This week I waned to share something that might get you thinking about darts a little differently.

In the image above you'll see two different kinds of darts represented: visible and invisible darts. I know you are familiar with visible darts, they are easily found and identified, but invisible darts can be a little bit more elusive because they are hidden inside the seams throughout the garment and give the garment shape just like the visible darts you're so familiar with.

In the example I've shown above you'll see that there is one invisible dart at the back yoke seam line which provides shaping for the back just as a shoulder dart would. Another invisible dart is located at the shoulder seam line which provides the shape you need over the shoulder.

When you consider shaping in the seams as darts, you can use the information to help you understand how to adjust your pattern to fit you. I invite you to take a closer look at your sewing patterns before you sew to discover all...

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...

OK so, truth be told, I'm taking a little break from filming this week.

You see, I know you may not have been keeping up with the weekly posts, after all you have a life to live and it doesn't always involve your sewing hobby. So I'm declaring this week a catch-up week! 

Here is a list of some of the fitting tutorials you may have missed or simply would like to review again. Everyone needs a refresher now and again.

The Forward Shoulder Adjustment (Two Ways)

The Broad and Narrow Back Adjustment

The Shoulder Width Adjustment (Two Ways)

Now if those don't sound interesting to you and you'd like to work on your sewing techniques instead, I've got these tutorials just waiting for you:

The French Binding Tutorial

How to Construct a Single Welt Pocket

The Front Fly Tutorial

Of course, if you've missed the last few weeks of video tutorials, poke around the blog or try out the search bar in the top corner of this page, you just might discover exactly what you need today.

Oh!...

This week I wanted to continue the conversation about neckline fitting so in this video I'm talking about the gaping front neckline and a method of correcting it that you may not have seen before. 

When you start drafting your own patterns or really study a pattern in depth, you begin to notice certain consistencies between all patterns and one of these consistencies I call neck balance. Neck balance is the relationship between the front and back neck width. You see, in order for the front neckline to fit smoothly without gaping and eliminate excess fabric across the front chest, the back neck width needs to be larger (wider) than the front neck width.  If you want to understand more clearly what I mean, simply watch the video, I cover the theory and the practice to correcting this fitting issue.

Enjoy!

All My Best,
Alexandra

For my more advanced sewing enthusiasts, this weeks video may be a little on the obvious side but I find that I get this question a lot so I thought I would cover it for those of you who are new to pattern making and fitting. 

Watch the video now and then come back here to continue reading because there's more to the story...

If you are a bit of a pattern making and fitting veteran the fact that the front pattern is wider than the back isn't new, so to keep you engaged, I've got a puzzle for you to solve instead.

Virtually all pattern drafting systems assume a B cup size which results in a front pattern that is wider than the back by 1/2" on each side. As you increase the bust cup size, the front pattern width increases accordingly so for a D cup you may find that your front pattern is wider by 1" on each side.

So here's something for you to consider. Bust circumference and bust cup size do not necessarily correlate, meaning two people with the same bust...

Recently I got an email from Gigi. She shared a lovely compliment, made a very valid comment about a blog post I did some time ago and asked a very good question. She suggested that her struggle with bicep girth adjustments was shared by many so in this week's video I share my reply to her email.

Watch the video now to get the whole story.

If you enjoyed this video, let me know! I'd love to get your feedback. If you've got a question or want to share your experience with this particular fitting adjustment, just comment below.

If you'd like to learn more strategies for recognizing, assessing and solving fit issues, there are just 3 spots left in The Fitting Fundamentals Workshop being held on March 10th right here in beautiful Victoria BC. (The cherry blossoms should be out in full bloom just for you.) 

All My Best,
Alexandra

PS
If you happen to be a Threads Magazine insider, you might also find this article by Kathleen Cheetham useful: Fitting Plus Size...

This week I have a follow up video to Four Things that Will Get You to a Better Fit Faster. If you didn't catch that one you might want to watch it before diving into this one.

In this week's video I'll show you how to choose your pattern size and a quick way to determine the initial pattern adjustments you'll need to make using information gathered from the sewing pattern. I'll also share how sewing patterns are developed and why the quick fit method I presented in last week's video works so well for me. 

Featured in this video is The Pattern Measurement Worksheet which is a FREE download you get when you sign up for The Perfect Fit Guide. If you would like to get your hands on the worksheet immediately, just click the image below and I'll send it to you.

As I mentioned in the video, I'm currently working on a new online course. It's called Designed to Fit: The Bodice Block. You can take a peek at the course outline and get all the details by clicking...

If you feel short on sewing time and you've been struggling with fitting your sewing projects, you need a quick start guide. Watch this video to get exactly that. I'll go over four things you can do today to get you to a better fit faster. 

After you've watched the video, I'd love to hear if this method worked for you. You can comment below, share a post in the In-House Patterns Studio Facebook group, or send me an email.

If you want to spend a little bit more time perfecting your pattern before sewing up a sample, get The Perfect Fit Guide. It's a free guide I created that outlines the 6 steps to getting the right fit on any sewing project. When you receive the guide, you'll discover all the key measurements you'll need to assess fit, how these measurements relate to the pattern, and what order to work to keep the fitting process moving forward. You'll also get tips for accurately adjusting and refining patterns for trouble free sewing.  Just...