Burda 6974 - Applying What I Learned About Full Bust Adjustments

I began this blog as an attempt to share what I've "figured out" in hopes that it might help someone else, but I also hope to learn from the experience of others.  Most of what I have learned about pattern alterations has been obtained from scouring books on fitting, other blogs, YouTube videos and online courses.  I have had many successes but I have also had a few duds along the way.


I have had my eye on Burda 6974 as my MAGAM project for June. I have, however, been somewhat reluctant to sew it because I knew I needed a FBA and did not see where anyone else had demonstrated this alteration on this particular pattern.


So here goes my attempt at a full bust adjustment on Burda 6974--

1.  I drew a new grainline parallel to the center fold which is on the straight of grain.


2.  I marked my bust point and drew two more lines-- one from the armhole to the bust point and one  from just below the armhole to the bust point. 

3. I made the full bust adjustment (I will not go into details here as there are a number of excellent tutorials on the internet). 

4.  I did not want a dart at the side seam so I decided to rotate the dart out at center front. To rotate  the dart, I drew another line from a point along the gathering to the bust point and pivoted the side seam dart closed.  This converted the dart to gathers at the center front. 

Here is how the pattern looks after the alterations described above.

And a closer look at the rotated dart adjustment. Again, this will not be sewn as a dart, but will be gathered.

5.  I made the corresponding adjustment to the front facing by lining it up with the top  I realized too late that I'd made the adjustments with the right side of the pattern facing down, which explains the backwards print. 

Will this alteration give me the fit I desire?  I won't know until I sew a test garment but the way I see it-- Nothing beats a failure but a try. 

So if all goes well, here is the plan for my MAGAM project for June.

I purchased this fabric on sale from an internet source (can't remember which one at the moment). After I received it in the mail I found that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. So my June project will be a test garment of sorts. If it works, I will be able to wear it in the summer and with a cardigan in cooler months. If it does not work out there will be no love lost. The plan is to make the top but without sleeves (fitting set-in sleeves for me is a major alteration which I have not yet mastered).  I hope I will have good news to report. 

Until next time...Sew something you love!

My Adventures With Vogue 1250

Starting this blog has cured my problem with  procrastination.  For one thing, having a self-imposed deadline has been just the push I needed to begin altering Vogue 1250 to fit my figure.  I have been wanting to sew Vogue 1250 ever since I saw so many versions of this pattern on the  Pattern Review website.     This dress seems to be flattering on a number of different figure types but the task of fitting this pattern to my figure was somewhat daunting. 

First of all, this pattern only goes up to a size 20. This normally would not be a problem because I generally choose a size 20 and then  make the necessary adjustments to fit my waist and hip measurements.  However, the second issue with this pattern, the unusual pattern pieces, made me shutter just thinking about how to begin adjusting for fit.  This dress pattern is different from any dress pattern I'd seen before.  Instead of separate front and back bodice and skirt pieces, the front bodice, front skirt and back skirt is all one pattern piece.   Then there is a separate pattern piece for the back bodice.  How on earth do I begin altering this pattern to increase the waist and hip circumference?!?  

I love the internet because if there is a problem, there is usually someone out there who  has at least made an attempt at solving it.  I've fixed a leaky faucet simply by searching the web and finding a video tutorial with step-by-step instructions.  Altering this pattern should be a piece of cake, right?  so, using my favorite search engine, I typed in "altering Vogue 1250" and up popped this post on the  Stitches & Seams  blog. 

Armed with this information I began cutting, adding, and reassembling.  Here is what I did--


A pic of the uncut/unaltered pattern piece for the bodice/skirt front and the skirt back (sorry about the sun rays in pic). 

This post suggested tracing off the dart and setting it aside to use as a template to redraw the dart after reattaching the skirt front and back pieces, but because I was planning to completely eliminate the dart and create side seams I only traced over the dart to make it easier to identify the dart for the size I was using.

 

Then I drew a line (in red) from the dart point to the hem allowance making sure the line was at a 90 degree angle to the hemline.

Next I drew a line bisecting the dart--

From there I cut the pattern apart along the red line and cut the front bodice and the front skirt apart at the lengthen/shorten line.    I made a 3/8" full bust adjustment ( I am a C cup and this pattern is drafted for a B cup) following the directions in Debbie's post.

I used a pencil skirt pattern that I had already adjusted to fit me to make adjustments to the front and back skirt by lining up the waistline and center front  of the pencil skirt pattern to the waistline and center front of the front skirt pattern piece.  I then traced along the side seam blending back into the original side seam near the hem.   Note:  when making skirt alterations if you plan to include a side seam, you will need to add a side seam allowance.  I did not in this case because my pencil skirt pattern already included a side seam allowance.

I made the corresponding changes to the back skirt pattern piece.  Necessary changes were made to the front and back bodice pieces to ensure everything lined up.  I taped the front bodice and skirt pieces back together and extended the back underarm (based on suggestions from reviewers on the Pattern Review website).  I did not reconnect the back skirt to the front skirt as I wanted side seams on the skirt.  The final pattern adjustment was to the front bodice neck line to which I extended the drape in length and tapered back to the original line. 

Here are the pattern pieces after adjustments have been made--

Now off I go to sew a muslin using this fabric.

 

I found this fabric in the red tag bin at Joann's, liked it in the store but had second thoughts once I got it home.  Stay tuned...

Until next time...sew something you love!