of the pattern.
It might be worth basting the pattern together - use a long stitch length which is easier to unpick and don't back stitch. Bast together and try it on and you can then see if you need to add or remove anything more or if you need to smooth the seam line out a bit more.
anna_sews81
· 1 week ago
Ah ok, that makes sense thank you! I think my waist point is actually quite high too, so that would create extra distance to the fullest part of the hip. Thank you so much for your advice!
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