You’re probably pretty familiar with darts. Darts are the most commonly found fitting elements in a pattern design so you’ve probably stitched many of them over the years. Whether you’ve noticed or not, the legs of the dart on most sewing patterns are straight, but have you ever wondered if you could improve the fit by making them curved? 

This was one of the first questions I got from a member of my new on-line course Fitting Essentials: How to Make Sewing Patterns Fit You.

Ruth asked:

"You’ve  talked about darts and the various ways they can be manipulated for fit and style. I’ve read in a few places that it’s helpful to put a bit of a curve in the stitch line so the dart fits better. Is this a good or bad idea? I keep thinking that it would be a longer seam and that it would throw off the rest of the fitting. And while it sounds plausible, how would you figure out what shape of curve to put in? My biggest issue with darts is that they...

This week I want to start a conversation about ease. It seems there is some confusion about where it goes and how much is needed so I thought I’d share some insight.

Let’s start with this:

There are three kinds of ease. Wearing ease, design ease and negative ease.

Wearing ease is the minimum amount ease over the body measurement needed in a pattern to live in your garment. It allows for just enough room to breath, sit, walk and do your normal daily activities. Each area of the body is assigned a standard amount but depends entirely on the garment and what activities you want to perform in it.

Design ease includes wearing ease and is the additional measurement added to the pattern that creates the style or silhouette of the garment. For example a boxy oversize top has wearing ease, for movement, and design ease to create the boxy look.

Negative ease is most often used for knit or stretch fabric garments that are intended to hug the body. This is the amount of measurement...

If you’re on my email list, you’ll already know I sent you something special last week. It was so special in fact, that I got over 40 thank you emails for sending it out. So if you haven’t opened an email from me in a while, you’ll want to check the latest one for sure. I’ve been giving away some of my best stuff lately.

Wondering what it was? Well, let me tell you.

It was my recently updated Perfect Fit Guide. It’s an 8-page guide that outlines the six steps to getting the right fit on your sewing projects and even includes the Pattern Measurement Worksheet which just happens to be the perfect companion to the guide.

GET THE PERFECT FIT GUIDE HERE

Today I want to talk about the 4 pattern alteration mistakes you may be making that are affecting the way your garment ultimately fits. This is covered in step six of the guide, but I’ve got a feeling most of you are glossing over this section, so here we go:

Mistake #1: You make your pattern...

Two years ago I purchased the book The Curated Closet by Anushka Rees.

I started out in earnest and managed to do a closet clean out, an inspiration board and a two-week wardrobe analysis, then promptly moved on to more urgent things. But completing this small portion of the project did provide some insight which I share rather openly HERE.

Last week I shared my musings and discovered that I wasn't alone in how I felt about my aging, weight gain and lifestyle change. So many people responded and shared very similar stories. [feels so good to be validated!]

This week I share the garments I've made in the last two years and what I've discovered about my style preferences along the way. I show you the wardrobe wins, the fabric choice fails, and two things I did for myself that have changed how I feel about growing older.

I confess, the video isn't short, so it's a good idea to settle in with a beverage, then hit play. There just wasn't anything I felt could be...

This week I'm putting the spotlight on the Cool Cowl tank.  It's a quick and satisfying project designed specifically for knit fabrics and a D bust cup size. This top features a front cowl neckline and sleeveless styling; perfect for warm summer days or under a jacket for Fall. 

I've made a couple of versions of this top and in some fabrics the neckline hangs pretty low (see the orange rayon jersey version above). This is called "drop" and happens with drapey knit fabrics without a lot of stretch recovery. Basically it means gravity and the weight of the fabric take its toll on the garment and make it longer over time. This week, I'm going to help you pre-empt this issue by giving you the pattern alteration to raise the front neck drop on this style and eliminate the need to wear a cami underneath.

In the video I show you how to establish the balance lines on this pattern and share the secret to knowing how much you can reduce the neck drop on this style...

Here's another revival of a past video that contains some valuable information about adjusting for shoulder width on a garment with sleeves.

The method I share in this video requires no change to the sleeve but be sure to watch the whole video because I have a short segment on how this alteration can change the garment's shoulder slope fit which may be problematic if you are making a very large shoulder width adjustment [1" (2.5 cm) or more]. 

Large shoulder width adjustments are best done using an alternate method which include an alteration to the sleeve (a future video perhaps).

The book I am referencing in the video is Fabulous Fit: Speed Fitting and Alterations by Elizabeth Liechty and Judith Rasband.

If you're interested in how to adjust the shoulder width on a garment with straps, you'll find a helpful video HERE.

Enjoy!

All My Best,
Alexandra

I’m wrapping up this month’s video series on raglan sleeves today so if you missed any of the previous tutorials, I suggest you watch them. I’m pretty sure you’re going to find some new to you information inside.

How to Create a Raglan Sleeve

How to Alter a Raglan Sleeve for a Square or Sloping Shoulder

How to Alter the Bicep on a Raglan Sleeve

Today I’m going to show you how to alter your raglan sleeve for a forward shoulder.

Dive right in and watch the video now!

I hope you enjoyed the entire series on raglan sleeves and gained some new insight as to how to alter them to fit you. If you try any of these methods, let me know how it worked out. I’m always happy to hear from you.

All My Best,
Alexandra

This week we’re continuing on the topic of raglan sleeves. In the first video of the series I showed you how a raglan sleeve is created. In the second video I showed you how to alter for a square or sloping shoulder. This week I’m going to show you how to alter the bicep girth.

Watch the video now!

Let me know in the comments if this method is new to you, better yet, if you’ve tried it, let me know how it worked. I’m always happy to hear from you. Next week is the last video of this series and I think it’s one you’re going to want to bookmark.

All My Best,
Alexandra

This month we’re talking all things raglan sleeves. Last week I showed you how a raglan sleeve is created from a basic pattern block so that you can more clearly understand how to make them fit you. This week I’m going to show you the pattern work that solves for a squared or sloping shoulder.

Watch the video now!

I hope you are enjoying this video series. Next week we’ll be covering the bicep girth adjustment for a raglan sleeve. I think the method I’m going to show you will definitely be new to you. I hope you’ll tune in!

All My Best,
Alexandra

Recently I’ve gotten some great questions about how to fit raglan sleeves so I thought I’d put together a video series all about them. This week, I’m going to show you how raglan sleeves are developed because understanding that is going to help you understand how to make them fit.

 Watch the video now to see the demonstration.

Once you understand how raglan sleeves are created, fitting them is going to be so much easier. If you’d like to try this technique for yourself and don’t have a basic bodice block of your own, you can download and print my free scaled block patterns. If you’d like to create your own basic block pattern join me in my online pattern making course Designed to Fit: The Bodice Block. You'll create your own personal block that fits you!

Next week, we’ll talk about how to adjust a raglan sleeve for a squared or sloped shoulder. I hope you’ll tune in.

All My Best,
Alexandra