Clothes are designed to some kind of standard proportions. We are all familiar with the horizontal measurements, such as bust, waist, hips. There is also a set of standard vertical measurements based on the assumption that (a) a person is 8 heads tall, and (b) that height is spread evenly over the frame. Apparently the landmarks for those 8 units are as follows:
1. Head length (top of head to chin)
2. bottom of chin to nipple (mid bust)
3. mid bust to navel (narrowest part of the waist)
4. navel to leg break (this is where the leg bends up at the hip, where you will see majority of trouser creasing, and is just above the crotch).
5. leg break to mid thigh
6. mid thigh to mid knee
7. mid knee to mid calf
8. mid calf to foot
Ideally, the height of each unit is the same.
My measurements are as follows:
1. 9
2. 9
3. 8
4. 5
5. 7
6. 7
7. 8.5
8. 8.5
So the bulk of my short happens from navel to leg break, which is why the rise of trousers/pants is always too long. This makes fitting tops and bottoms through the waist a bit of a challenge, and helps explain why I go squirrelly with waistbands at my natural waist.
I managed to locate my trouser pattern with a minimum of frustration (woo!), so I’ve cut out the fronts (except for the crotch curve) and backs. I would like to get stitching, but I’m not sure how I want to handle the zipper. I’m trying to think a few steps ahead but in the process became paralysed with indecision. So I took a nap. That’s one nice thing about sewing on a holiday.
The options I’m considering are:
Fly-front
+ I don’t find it particularly intimidating
+ I like how it looks/most RTW is done this way
+ it works well with belt loops
– it needs a separate waistband, which is more bother than I really want (my waistband pattern is a little rough and not entirely dependable yet)
– it needs a button and buttonhole (I hate trouser hooks); I’ve been hesitant to do it this way because I’m not certain that my machine would make a nice buttonhole through all the layers – easy enough to test though, I suppose
– it’s a little more involved than I really want – I’d like to keep it simple
Invisible zipper
+ no waistband needed – I’d like to try a shaped petersham waist facing, which should be pretty easy
+ no button or buttonhole – I’d probably close the top with a hidden hook and eye
– I’ve never used an invisible zipper on a garment before (I did a sample one as part of a workshop years ago)
? I think it might look weird with belt loops
? is it weird to put an invisible zipper in the front? I wouldn’t put it in the side (I prefer to avoid putting a zipper into a curve, and I expect to have to tweak the sides a fair amount), and while I don’t object to the idea of putting it in the back, that wouldn’t work with the belt
The fabric is a very dark green (reads as black) with with asymmetric pinstripes in white and light blue, and it has a little stretch. I won’t be putting in any pockets. The waist will be below my natural waistline. I’m going for work-appropriate but comfortable (i.e. I need to be able to sit cross-legged).
Having written out the pros and cons, I’m leaning towards invisible zipper in front with belt loops. If I’m on crack, please talk me out of it.
I’ve been looking over the body shape analysis over at Inside Out Style, and I figured that I was likely an X (hourglass) or A (pear). If I’m an A, then the wisdom would be to keep hips free of ornamentation, show the waist, and add fullness at the shoulders to balance out the hips – so I bought this pattern:
Butterick 5497
But then I kept reading the blog and found other body shapes, like the 8 (similar to X but carrying weight higher on the hip). I then looked at how she measures shoulder width, and I think my shoulders may actually be wider than my hips. So I’d be a V (inverted triangle). In short, I have no idea, so I’ll just have to make up the damn thing and see how it looks.
I picked up some interesting black synthetic knit with silver thread in it. I don’t expect it to be particularly comfortable (I rarely wear synthetics) but that’s OK because it’s meant to be a special occasion top.
Black sparkle knit. In real life, it reads much more black. The sparkle is silver - not sure where the aqua tone came from.
I didn’t make a muslin but started mucking with the pattern right away. I’m doing the long-sleeved version (view C) and I noticed that the sleeve is drafted at a rather low angle for being so loose at the top of the sleeve and so narrow at the wrist. My worry was that this would constrict the range of motion.
Butterick 5497 diagram
Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I redrafted it so the top of the sleeve is on the horizontal. Hey, while I’m at it, why not put that horizontal on the fold? The shoulders are supposed to get some ruching by means of short lengths of elastic stitched into the SA. Only I don’t have an SA there now. Not sure exactly how this will play out, but I’ll think of something when I get there.
My first draft is not made of win. The measurements suggested that the length would be fine from shoulder to below bust. Not so much. It looks sloppy and dumpy, but if I hoik it up an inch or two, it’s not bad. And then I could just shorten it using… that seam I just drafted out of the pattern. Oh well. I guess I’ll have to rip out the under-bust seam. There’s a funny curve on the front seam, which bows up towards the bust. I’m sure this is supposed to have some practical application, but the effect is to create an extra flap for drooping. Not good. Since I’m ripping that seam out anyway, I’ll straighten it out like I wanted to when I first eyeballed the shape.
As this top wasn’t going terribly well, and because I’d like to make a pair of pants/trousers by early May, I thought I should put this project down and start on the trousers. Was going to get rolling on it last night, but oops, somehow this fabric escaped the pre-wash. Washed it and hung it up to dry this morning, and thought I should at least pull out the pattern pieces and see about marking the fabric. Oops, I have no idea where that pattern is après move.
I finished my third long-sleeve T-shirt a few weeks ago and just haven’t had time to post about it.
deep red T-shirt
The neckline ended up a little snugger than I intended. I misremembered what seam allowance I’ve been using, and my SA accidentally ended up 1/8″ narrower than what I had been using. (I figured out what I had done right after I did it, and if I was extra clever I even wrote it down somewhere. I hope.) On top of that, I think I’m doing the front neckline a little too high. As a result, the neck is a bit small: the front ought to be about ½” lower. (You can see a little wrinkle in the front of the neck.) However, the (so-called) binding went in nicely so I didn’t bother to try again. After a few washes, it’s still holding its shape nicely too. Fortunately I’m not particularly sensitive to tight collars.
The sleeves are neither too tight nor too loose, but just right, as far as I’m concerned.
The side seams at the hem still look a little odd (at least, when I first put it on – it’s not visible in this photo, which was taken at the end of the day). I didn’t do anything creative with the side seams – just sewed them at the regular SA as usual. I’m getting a little poke out at the sides and I’m not sure why. I imagine it has something to do with the extra width at the hip (and in back) and my clumsy attempts at fitting this area.
Wore the shirt all day so the fit is a little sloppy. Not sure what’s up with the wrinkle at waist.
I have this horizontal wrinkle at the waist that I can’t quite figure out. I don’t think it’s too tight as I definitely have ease there. When I snug it up around the waist, the wrinkle becomes a little smaller but doesn’t go away. I don’t have a swayback, but I’ve got a bit more in the trunk than average (not that this photo shows it). I wonder if I should add more room in the back from the waist down, and maybe raise the waist a little? But I pretty much tried these adjustments while I was making it and nothing seemed to work.
Blood, Sweatshop & Tears 