Tied up - pattern alterations

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In the previous post I wrote about the knotted dress I'm sewing for a friend. After I published the article we had a fitting where we altered the pattern on several places to make it fit nicely. In my opinion, the major issue this pattern has is its length, since it was drafted for extremely tall women, and the bodice panels need to be cropped to make the dress fit. The friend is 175 cm tall, but the front and back needed to be cropped on several places.

I have to add that the friend didn't think the bulky knot was an issue, so we decided to fit the pattern and make the dress.

I will describe the changes we did on the pattern, but I have to warn you not to take this tutorial as a definite user manual; I strongly advise you to make a muslin first and fit the pattern according to your body. You can use this tutorial as an idea reference.

We noticed several problems with the dress:

• the armholes were too big, the side seams stood too low at the underarm
• the friend has broad shoulders, so we had to alter the shoulder seams
• there was some extra width and length of fabric on bust, so we needed to remove the extra fabric
• there was some extra length of fabric at the waist (the bias) seam, the bodice panel was too long

We made the alterations in several phases. First we adjusted the armholes so that we could see how much and where the further alterations were required.

This is how the original pattern looks. I won't talk about the sewing process now, but I might write about it when I make the dress.

I altered the armhole and reduced some of the bodice length by cropping the bodice between the neckline and underarm. I drew two parallel lines as shown on the picture below, distanced approximately 2 cm. Then I cut the pattern along the lines and joined the upper and lower parts together, thus removing the extra length.

I applied the same alteration on the back bodice panels. I also cropped the sleeves by removing the length from the sleeve head.

Then I altered the shoulder seams. I cut the pattern at the shoulder and rotated the cut-off piece to the side, keeping the armhole curve continuous. This widened the shoulder seam while kept the armhole intact. I adjusted the shoulder seam by redrawing a line that connected the neckline with the armhole.

I made the same alteration on the back bodice panel.

Once the armholes were adjusted, the pattern looked much better. There was still some extra fabric length, but not as much on the breast as it was on the waist. A bit of the extra fabric was removed by closing the pleat on the left side of the bodice. I pinned the fabric in places where it seemed appropriate and then transferred the changes to the paper pattern. The result was as shown on the pics below - the left pleat was closed.

After this alteration you could see the dress would look great. There was some extra length of fabric left along the bias seam, so we removed it as shown on the pictures below.

Finally, here is a comparison of the pattern before and after our interventions. What you can't see on the pictures are alterations I did on the remaining pleats. I lengthened the center pleat and added a new one that goes from the right breast (left side of the pattern on the picture) towards the center of the knot gathering.

With these changes, the dress looked great and the friend was pleased. Note that we haven't altered the length of the side seams.

I am yet to sew the dress and we should have another fitting then. The friend has left to a vacation meanwhile, so I'll write the next post of this series after she's back home.

Related posts

• Tied up
• The best (wo)man on a wedding

Zavezana - izmene kroja

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U prethodnom postu sam pisala o ovoj zanimljivoj haljini, koju šijem za drugaricu. Nakon članka je usledila proba, pa smo izmenile kroj na par mesta, kako bi bolje pristajao telu. Po mom mišljenju, najveći problem kod ovog kroja je to što je modelovan za visoke žene, pa su krojni delovi za torzo prilično izduženi. Iako je drugarica visoka oko 175 cm, trebalo je da skratimo prednje i zadnje panele na par mesta, kako bi sve stajalo na svom mestu.

Moram da napomenem da dugarica nije imala nikakav problem sa čvorom i zadebljanjem materijala koje se nalazi na struku, tako da smo rešile da kroj korigujemo i nastavimo po originalnom planu.

U daljem tekstu ću opisati koje smo izmene morale da napravimo na kroju, ali vas upozoravam da u ovom slučaju korekcija nije apsolutno egzaktna, i da svakako morate na svom telu da isprobate kroj, kako biste znali gde i koliko isti treba da izmenite. Ovaj tutorijal neka vam posluži samo kao ideja i neki okvirni vodič.

Kada smo sastavile haljinu primetile smo nekoliko problema:

• otvori za ruke su bili preveliki, bočni šav ispod ruke je stajao jako nisko u odnosu na pazuh
• drugarica ima široka ramena, pa je trebalo korigovati ramene šavove
• na grudima je bilo previše materijala, trebalo je ukloniti višak
• na struku, tj. kosom šavu koji spaja gornji i donji panel, je materijal prosto visio - torzo je bio predugačak

Korekcije smo radile u nekoliko etapa. Prvo smo korigovale otvore za ruke, kako bi se tačno videlo gde i koliko treba dalje menjati kroj na grudima i struku.

Dakle ovako izgleda originalni kroj. Neću, za sada, ulaziti u detalje šivenja kroja - o tome ću možda pisati kada budem šila haljinu. 

Otvor za ruku sam smanjila tako što sam kroj skratila za par cm u predelu između okovratnika i pazuha. Nacrtala sam dve paralelne linije, kao na slici ispod. Zatim sam kroj isekla duž tih linija, i spojila ga ponovo, uklonivši višak materijala. Kroj sam skratila sa oko 2cm. 

Istu izmenu, i na istom mestu sam uradila i na zadnjim panelima, kao i na rukavima.

Potom sam korigovala širinu ramena. Isekla sam kroj u predelu ramenog šava, pa sam isečak zarotirala u stranu, šireći kroj u ramenom šavu. Pri tom, liniju otvora za ruku nisam povećavala niti smanjivala, jer sam isečak držala fiksiranim u predelu otvora. Rameni šav sam potom korigovala novom pravom linijom.

Kada smo korigovale otvore za ruke, kroj je mnogo bolje izgledao. I dalje je bilo viška materijala, ali više ne toliko na grudima, koliko na struku. Deo tog viška smo uklonile tako što smo u potpunosti zatvorile faltu na levom kraju kroja. Ovaj korak sam odradila tako što sam špenadlama pričvrstila materijal tamo gde mi se činilo adekvatnim, a potom sam izmene prenela na papirni kroj. Rezultat ove izmene je bilo zatvaranje falte na struku, kao što je prikazano na slikama ispod.

Nakon ove korekcije, videlo se da model ima potencijal da sjajno izgleda. Ostalo je još malo viška materijala, duž samih kosih šavova, pa smo i taj deo kroja korigovale, kao što je prikazano na slikama ispod.

Konačno, evo poređenja kako kroj izgleda pre i nakon naše intervencije. Ono što na ovim slikama nisam prikazala je to da sam središnju faltu malo produžila, a dodala sam i još jednu, koja ide od desne dojke (leva strana na slici) ka sredini nabora za čvor. 

Sa svim ovim izmenama, haljina je izgledala odlično, a drugarica je bila zadovoljna. Primetite da dužinu bočnih šavova nismo menjale, tako da zadnji paneli nisu mnogo korigovani - sva izmena je bila vezana za otvore za ruke. 

Dalje me čeka šivenje, pa još jedna proba. Drugarica u međuvremenu ode na more, tako da nastavak ovog serijala sledi kada se vrati.

Povezani tekstovi

• Zavezana
• Kum(a) na venčanju

Tied up

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This weekend I worked on a very interesting dress for a friend you've already met. She brought 2m of viscose with a lovely print, so we started looking for an interesting pattern to use. She liked the knotted dress from Burda Style 12/2012. The pattern doesn't have many pieces but the knot on the waist looks like an interesting riddle to solve. I've been wanting to try out this kind of pattern for a long time, but I've never gotten to it, so this seemed to be the great opportunity.

Here's how the pattern looks - when I saw the front bodice panel, I knew I would have a lot of work on the dress. Luckily there are illustrated sewing instructions for this pattern in Burda, without them the sewing and piecing up the dress would have been a nightmare. It took me a while to analyze the instructions and brainstorm about it in order to put the dress together, but I eventually made it.

What I dislike about the pattern is that it doesn't include the lining pattern. The lining could be a very simple one, and in case one used a transparent fabric having a lining under the dress would be a must.

The pattern was drafted for extremely tall women, and my friend is 175 cm tall, so I wasn't sure if I would need to crop the pattern or not. And even if I had to crop it off, I wouldn't know where to start from, so I decided to make a muslin first, and I'm very glad for that. The friend is yet to try out the dress, but I've already noticed some issues with it.

You see, the knot makes a huge bulk since the dress is being gathered at the same spot both vertically and horizontally. Additionally, the bulk adds some weight to the dress, and is pulling the bodice down. I used a viscose fabric as a muslin, and the fabric is of same weight as the one we'll use for the final dress. The fabric is rather soft, drapey and light, but it looks like it's too thick for this model. Besides, I'm not sure I would like to wear a dress with a bulk on a waist. I have some ideas for fixing the pattern, but I'll have to wait for the friend to try out the dress before I continue working on it.

Related posts

• The best (wo)man on a wedding

Zavezana

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Ovog vikenda sam se bacila na šivenje jedne veoma interesantne haljine za drugaricu koju već znate sa bloga. Donela je 2m veoma lepe viskoze, pa smo tražile zanimljiv kroj koji bismo koristile. Dopala joj se haljina sa čvorom, iz Burde 12/2012. Kroj nema mnogo krojnih delova, ali čvor na struku deluje kao prava zagonetka. Dugo sam želela da se oprobam sa nekim sličnim modelom, ali se nikad nisam nakanila, pa je ovo bila odlična prilika.

Evo kako kroj izgleda - kada sam videla prednji panel, znala sam da ću imati mnogo posla na haljini. Srećom pa u Burdi postoje ilustrovane instrukcije za šivenje, inače bi sastavljanje haljine bilo prava noćna mora. Trebalo mi je neko vreme da analiziram instrukcije i malo mozganja da bih se snašla, ali sam u nekom trenutku konačno uspela.

Ono što mi je odmah zasmetalo kod kroja je to što nema krojnih delova za postavu, koja bi mogla da bude krajnje jednostavna, a koja bi, u slučaju da se koristi providan materijal, bila neophodna.

Kroj je modelovan za izrazito visoke žene, a drugarica ima oko 175 cm, pa nisam bila sigurna da li ću morati da skraćujem gornji deo (a i ako bih ga skraćivala, nisam imala pojma odakle bih ga kratila), pa sam rešila da napravim test kroj, i jako mi je drago zbog toga. Drugarica tek treba da isproba haljinu, ali već vidim par problema. 

Naime, čvor na struku pravi jako veliko zadebljanje, jer se haljina i vertikalno i horizontalno nabira u jednoj tački. Dodatno, sav nabran materijal dodaje težinu haljini u toj tački, pa čvor prosto vuče prednji deo naniže. Za gornji deo test kroja sam koristila viskozu iste debljine kao i ona koju ćemo koristiti za finalnu haljinu. Materijal je prilično mek i tanak, ali i pored toga imam utisak da je predebeo za ovaj model. Pored toga, nisam sigurna da bih volela da nosim haljinu koja ima budžu na stomaku. Imam par ideja kako da korigujem kroj, ali ću sačekati drugaricu da isproba haljinu, pa da se dogovorimo oko toga kako dalje da nastavimo.

Povezani tekstovi

• Kum(a) na venčanju

Summer with the new Sew News

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Dear readers, I haven't been a great blogger lately. I haven't posted anything for almost two months and I totally neglected Stepalica. This of course wasn't my plan, but life imposed the rhythm that dried out all of my energy and took all my free time. At the beginning of May we went on a vacation, after that the terrible flooding hit us, and at the same time I was overwhelmed by an intense work at my day job. There were days when I would either work or sleep, as there was no time for anything else. I didn't like living that way, but life brings us these situations as well, during which you have to put on hold all your hobbies and joy so that you can at least rest a bit.

But here I am, back to the old rhythm and ready to sew and write. Meanwhile I made several garments, and prepared few new tutorials for you, but I haven't managed to snap some pics of the clothes nor to write the explanations for the tuts. Along with that, whenever I make a big gap in blogging, I find myself thinking of whether I should give you an insight of what had been going on in my life during the break. There's also the question of the amount of details I am willing to share with you. I suppose you are interested to know what I am doing when I'm not sewing (some of you even sent me emails wondering if I was OK and asking when I would start blogging again - thank you so much for caring!), but I can never estimate the level of details that is OK to post in public. So, most of the times I'd rather skip writing than sharing too much.

Along with all this, the gap in writing can cause a blockade, when you have a bunch of ideas to write about, but do not manage to articulate any of them. I've been suffering from this type of blockade, and I've startesd writing several different posts in the last two weeks, but failed to complete or publish any of them.

A new article in Sew News is always a great excuse to write a new post, therefore, for breaking the blockade. The article was published a while ago, in the June - July issue of the magazine, so I am late with bragging about it, too. The article gives you instructions for drafting a pattern for a light summer dress, inspired by Spanish flamenco dresses. The pattern is really simple, which can be seen in the magazine, and the satin ribbons give it a more polished look. The art director of Sew News saw the dress as a great wardrobe for celebrating the 4th of July - the Independence Day.

I made the dress ages ago, I think back in 2006, and for a while it was one of the most frequently worn dresses from my wardrobe. I made the dress just before I went to Spain, so the source of inspiration is quite obvious. At the time I had a favorite dress pattern, that I drafted myself, that I altered and re-designed numerous times, by altering the neckline, the skirt length or volume, etc. I made tens of dresses but this one is one of the few I still have.

However, I can't wear it anymore, as it's too tight for me now. At the time I wore it, this is how the dress looked on me.

Leto uz novi broj Sew News

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Dragi čitaoci, nisam bila sjajan bloger ovih dana. Gotovo dva meseca nisam pisala i zanemarila sam Štepalicu u potpunosti. Naravno, nije mi to bio plan, ali životne okolnosti su mi nametnule ritam koji me je iscrpeo i uzurpirao mi svo slobodno vreme. Na početku Maja, to je bio odmor, potom nas je zadesio potop, a paralelno sa njim je stigao i obiman i naporan posao u firmi u kojoj radim, i nedelje prekovremenog rada. Bilo je dana kada sam ili radila ili spavala, nije bilo vremena ni za jednu drugu aktivnost. Nije mi baš bilo po volji, ali život čine i ovakve situacije, tokom kojih ste primorani da žrtvujete i stavite po strani sve svoje hobije kako biste uspeli makar malo da se odmorite.

No, evo me nazad, u staroj formi, odmorna i spremna za šivenje i pisanje. U međuvremenu sam sašila nekoliko stvari, i pripremila materijal za više tutorijala, ali nikako da se nakanim da se uslikam i da sednem da pišem. Pored toga, kad god napravim veću pauzu u blogovanju, uvek se zapitam da li bi, i u kojoj meri, trebalo da vam opišem zbivanja iz svog života, iz perioda tokom kog je bilo zatišje. Pretpostavljam da vas zanima šta radim kad ne šijem (neki od vas su mi mi čak slali mail sa pitanjem da li sam dobro i kada ću se ponovo oglasiti - hvala vam na brizi i lepim rečima!), ali nikad ne mogu da ocenim koja je količina informacija koju je OK javno objaviti, i gde je granica preko koje se ne ide. Zato se uvek radije uzdržim nego što se raspišem o privatnom životu. 

Na sve to, dugo odsustvo i apstinencija od pisanja umeju da izazovu blagu blokadu, kada imate mnogo ideja na pameti, ali ni jednu ne uspevate da artikulišete. Slična blokada me i ovaj put pogodila, pa sam tako počela da pišem nekoliko postova u poslednje dve nedelje, ali ni jedan nisam završila, a kamo li objavila.

Novi članak u Sew News časopisu je odličan povod za novi post, a time i za razbijanje blokade. Zapravo, i članak je objavljen pre nekog vremena, u junsko - julskom izadnju, tako da i sa njim kasnim. Članak opisuje postupak pravljenja kroja za laganu letnju haljinu, inspirianu španksim flamenko haljinama. Kroj je izuzetno jednostavan, što se u magazinu da videti, a sa par ukrasnih satenskih traka ova haljina izgleda raskošno. Umetnički direktor Sew News je u haljini video odličan motiv za proslavu 4. jula, američkog Dana nezavisnosti. 

Haljinu sam sašila pre dosta godina, mislim 2006. godine, i jedno vreme je bila najčešće nošena haljina iz moje garderobe. Napravila sam je uoči puta u Španiju, pa je očigledno odakle potiče inspiracija za nju. U to vreme sam imala jedan omiljeni kroj za letnju haljinu, koji sam sama modelovala, i koji sam do besvesti modifikovala i pravila varijacije na račun dekoltea, dužine, širine suknje, i sl. Od desetina haljina koje sam u to vreme napravila, ovo je jedna od retkih koju i dalje imam. 

No, na žalost, više ne mogu da je nosim, jer mi je sada tesna. U vreme kada sam je nosila, haljina je na meni ovako izgledala.