Commercial Pattern Problems

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swedelady13's Avatar (by Gravatar) posted on
January 29, 2014, 4:44 am
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I have noticed that commercial patterns from the big companies design the front
of a woman's bodice pattern to measure the same length as the back.  This
results in the front being shorter than the back because the fabric has to go
over the bust.  The bigger the bust, the shorter the front is when worn by the
woman.  Am I the only one who has an issue with this?

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Kay Lancaster's Avatar (by Gravatar) posted on
January 29, 2014, 10:42 pm
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Re: Commercial Pattern Problems
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Commercial patterns are generally designed for a B cup, and the assumption is  
the wearer's waist is level and parallel to the floor.  If you're sewing for  
someone with larger than a B cup, you probably need a full bust adjustment,
which will fix the "short front" problem you're having.

Actually, most women have a tilted waist.  If you ask them to tie a string where  
they want the waistband to sit, and then measure from center back to floor,  
side seam to floor, and center front to floor, you'll find the front waist  
is shorter than the back waist -- the waistline is tilted from back to front.
This makes skirts hang funny, so you usually have to adjust for this in the  
pattern, too.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/PostureFoundationGarments04fig1.png/300px-PostureFoundationGarments04fig1.png

The best fitting and pattern alteration book I know of is Leichty, Pottberg and  
Rasband: (Amazon.com product link shortened)

Kay



 

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