Hnyahahahahahahahaha! Finally drafted a pattern!

Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and tribulations! I
*finally* got it right!

See, I am a person of what I like to call 'magnificent proportions'. I can no
longer buy clothes off the rack to fit me. I've had a few attempts at making
things for myself, but basically have been living in two (2) t-shirts and 2 (2)
blouses for the past year, wondering what on earth I'd do when any of them gave
up the ghost.

The handful of garments I've tried to make were highly unsatisfactory. One was
too narrow across the shoulders, another too high in the bust, another just too
darned small all over and one was so tentlike, I just felt like a travelling
circus in it! I tried hard to work out a way to 'explode' the largest pattern I
could get hold of, but it never worked. I grew impatient too many times and made
silly mistakes.

Of course, the number of times I wasted perfectly good fabric making perfectly
imperfect garments made me lose a lot of confidence. Well... All of it, really.
I gave up the idea of even *thinking* of making things for me and concentrated
on DD instead.

Well, the other day, I made her a series of garments for a) the Book Week parade
at school; b) something to play in that wasn't just too, too utterly daggy and
c) something to wear to the school disco. *All* of these garments just flew
together without the tiniest hitch! (I made a Gryffindor black cloak, complete
with crest; a pair of flared black pants and a lovely pale blue 'hairy' swing
top straight out of one of my old 70s patterns). I felt *so* good about all this
that I started to dream of making something halfway decent for myself.

So-oo-o, I sat down and did a whole lot of sums. I worked out my circumference
(holy Dooley! Am I *really* that stout???) and I subtracted the dimensions of
the pattern from it. I divided the difference by four and figured that would be
the amount I needed to add to the pattern. *This* time, I worked on a tracing of
the original pattern and slashed that from shoulder to hem. I spread the pieces
as much as they needed spreading and then I did the Pivotal Thing: I lowered the
dart! This is what has been mucking up my attempts all this time. I don't know
*why* I hadn't managed to cotton onto this a long time ago, but I didn't.
Anyway, I got DH to pin the pattern pieces (cut out of supermarket plastic bag,
as is my wont) to me and they fat! (ie. Past participle of the verb: 'to fit'.
They fat, they fit, they will fit etc)

I cut out some ancient striped cotton fabric I've had forever and made a Really
Nice Blouse out of it! I couldn't *believe* it when I first realised the blessed
garment actually fat me without pulling across the bust or the shoulders. It
hadn't got the Ringling Brothers effect and I could actually sit down in it
without seams a-poppin' all over the place! Hooray!

Since then, I've made three (3) more Very Nice Blouses from this master pattern.
I am *so* happy!!! The sky's the limit! I can churn out blouses now till the
cows come home! Next thing I need to do is discover The Innermost Secrets of The
Pant. But first, I think I'll make another dozen or so Very Nice Blouses, just
because I can! ;-D

Thanks for listening!

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

PS. I'm not a terrible sewist! I can make really good stuff for Other People! I
just lost confidence at making things for myself. I wonder whether some miracle
has occurred in my brane, finally enabling it to overcome my mental barrier?
Maybe if I try quilting, it might work this time? Who knows???

Hnyahahahahahahahaha! Finally drafted a pattern!

(Trish=A0Brown)
Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and
tribulations! I *finally* got it right!
See, I am a person of what I like to call 'magnificent proportions'.
---
Ah, another fellow sewist with an 'expanded awareness', as I prefer to
call my increasing presence in the world.
---
I can no longer buy clothes off the rack to fit me. I've had a few
attempts at making things for myself, but basically have been living in
two (2) t-shirts and 2 (2) blouses for the past year, wondering what on
earth I'd do when any of them gave up the ghost.
---
If the garments fit well, don't dump them till you've traced off
patterns from them.
---
snip amusing goodies and a whole lot of sewing
So-oo-o, I sat down and did a whole lot of sums. I worked out my
circumference (holy Dooley!

Since then, I've made three (3) more Very Nice Blouses from this master
pattern. I am *so* happy!!! The sky's the limit! I can churn out blouses
now till the cows come home! Next thing I need to do is discover The
Innermost Secrets of The Pant. But first, I think I'll make another
dozen or so Very Nice Blouses, just because I can! ;-D
Trish {|:-}
---
Bravo!!!! Sound of many hands clapping
Threads had a very good article on sewing pants to fit any figure. Will
try to find that link--it was through a new sewing spider set up by
another sewist, although I think Threads now has a good index online.
---
PS. I'm not a terrible sewist! I can make really good stuff for Other
People! I just lost confidence at making things for myself. I wonder
whether some miracle has occurred in my brane, finally enabling it to
overcome my mental barrier? Maybe if I try quilting, it might work this
time? Who knows???
---
It is indeed very dfficult to fit one's own figure. After years of
sewing, this is stll an irritant for me.
And, yes; sometimes things just start to 'click', and all sorts of
good sewing karma comes to you. Congatulations, Trish! May your pants
turn out wonderful also!
Cea

Trish Brown wrote:

Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and tribulations! I
*finally* got it right!

Yay Trish! Go, lady, go!

See, I am a person of what I like to call 'magnificent proportions'. I can no
longer buy clothes off the rack to fit me. I've had a few attempts at making
things for myself, but basically have been living in two (2) t-shirts and 2 (2)
blouses for the past year, wondering what on earth I'd do when any of them gave
up the ghost.

Restricted Wardrobe Syndrome!

The handful of garments I've tried to make were highly unsatisfactory. One was
too narrow across the shoulders, another too high in the bust, another just too
darned small all over and one was so tentlike, I just felt like a travelling
circus in it! I tried hard to work out a way to 'explode' the largest pattern I
could get hold of, but it never worked. I grew impatient too many times and made
silly mistakes.

Of course, the number of times I wasted perfectly good fabric making perfectly
imperfect garments made me lose a lot of confidence. Well... All of it, really.
I gave up the idea of even *thinking* of making things for me and concentrated
on DD instead.

Good move: fitting someone else is always easier than fitting yourself,
and a great way to restore your general sewing confidence.

Well, the other day, I made her a series of garments for a) the Book Week parade
at school; b) something to play in that wasn't just too, too utterly daggy and
c) something to wear to the school disco. *All* of these garments just flew
together without the tiniest hitch! (I made a Gryffindor black cloak, complete
with crest; a pair of flared black pants and a lovely pale blue 'hairy' swing
top straight out of one of my old 70s patterns). I felt *so* good about all this
that I started to dream of making something halfway decent for myself.

Whoo hoo! They sound fantastic.

So-oo-o, I sat down and did a whole lot of sums. I worked out my circumference
(holy Dooley! Am I *really* that stout???) and I subtracted the dimensions of
the pattern from it. I divided the difference by four and figured that would be
the amount I needed to add to the pattern. *This* time, I worked on a tracing of
the original pattern and slashed that from shoulder to hem. I spread the pieces
as much as they needed spreading and then I did the Pivotal Thing: I lowered the
dart! This is what has been mucking up my attempts all this time. I don't know
*why* I hadn't managed to cotton onto this a long time ago, but I didn't.
Anyway, I got DH to pin the pattern pieces (cut out of supermarket plastic bag,
as is my wont) to me and they fat! (ie. Past participle of the verb: 'to fit'.
They fat, they fit, they will fit etc)

A lot of people think just because they are no taller when they are more
generously proportioned that they don't need extra length to accommodate
the extra width... I've been noticing the opposite effect as I've been
shrinking: all my trousers are getting too long in both the body and the
legs!

I cut out some ancient striped cotton fabric I've had forever and made a Really
Nice Blouse out of it! I couldn't *believe* it when I first realised the blessed
garment actually fat me without pulling across the bust or the shoulders. It
hadn't got the Ringling Brothers effect and I could actually sit down in it
without seams a-poppin' all over the place! Hooray!

Yippy Doo!

Since then, I've made three (3) more Very Nice Blouses from this master pattern.
I am *so* happy!!! The sky's the limit! I can churn out blouses now till the
cows come home! Next thing I need to do is discover The Innermost Secrets of The
Pant. But first, I think I'll make another dozen or so Very Nice Blouses, just
because I can! ;-D

Thanks for listening!

Sounds like you are on a roll there!

As for the pants/trousers, if you have a pair that fit reasonably well,
and the style is OK, try slipping a pattern off them. You'll need to
use a similar type of fabric to make them up.


--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Trish Brown wrote:
Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and tribulations! I
*finally* got it right!

snip
Since then, I've made three (3) more Very Nice Blouses from this master pattern.
I am *so* happy!!! The sky's the limit! I can churn out blouses now till the
cows come home! Next thing I need to do is discover The Innermost Secrets of The
Pant. But first, I think I'll make another dozen or so Very Nice Blouses, just
because I can! ;-D

Thanks for listening!

Trish,
Congratulations! That's great. I know how discouraging it is to work
on something and have it come out way below your expectations. I
haven't sewn for myself in years but I'm about to try. I'm gearing up
for it. Preparing myself mentally. Really, I am. Your success story is
good encouragement. Enjoy those blouses and the sense of accomplishment!

Marilyn

Trish:
Some of the Simplicity patterns for the larger sizes are not too bad now,
either. I've made up both them and Kwik Sew for a friend of mine who cannot
purchase off the rack. I have had to make adjustments for height, but that
has really been the only thing (besides the fact that she is larger still
than their biggest size, but that adjustment was relatively minor). Burda
also makes some nice styles for the more 'robust' figure, but they are found
more in the monthly magazine than the pattern catalogues.
Cynthia

"Marilyn" wrote in message
...


Trish Brown wrote:
Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and
tribulations! I
*finally* got it right!

snip
Since then, I've made three (3) more Very Nice Blouses from this master
pattern.
I am *so* happy!!! The sky's the limit! I can churn out blouses now till
the
cows come home! Next thing I need to do is discover The Innermost
Secrets of The
Pant. But first, I think I'll make another dozen or so Very Nice
Blouses, just
because I can! ;-D

Thanks for listening!

Trish,
Congratulations! That's great. I know how discouraging it is to work
on something and have it come out way below your expectations. I
haven't sewn for myself in years but I'm about to try. I'm gearing up
for it. Preparing myself mentally. Really, I am. Your success story is
good encouragement. Enjoy those blouses and the sense of accomplishment!

Marilyn

"Trish Brown" wrote in message
...
Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and
tribulations! I
*finally* got it right!

See, I am a person of what I like to call 'magnificent proportions'.


Congratulations! I like to think of myself as 'well-endowed all over'. I
don't know what some of these patternmakers can possibly be thinking when
they size a pattern XXL and I find it designed for a man of freakish
proportions. It may fit in the chest or waist but some of the other
measurements seem so peculiar that I doubt there is a living model with that
particular size and shape.

I hope I can do the same as you some day.

Max

Dear Max,

One of my specialties when I was teaching was helping to get good fitting
basics for both men and women. For men, if one has a good fitting t-shirt and
pants, any men's style can be drafted from these templates. If you're
interested, I can explain how to make these basics, and then how to turn them
into shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, etc.

Teri

P.S. Was it you who asked if I was the Teri Jones from Southern California.
We lived there about thirty-five years ago--it could have been.

Good for you!! Practice makes perfect as they say. I've been sewing for
years and I still know there is a lot I don't know. But I'm always
willing to try. The best advice I've been given was always try a new
pattern with cheap material. That way you can make alterations and such
and then when it's perfect you buy the good stuff. I think of the money
I've wasted doing exactly what you've done in the past and it's such a
shame. This group is absolutely the best source of knowledge I've ever
found.
Take Care
Joanna
--
Remove Quilt to reply

Max Penn wrote:

"Trish Brown" wrote in message
...
Gee! I can't believe how easy it was, after all my trials and
tribulations! I
*finally* got it right!

See, I am a person of what I like to call 'magnificent proportions'.

Congratulations! I like to think of myself as 'well-endowed all over'. I
don't know what some of these patternmakers can possibly be thinking when
they size a pattern XXL and I find it designed for a man of freakish
proportions. It may fit in the chest or waist but some of the other
measurements seem so peculiar that I doubt there is a living model with that
particular size and shape.

I hope I can do the same as you some day.

Max

Oh Max! Have a go! All I did was to slash the pattern pieces from shoulder to
hem and spread them out the amount needed (a quarter of my Sir Cumference). And
I had a *dart* to contend with! There was nearly bloodshed!

When I got up this morning and saw my *plethora* of blouses hanging on the
kitchen door, I nearly dissolved with downright *hubris*!!! LOLOLOLOLOL!

Y'know, it never ceases to amaze me, the way patternmakers assume that a person
who wears a size 26 has a flat stomach and narrow shoulders! How can that be?
When was the last time you met a magnificently sized person with a flat tummy?
Not only that, but as Kate says, they make the blessed things too short! Who
wants their rotunda-tummy exposed for all the world to gaze upon? OR... they
make hideous constructions gathered onto a round yoke with acres and hectares of
spare fabric designed to be caught in the breeze and render one into a windsock
or weather ballooon!

I dunno (scratching head)...

DH has been eyeing my new blouses with lust in his heart. He bought some loud
splashy Hawaiian print fabric so that I could make him a shirt (see other post)
AND he secretly tried on my lovely pale blue chambray blouse with the tiny
yellow sunflowers embroidered all over it. It didnt' fit. So, before I try the
Pant Thing, I think I'll have a shot at making a pattern to fit poor old DH.
Like so many of us, he leads with his tummy, so the challenge will be making
something that has adequate room around the middle but doesn't wind up looking
like a skirt lower down...

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

applause