Back Again!

What a bad little blogger I am. So long since I have posted. What a year so far.....a couple of trips to hospital (one for DD and one for me) the loss of my much loved MIL and all those other things that happen in life from time to time. Now it's time to move forward and get back to Lutterloh. Can I say I really miss my DD? How spoiled was I when she lived just around the corner? Because of the distance involved I have decided to shelve her pattern-making journey for the moment and will fine-tune the process I use for my own patterns. I have made another endeavour to give up smoking and, in the process, have put on 10kgs. Unfortunately I am still smoking! This weight gain has muddied the waters a bit as I didn't want to sew for my new body but, what the heck, even the new me needs some new clothes. I can always do some alterations if/when I lose the extra kilos.

I have been relatively happy with the way the system works for me except for the upper chest/shoulder/neck area. I have been making adjustments on a pattern-by-pattern basis but it is now time to get this area working for me as well.

My ultimate aim, for DD and myself, is to convert the fitting issues to numbers so I can draft out any pattern using the specified numbers without the need to further alter the patterns when drafted. Of course any height/length adjustments will have to be done on the pattern, there's no getting past that.

I am working on a raglan-sleeved top with a rolled collar/neckband. It is a slow and painstaking journey. I first drafted the top in my usual way and made a muslin so I could estimate the adjustments I will need in my problem area. I am now ready to draft my second pattern, using smaller numbers above the 2nd lowest armhole 'dot' on the front only. It will mean that my back shoulder will be wider than the front but I will either ease this in (if it's small) or make a small dart. I will have to make these same adjustments on the sleeve head.

So that's where I'm up to. I will be back with an update and photos when I have something positive (or not) to report.

Back soon: