I could really use some help here! (It’s been many years since I made a princess-line garment for myself, and that one was successful. But in those years there have been some changes – to my body, of course, but also, I suspect, to the specifications for the major pattern companies.)
The pattern I’m using, Simplicity 3789,
http://www.simplicity.com/p-2014-misses-tops.aspx,
has princess seams that are way farther apart than my bust-width measurement, by two inches at least. So, each seam is more than an inch outside the fullest part of my bust, and I’d like to re-draw the seams so that the center front section is narrower and the side front section is wider. The seam doesn’t have to come exactly across my bust, but it looks quite bad the way it is.
I should say that the pattern size is correct – I need the fullness provided; I just need to move it more toward the center of my body. And I’ve already done an adjustment to lower the bust point on the blouse, before I made the first muslin. If the princess seams were the type that come to the shoulder, I think I could make the adjustment, but since this seam comes into the armscye, I’m not sure of how to widen the pattern piece.
Has anyone here made this kind of adjustment? I’ve searched the archives briefly, but most of the princess seam topics deal with FBA or other princess-seam questions. Maybe I should just concentrate on finding a different pattern that fits my body-type better?
Replies
I don't know why you cannot do this on this blouse. You need to add an inch to the side piece at the fullest part of the bust and then it looks like you would take that straight to the hem. And then take off an inch from the front piece at the fullest part of the bust and all the way down. Because you have lowered the bust point, you have a longer distance to taper into this inch change. I would try it in a muslin to see how it works.
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I've been stymied about how to widen the side front piece and fit it back to the center front piece at the top, since the side front piece only goes up to the middle of the armscye. I think I'm seeing how to do this now, with some help. I'm not sure whether to go back to the beginning and use the original pattern pieces and make this change, or to use the already-altered-for-low-bust pattern pieces I now have. I think it's usually recommended to make length changes before width changes; is that correct?
Yes, you have already altered for length apparently so I would use your altered piece. The original has the bust point too high so it wouldn't help to go back to that. Taper a new seam line from the original at the armseye. You shouldn't have to change the armhole at all. Sometimes the new pattern pieces look very unusual but when you get them on your body the actually do just what you want them to do.
Thank you. I'm planning to work on these changes tomorrow. I appreciate your ideas, and will let you know how it goes.
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