Monday, April 03, 2017

fba on Darling Ranges Bodice


I'm finally sewing up Darling Ranges from Megan Nielsen Patterns!  I always feel like I'm the last to attempt these popular patterns.  I've been half in love with this one forever, but I'm trying to work from patterns I already own (because I have a lot, and am half in love with most of them too).  Except during Me-Made-May last year, I won a prize through a giveaway (more on that next time) that included this pattern.  It's been on the back of my mind ever since, and as the pattern also came with fabric to sew the dress up in, obviously it was the one I reached for when I was considering a new project!

Except as usual, I knew I had to modify the pattern.  A full bust adjustment was definitely in order.

FBA on Darling Ranges Bodice
The first thing I did was trace the front pattern piece.  Since my body measurements are quite different than the pattern sizes, I used my high bust measurement (38", size M) for the shoulders, graded to size L at the underarm after the arm scythe, then graded to an XL at the waist.  My current waist measurement is actually, erm, a bit larger than the pattern fits to, but I also knew that the fba would add some width, so we're going for it.

Since I was pursuing my Fit For Real People (FFRP) book to refresh my memory on how to do an fba, I decided to tissue fit the pattern.  No pics of that process since I was just in my bra at the time, but it showed that I needed a 2 inches added to the piece (1 inch fba on each side).

FBA on Darling Ranges Bodice
There's a tutorial on Megan Nielsen's blog about how to do an fba for this pattern, but it was based on her previous design, which had a dart on the side, not at the waistline.  I chose to just go with a normal fba based on FFRP, while adding a dart to the side to redistribute some of the dart width. You can see that adjustment above, though I forgot to add some length on the right side of the fba.

FBA on Darling Ranges Bodice
I retraced the adjustments onto a new sheet and tried it on.  (I'm using parchment paper because it's what I have on hand.  I love working with this stuff, but scotch tape doesn't stick to it for very long and that's such a pain, let me tell you).  The fit was better, but the side dart I added was too high.  I chopped that sucker out and shifted it down a bit.

FBA on Darling Ranges Bodice
AND here's the final result.  While tracing this version, I raised the neckline by about 1.25 inches as per Megan's tutorial.  I probably should've rotated some more of that lower dart width to the side dart, but ah well.  I think this'll do, and I'll make any further adjustments on the next dress.  If there's another dress.  I hope there is, because this one seems darling - lets see how it works on me!

FBA on Darling Ranges Bodice
In case you're curious (I always am), this is how the piece stacked up against the original.  I lined up the shoulder and the front centre edge since that hadn't changed much.  You can see the width and length added to the piece (I'm a little worried about that added length, but the tissue fitting seemed to sit fine on me so we're just gonna give'er on that one), and the changes to the dart location and end point.  I forgot to mention, but at some point I lowered the vertical dart a bit since it hit above my apex.

Yeah yeah, boring post.  I haven't even showed you the fabric this'll be made from!  Mostly I just wanted to write out my adjustments here for future reference.  Hopefully I actually get to sewing this dress up, because I think it's going to be a great addition to my wardrobe, and I'm feeling like I need a change to my style.  But more on that another time.

Geez these are a pain to do, but it's worth the time to adjust the pattern.  What annoying-but-worthwhile pattern adjustments do you have to make?

8 comments:

  1. Eep! Seems to me if you have nailed it, you have a very workable bodice block right there to make all kinds of variations from! Get some payback for all that effort. Did you get my email btw? xo

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    1. OH! I DID get your email! I read it, smiled, then got buried under a wave of customers and promptly forgot about it. Story of my life, geez. I'll re-read and respond as soon as I'm in that email. In fact, I'm going to EMAIL MYSELF to remind me to email you! :D (This is so my life, geez.)

      That's a good point - I never thought about using this to make other variations! Let's see how this goes, and maybe I'll play around with making a top from the same piece. :)

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    2. I totes relate. I miss emails all the time. The importance of them is not a consideration! xo

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  2. Looks great! I should check out that FFRP book, I've shied away from a lot of sewing because I know I'll need to fba everything and it's always intimidated me!

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    1. The styling of FFRP was written in the early 90s (ish), so it seems a little dated. The fitting advice is stellar though. There's tonnes of good tutorials online too that cover fbas really well too, so FFRP isn't required reading. I just like having an offline reference to pull out and lay next to me.

      FBAs look intimidating, but it's really not that hard. Three cuts and a bit of shifting and measuring (plus lengthening the side that remains the original level) and you're done. Okay, that sounds complicated, but it's really not that bad. I went through a few iterations here mostly because I did a few adjustments and tape doesn't stick to this stupid parchment paper. I could've done all of the adjustments in one version and save myself a tonne of time and tracing if I'd just used paper. :P

      Okay, Imma stop babbling now. Hit me up for links for fbas if you ever get to it, and I'll find some good ones for you!

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  3. I should probably drop waists on pattern, but largely don't. I also should probably try small bust adjustment!

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  4. Oh, good luck! I hope it turns out well. I make a whole host of alterations, though I'm not sure which is worse---when I skip one and it bites me in the butt, or when I over do it. 😂 I shorten bodices, square shoulders, adjust for swayback, and lengthen the snot out of sleeves and pant legs. Good luck!

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  5. I've been knitting things that I hope will work if I gain a few or lose a few for at least two years now. The one fitted thing I made was too big the next year :(. But my body is calming down now (hormones🙄) and I've been consistent for a while so I'm ready to try making more of my own clothes. Your adjustments have me in awe, but logically I know this isn't rocket science anymore than knitting mods are, right?

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