#pattern adjustment

[seamsterslocal]

made this corset many years ago as 1) a back brace bc my spine was high key dysfunctional 2) a wearable mockup for the flocked black denim corset i was planning. i dont have either corset anymore and i dont believe i have any pictures of the black one (shame it had a beautiful peacock brocade lining). both were designed to be flat chested corsets in whats normally called the overbust style. though here there is no bust to be gone over

this denim one is made to close at 24" --corsets, especially steel corsets like this, are usually designed to be worn with a gap at the back but for back support i wanted the steel right up against my spine--and is laced in the back with paracord*. at the time i made it, i could zip it closed in front without loosening the back at all. this corset wasn't designed to constrict or really even to shape at all, just to prop up my bones. i wore it every day for a couple years and it was the most comfortable thing i owned at the time

the main pictures here (the in focus ones) were taken more recently, just before i gave it away. obviously it no longer closes (this is a success story) but it still fits well. i could have tried closing it but my ribs dont appreciate constriction so i just documented it as is. i have included 2 old and blurry pictures at the end for an idea of how it fit at the time it was made. i still miss those purple jeans

*paracord is a not a great lacing material but i wasnt adjusting this guy ever. i did pull the core out at least which made it both flatter and more maneuverable. it has a lot of tooth (friction) so it doesnt slide well but it does work as a cheap lacing material if you dont mind haulin on it

[sewingsillythings]

ignore my terrible art skills, but I was looking at the pattern again and thinking if I lengthened the Star Trek pattern even more, in a darker fabric i could make something kinda gothic!

[queenofsquids]

Fit and pattern adjustment 1, 2, 3.

Don't ask me why the legholes on 3 don't look as good as 1 despite being the exact frikken same on paper. Probably has something to do with the bagginess in the midsection 😑

@dolljunk I think your method would work well but I am being stubborn about having a separate collar piece for ~fancy~

So on 3 I put the seam allowances up into the collar instead of down into the shirt and shoulders. It made the collar piece look poofy but I think I can live with that. Especially since I will make it a little taller, which I hope will allow it to taper more toward the top.

[sonyacrow]

I thought buying a commercial pattern would make life easier compared to drafting the pattern myself, but it seems I may have been wrong. I’ve probably spent an hour measuring, drawing lines and taping extra paper between cuts, and I’m still not done. Apparently I’m just shaped too weirdly.

At least I knew about the issues before even touching my fabric because every piece of clothing ever has these problems, and hopefully I can get something wearable by comparing the pattern measurements to stuff I already own that fits relatively well. But still, damn these shoulders.

[chubbysewcialist]

https://chubbysewcialist.tumblr.com And after pinching out excess fabric from the bodice in the previous picture, this is what I think the book suggested I do? On the left is the original traced pattern, with the extra fabric slashed and folded out between the arm seam and the bust point. On the right is the newly retraced bodice with adjustments. And a seam allowance this time! Yay, I'm already learning from my mistakes :P Haven't sewn this up yet, but I'm not sure it will work because I'm not actually sure I did the bust part of the bodice block correctly. I might redraft the front when I get a new batch of brown paper to draft it on.

[chubbysewcialist]

https://chubbysewcialist.tumblr.com An assembled bodice block! With obvious problems, but not as many as I expected. I followed the recommendations from the Armstrong book, and that pinned-out bit of bulk got slashed and overlapped out of the front of the bodice block, picture forthcoming. And practicing my pattern drafting with linen is working out so far. I didn't prewash it, but it's not likely I'm going to wear the finished patternblock dress out of the house. And this color wasn't as advertised when I got it in the mail, so that's another reminder to always swatch first :P. On the upside, I don't feel bad at all using it for practice.

[queenofsquids]

Sometimes you will see a V shape in the center front waist. Ideally you want to avoid this, so that your waistband will overlap properly instead of pointing diagonally downward. All you need to do is make your center front a right angle. It doesn't need to be a right angle for very far along the waist line, maybe an inch or so (much less than my example), and then you can blend it into a waist curve. But at least an inch or so needs to be a right angle.