Nov 3, 2015

The Perfect Fit!

One of our SFD customers, Caroline from Santiago Chile, is a perfectionist. And look at the results!  Caroline wanted her SFD Dress Kit bodice and skirt fit to be just perfect and 'perfect' she achieved.  She'd already sewn a couple of test bodices, and was basically happy with the results.  But she sent me this photo asking how to remove the final issue, being the small fold in the lower third of the armscye.  (See the orange arrow).  Other than this small fold, she'd achieve almost total perfection - wouldn't you agree?
My instructions to her were to fold this small amount out of the armhole and let it open up in the side bust dart.  But when I received her email I was on a short vacation...and she was heading to a wedding the next day.  So she went ahead and sewed her fashion dress without this change.  She copied a Dolce & Gabbana designer dress and off to the wedding she went.
 The D & G designer original.

She didn't have time for the custom belt, but it was coming...just after the wedding.  Isn't this setting in Santiago beautiful - just perfect for a wedding.

But after the wedding, Caroline went ahead with the armhole and bust dart refinement.  Even though this next photo is a little fuzzy, you can see that she overlapped the amount of the fold in the armscye and let it open up in the side bust dart.  See the orange arrows.

This process shortened the front armscye, which means the sleeve cap front needed to be shortened as well so that there wasn't too much to ease into the armscye.  Here's a look at her finished bodice pattern pieces.

Here's the final 'muslin' - fit to perfection.


Then, she hand-crafted the complimentary belt.

The result is stunning.  Wouldn't you agree it fits her to a 'T'?

If you'd prefer to watch a short video on making this pattern refinement, please click on the video below.


Here's one last look at this awesome setting.
I know she'd love to hear your praise...just leave a comment below...she deserves lots of cudos!

Happy Sewing!
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

25 comments:

  1. What a perfectly executed and gorgeous dress! The fabric is lovely and the fit is perfection. It is always great to see the actual pattern pieces themselves, to see how they differ from the blank rectangles that we are used to seeing in poorly fitting patterns. Thanks for sharing, well done Caroline!

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    1. Thanks so much! I couldn't have done it without Glenda's gracious and patient assistance...

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  2. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Detailed to perfection. Your time and effort paid off. Congrats to you.
    Sharon

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  3. Wow! What a gorgeous dress and so well executed! You nailed it, or better said pinned it! Yes, you achieved the perfect fit and I must say that Glenda knows how to guide you toward this wonderful result! Now you can start sewing those dresses and sell them!

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  4. Thank you Elle and Hilde! It has been an interesting, educational and rewarding process, and yes, Glenda has certainly been the perfect guide.

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  5. She did do a gorgeous job on both the muslin and finished dress! I aspire to that kind of perfection....

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  6. Can you use this alteration on a larger tuck?

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  7. Wow!That is a beautiful fit! Any suggestions on what to do when there's no dart in the bodice pattern but the dress still has that fold problem?

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    1. To achieve this kind of excellent fit, it requires that you work with darts.

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  8. This is amazing, well done, totally impressed

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  9. Beautiful job! And it fits you to a T. Congratulations.

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  10. i did not understand wher she shortened the cup of the sleev because as i can see the chang was made in the front but in the sleeve it was made un the left side its not clear where she or how she redueced the cup of the sleeve

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  11. How can you make this alteration on RTW? I have this problem with sweaters and shirts all the time.

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  12. Great tutorial 🙂 what would happen if the armhole was reverted back to the original shape/size and no sleeve cap alteration was done..?

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  13. Vous m'avez convaincu. C'est un problème que je rencontre fréquemment dans mes confections et maintenant, je vais modifier mes patrons de cette façon. MERCI, MERCI, MERCI.

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  14. Te quedĂł precioso, felicifdades! Tarde la felicitacion pero apenas lo acbo de ver.

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  15. I have the same problem, old age didn’t come gracefully. Can’t wait to try your fix. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. And after this the sleeve doesn’t fit in the arm whole!!!???

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