dorkpostsstuff replied to your photoset “dapperdears: Hilary for Wildfang (x) On the one hand, this blazer...”
OH! Is there a particular pattern you use for shirts? because I'm having exactly the problem of finding shirts that fit my hips that don't absolutely drowned me everywhere else.
That’s a good question! To start with, I listed a bunch of shirt pattern options in my dapper sewing post for Autostraddle that you should check out! But, to elaborate a little, and to speak from personal experience more:
1. It depends on what your body shape is, and how much you’re interested in altering the pattern with slightly more complicated pattern fit adjustments
2. No matter what, you’re probably going to grade between sizes. The good news is that this is pretty much the easiest pattern adjustment to do, with big impact on fit. (Never done it before? Here’s a pretty basic explanation - this is for a specific pattern, but the diagrams will apply to shirt patterns in general)
I’m a busty, wide-hipped US women’s 18-20, and my most frequently used patterns are Simplicity 8427, for a more “menswear” look and Cashmerette Harrison, for a more fitted “womenswear” look. Both I’ve adjusted to fit my particular body, the Simplicity significantly more than the Cashmerette.
If you are shaped like I am, i.e. busty and hippy and generally wear a bra rather than bind, fitting a menswear shirt will likely require some variation of a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA), which adds room and shaping across the bust. I’m working on tutorials to add the necessary room while minimizing shaping (that is, without adding a dart that basically says BOOBS HERE), but I’m afraid I don’t have any resources for that right now. This is a SERIOUSLY underserved area of pattern-making right now.
My partner is AFAB nb and has had top surgery, and is more petite than I am, fitting a men’s small-medium on top. The shirt pattern I use for them is the Colette Negroni (first one I made; second one I made; variation with a standard collar), which is a really good starter shirt pattern for the problem of fitting hips in particular. I grade between sizes for them, starting with a small at the shoulders through waist and grading to a large at the hip. This strategy works best for folks who are small chested, have had top surgery, or bind regularly.
(Just as a note, I’m working on developing tutorial ideas for a sometime soon-to-be-launched Sew Queer blog, and would love to know more about what folks are interested in seeing related to queer sewing. LMK!)
