Custom Fitting

I'm a curvy girl. When I find something that fits my bust it swirls and balloons around my waist. If it fits my waist, probably won't get it buttoned, or if it is a knit, then I get that oh so attractive concave horizontal pucker line. This is not a good look for anyone.

This year, I decided to figure out how to fit a blouse to my dimensions. There are lots of good books on the subject. I suggest looking at them all until you find the one that speaks your language.

You can also buy patterns that help you customize, but my biggest problem with these is the lack of pictures. To understand how to modify a pattern for a larger cup size, I needed the pictures to definitively show where to cut and widen, etc.

But, learning from a variety of sources is good. I'm glad I tried all the books and patterns I could find because, I've done it! I've produced a custom fit, no gappage, no puckering, blouse. I sewed it with a combination of french seams and flat fell seams, so there are no raw edges. Which sound very complicated, but isn't and leaves the inside as beautiful as the outside.

This went so well, I've moved on to a second and a third. I've also just about finished a dress from a pattern that fit my waist and just altered the bust so it will fit properly. And... with the knowledge I've gained, I altered three knit shirts I bought at the store to fit my waist. I'm pretty happy, can you tell?

Have I mentioned that taking good pictures is not in my skill set? No, well it isn't. This picture is of the first blouse and is intended to show you all the interesting points with this shirt: if you look closely, there is decorative stitching around the collar, a french seam joining the sleeve to the shoulder, a flat fell seam on the side, and the elastic in the sleeve was sewn directly to the sleeve with a wide zigzag, eliminating the need for a casing.

If you haven't tried custom fitting, think about it. Although it is time consuming to study and figure out what is right for you, the results are so worth it.