Adventures in fitting: Bodice block






I get issues of Threads on my iPad (so much easier and cheaper than buying the paper copies) and the latest issue has about drafting a bodice block. I've been thinking about drafting one for a while ever since I got my pants block so I thought I'd give it a go.
It was easier than I thought, I did originally get my husband to help measure but ended up doing most of the measurements myself (so even if you don't have a fitting buddy you can do it yourself). It worked like magic, the fit straight from the paper fit really well, I kind of feel like if you could draft a couple of hundred years ago you would have been burned as a witch (but only if you weighed as much as a duck*)
I did do a 1" FBA and turned it into shoulder princess seams (the article showed how to) then on the actual muslin I did a sway back adjustment of 1" plus a sloping shoulder adjustment.
A couple of tips if anyone wants to do one;
  • Stay stitch around the neckline and armholes before fitting, I didn't and it stretched out a fair bit before I realised it, with taking it on and off so many times (which is why the neckline and armholes are a bit gapey)
  • There's a few articles online about how to draft your own if you don't get Threads. One good one I've seen recommended is this one by Madalynne
  • Thread a long piece of string through the zipper to make it so much easier to take on and off.
  • Taking photos really helps with fitting the back.
I can still see a couple things that might need tweaking (mostly the armhole shape at the back, but if you can notice anything else please let me know!) but otherwise I'm really happy with the fit and I've now put it on my dressform and stuffed it with wadding to give it a more accurate shape.


I haven't mentioned about my sewing room for a while but my Christmas present from the hubbie was built in shelving on one wall. I love it! Everything is up off the floor and all in one place but I'm kind of shocked at how much stuff I have so the next couple of months I'm sewing from the stash to try and reduce it before the Melbourne shopping day in February!
  




*Sorry any excuse for a Monty Python and the Holy Grail quote, lol!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NewLook 6048: The Avengers dress

Image
We had a very quick day trip to Melbourne recently and I managed to duck into a couple of fabric shops. The kids each picked out some fabric in Rathdowne , the daughter picked out this Avengers one which was meant to be boxer shorts until she realised she could have it in a dress instead! I'd only bought 1m (and its only 112cm wide) but she was determined to have a circle skirt so this is a 1/2 circle skirt squeezed onto the fabric (good thing she likes shorter skirts!). The bodice is a blue sateen I had leftover and the lining is a stretch poplin inside the bodice and a poly lining in the skirt. Size wise, I made a muslin in a sz 14 and it was pretty good. I had to petite the back and take a wedge out of the side bodice and also take it in at the top of the front princess seam. Really I think I should have cut a size smaller and done a small FBA, I think it would have fit better and its what I'll be doing next time. She badly wanted zipper pockets, I wa
Keep reading

Rainbow quilt

Image
My Mum lives on a few acres outside of a small country town and a few years ago she painted her front fence in rainbow colours. People either love it or hate it, but it certainly suits my Mum and her extroverted personality! I've been wanting to make her a quilt for ages and it had to be a rainbow one. I started to make her the Wavelength quilt out of Modern Quilting but after I started it, I just didn't like it so did some panic googling to find another idea to use the fabric for. I found this awesome quilt by buttontree lane . I had enough different shades of fabric and already had the dark charcoal for the background. I wanted it to end up nice and big so used fairly big hst (6.5"). The quilt is 96" x 96" (240cmx240cm) finished. I didn't get any photos but the backing is the left over grey and the binding is a black and white stripe. I had help basting it from our new kitten! Its kind of huge, I free motion quilting the grey sectio
Keep reading

Back from Ecuador: Adventure Shorts, Jungle Pants, and Bowler Hats, Oh My!

Image
I am home safely from my wonderful trip to Ecuador. There was a lot of hiking, some ziplining, and even some horseback riding, which was truly comical. An equestrienne I am not (Betty Draper makes it look so easy...). You'll recognize the tops from my bike trip to the Netherlands . For hiking I figured I should break down and actually wear shorts and pants, rather than my usual skirts. I took my machine in for service a few weeks before the trip but *needed* just a few new things for the suitcase. First up were my Adventure Shorts. I will review them eventually. Suffice it to say that the sewing machine that was graciously loaned to me did not enjoy sewing them and I actually busted out the treadle. They are not my most well-made item ever (the treadle has incredibly heavy pressure on the presser foot that caused pulling and wrinkling on the waistband topstitching) but they were Adventure Shorts in more ways than one! These got the seal of approval from my travel companio
Keep reading