Friday 30 December 2011

Tissue Fitting Results

So far so good. I am pleased with the results so far. The vest pattern fit Anna quite well although I do have to make some adjustments. The neck and shoulders are fine and don't need any tweaking at this stage. The shoulder bust dart is perfect in size and position. The circumference of the vest and the waist length is spot on and she likes the overall length of the vest.
Now on to the adjustments:
Ignoring the crinkles above the bust (caused by the extended arm, pattern paper and the photographer's concentration on trying to highlight the problem area) the front armhole was way too 'gapey' so I have added a dart here. This in turn has raised the armhole, so I will cut the armhole down by the same amount I removed in the extra dart. This should keep the armhole the same size so I don't have to alter a sleeve head - of course not a consideration for a vest.
The back is too long between the shoulder and underarm so I will remove that excess as well but instead of a dart (as in the front to make room for the boobies) I will just remove it all the way across the back. I don't like the waist dart placement either, I think they are too close to the CB so will move them towards the side seam so they are roughly in the middle.
I have also moved the front waist dart closer to the side seam so the top of the dart is in line with the shoulder bust dart and Anna's bust apex area. Lastly, I am not sure if maybe I will have to pinch out some excess at the neck edge of the shoulder seam, but will check that at the muslin stage.

All in all, a pretty good result I think. As I write down what I am changing it seems like a lot of messing around but really the only area of concern is the armhole. When I have that sussed out to my satisfaction, I will make a template of the front and back armhole which will make it really easy to apply to future patterns. IMHO this is where this system is so much better than the Big 4s. You only need to do this once and the same adjustments are automatically made to any pattern drafted in the future. Doesn't matter if your weight goes up or down, you just change the measurements you use on the tape measure but the alterations remain the same........or so they say! I have found this to work for my own patterns so far.

Normally I would re-draft my pattern with the alterations and then just start cutting/sewing the 'proper' vest fabric, but I will make a muslin this time as I am trying to perfect the pattern for someone new. Using fairly stiff paper to fit is a great starting point but working with fabric to fine-tune is a must, at least for now.

So back to the drawing board for me. I will be back soon with a revised pattern and a muslin vest to check the alterations I have done so far.

2 comments:

  1. Brilliant - I have never seen the Lutterloh system 'in action' before. I am curious as to how the muslin-making goes...a step I usually omit in my rush to make something. But the bonus of your work is that you will be able to whip up a vest, or similar, for you daughter without all the measurements in future. Are my eyes green with envy??? Sure are...

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  2. Great idea for a blog! I've had my Lutterloh for a while but never really done anything with it, so I hope your progress inspires me, and other too, to make better use of it.

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