Chapter 15
Fitting and corrections
No pattern fits perfectly the first time. A test garment, the toile, shows what to change, and the change goes back into the pattern.
Make a toile
- Cut it from cheap fabric that behaves like the real one: calico for wovens, a similar knit for knits.
- Mark the centre front, centre back, chest and waist lines on it with a pen.
- Sew with long stitches, no finishing. Try it on the right way out, over the right underwear.
- Look at the lines you drew. They should be straight and level; where they pull or drop, the pattern needs a change.
Reading the folds
- Drag lines pointing at a spot mean too little room there: the fabric is pulled towards the part of the body that is bigger than the pattern.
- Loose horizontal folds mean too much length. Tight horizontal lines that pull across mean the opposite, too little room.
- Loose vertical folds mean too much width.
- A hem that rises at the front or back means the body needs more length over that side.
Common figure variations
A tape measure gives girths and lengths, but not posture or shape. These are the usual corrections for what it misses. The amounts are a first step, 1 to 1.5 cm in most cases; the toile shows whether you need more or less.
Back
| Rounded upper back The upper back needs more length so the back neck does not pull down and the hem does not rise at the back. | Nape to waist +1.5 Scye depth +0.5 |
| Very upright back Less length over the back and a little more at the front, so the back does not fold below the neck. | Nape to waist -1.0 Front length (neck point to waist) +0.8 |
Shoulders
| Square shoulders The shoulder tip sits higher. It is raised and the armhole with it, so the armhole keeps its depth and the sleeve still fits. | Shoulder slope (+ square, − sloping) +1.5 |
| Sloping shoulders The shoulder tip sits lower. It is lowered and the armhole with it, so folds do not form from the neck to the underarm. | Shoulder slope (+ square, − sloping) -1.5 |
Bust
| Full bust (larger cup than the bust girth suggests) A larger bust dart gives more shape over the bust; about 1 to 1.5 cm per cup size. | Bust dart width +1.5 |
| Small bust (smaller cup than the bust girth suggests) A smaller bust dart so the front does not stand away over the bust. | Bust dart width -1.0 |
Front
| Prominent stomach More width over the front and more room in the front rise, so the front does not pull across the stomach. | Waist ease +3.0 riseAdj +1.0 frontBal +1.0 |
Seat
| Full seat More room over the seat and a longer rise, so the back does not pull down or into the seat. | seatEase +2.0 hipEase +2.0 Body rise +0.7 |
| Flat seat Less room over the seat so the back does not hang in loose folds below it. | seatEase -1.5 hipEase -1.5 |
Legs
| Full thighs More room at the top of the leg, which no measurement here covers. | kneeExtra +1.0 seatEase +1.0 hipEase +1.0 |
In the editor these are the “Your figure” options; tick them once and every pattern is corrected.