First off I want to express my most sincere thanks for all the wonderful comments left about my son's jacket. Truly heartwarming. :-)
October has been a busy month for my family, but taking the fit class just added to the craziness. My last class was on Wednesday and I will declare it here, I'm now a HUGE advocate for tissue fitting a pattern. I used to just wing it and just hope for the best. Well I'm here to tell you, I now think that "winging it" is a total waste of time (not to mention a waste of fabric too if you ruin your fabric. Some will say, make a muslin. True you can do that and surely there is still reason to do that on occasion, but honestly tissue fitting doesn't take that long and it helps you see exactly what needs to be done before you even cut your fabric. After tissue fitting if you'd like to see if there are any alterations that still should be made since different fabrics behave differently (for example dart ending placement), you can then pin the garment together to making sure everything looks perfect before you start sewing.
From class I learned many things about my body and how to fit it. Remember this class was only tops, dresses, and skirts and not pants. Things I learned about fitting myself:
1) I am a "B" cup and don't need an SBA! This was totally shocking to me. Shocking!
2) I wear a size 8 for tops and a size 12 for skirts.
3) I need a 1/2" broad back alteration. Every pattern I altered in class (that would be at least a dozen), I needed a 1/2" broad back so that appears to be the norm for me. If you have the FFRP book, it's on page 118 and I use method #2.
4) I don't always need a sway back or forward shoulder alteration like I thought. Trying on the tissue will tell me if I need either and how much. I needed a 3/8" forward shoulder on only two things in class and a the sway back was only a tiny pinch on two things.
5) Sometimes I need a broad shoulder adjustment as well, tho most of the time the 1/2" broad back will cover it.
6)I also learned it best to trace a pattern onto tissue paper for tissue fitting. I usually use Pattern Ease when tracing a BWOF or Ottobre pattern, but PE it's too heavy and stiff for tissue fitting.
If you have the opportunity to take a class from Marta, I highly recommend it. She's personable, helpful, and most of all super nice. She is filled with so much knowledge and is so eager to share it. She really wants everyone to be success and to love sewing and fitting as much as she does. The class I took is geared for local sewers because it's weekly for four weeks, but Marta & Pati also teach a four day fit workshop and people fly into Portland from all over the country.
Overall, it was well worth the $100 I spent. Last night I even tried tissue fitting a top I want to make by myself and I think I got my alterations right on the money. Guess I'll know for sure once it's sewn up.
Next up is the pants class which starts this coming week. It's a different teacher but also with the Palmer/Pletsch sewing school. I have one evening session and then all day next Saturday where we'll actually sew our pants in class. I'm looking forward to it and will be using OOP Vogue 2812; my fabric is gray stretch sateen.
In other sewing news, I have two Halloween costumes finished, one mostly finished, and one not started (tho that is the easy one and only requires some hot glue, spray paint, & a box. :-) I'm also working on a top for myself, Butterick B5101.
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4 comments:
I'm jealous. I'd love to take a fit class with Marta. She really knows her stuff. Interesting that you won't need a SBA. How great is that? Sounds like you walked away needing less alterations than you thought.
I just bought the FFRP book yesterday after reviewing 2 other fitting books at the bookstore. I so want to learn to fit patterns so that I can make myself something more than skirts! :)
Sounds like your class was great. And just think--now you can learn to fit pants, too!
I've love to take that fitting class, too. I've always just taken a chance and no wonder I've had wadders so many times.
I wish someone would come down here to TX with one of these classes!
Very informative post! I should find fit classes in my area. I remember my late mother tissue fitting, but I never paid attention to her methods. That's too bad, too. I could have learned a lot.
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