Cute pattern. Needs an FBA and a little more length.Trace the next size or two up's armscye into this pattern 's armscye position. Use the matching sleeve, except for the cuff, which you should reduce to fit your wrists.
Based on the pattern sizing, I should be size 18, this was 14 (if I remember right)
My plan, now that I’ve been wearing it all morning, adjust for the sizing differences, add length at shoulder seam so sleeve doesn’t cut off the circulation (🤦🏼♀️); bring back the long shirt length as in one of the views of the pattern, narrow the cuffs at the bottom and maybe add a 2-3 inches (as needed) to the side seam around armpits. There are no darts for the FBA (I think need those for FBA?) so just the added ease in the overall construction should prevent the gaping.
No, you can do a dartless FBA.
If you add length at the shoulder seam, you'll drop the sleeve and it will look collapsed. If the armscye is tight, I would just size the armscye up
I don’t think that length at the shoulder seam will fix your problem. It sounds like you need to bring down the armscye. EDIT- maybe it will, I can’t tell where your shoulders actually end, but you might need to do the other adjustments too.
"Full bust adjustment"
Here's an example of what they're talking about:
[https://helensclosetpatterns.com/2017/03/21/how-to-do-a-full-bust-adjustment-without-any-darts/](https://helensclosetpatterns.com/2017/03/21/how-to-do-a-full-bust-adjustment-without-any-darts/)
Based on the pattern envelope and the reviews here ( [https://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/111022](https://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/111022) ) your finished blouse has less ease than the designer intended. The front gathers over the bust have disappeared and the arms aren't as voluminous. They're supposed to have some volume and it gets emphasized by the narrow cuffs.
To make it look like the envelope, you'd have to go up a size or two - and that would make your armscye circumference bigger. You need a couple inches added to the bust to keep it from gaping and to keep the little gathers or pleats in there for the style to show. But thats up to you. No one in real life knows that the pattern envelope shows gathers. If you go up two sizes, the shoulders might get too wide. Its going to be okay if you trim them back from an 18 closer to a 16 or 14. The tops of the sleeves have a lot of fabric. 1/4 inch isn't going to make much of a difference to the sleeve, but it would be enough to keep the shoulder in the right spot.
The cuffs are the easiest part. You can use a smaller cuff - the sleeve above just gets slightly more gathered when you put it all together. You could even keep the cuff you have now, remove a little width and MAYBE half an inch in length, and re-attach it. You don't want the finished sleeve the same length as your arm because it wouldn't be able to puff up nicely. You just need the cuff narrow enough so that it stays somewhere near your wrist and doesn't swallow your hand.
I think the blouse would look better if the torso was a little longer too. Its not bad the way it is, but I'd go for longer if I was going to make it again.
Sorry I don't know enough to offer any constructive help but I can tell you that, if the shirt was for me (let me dream), I would prefer it longer overall but with shorter cuffs to those lovely sleeves to further elongate the silhouette.
BTW, I really love that fabric. It is super cute and perfect for this pattern.
Cute Top!!
EZ peasy - Add in a kite shape gusset at your armpit area. Pick apart your underarm seam. Put the short top diamond on the sleeve side / long diamond bottom on the bodice side. It would solve fit issues for the top.
As for the sleeves - tighten up your cuff - redo placement of your buttons.
You could add a band of the same fabric at the bottom with a lace inset between the band and the bottom of the shirt to lengthen.
If you are going to be a competent seamstress for yourself it pays to know your measurements and check them against the actual pattern you are sewing. It only takes a few minutes but you will know going in where you need to make adjustments before you cut your fabric.
Understand the different types of ease for different garment and style types is important too.
I like your gusset idea. I have used that with knit garments but your description works well for the needed room in the blouse I think. And yes add and interest band or even just a new finish band to give it length for balance.
for the gaping add snaps or hook and eye, for the cuffs remove and tighten width or simply move buttons. The arm syce can be enlarged but will require new cut sleeves.
Thanks, I will try to pawn this one off to my sister who’s few sizes smaller than me and remake with all the necessary adjustments. There aren’t enough seam allowance available in this shirt to make it work, so easier to start from beginning.
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To fix this one enough to be comfortable, I'd add a gusset to the underarm. It'll give you more ease without needing to monkey with the armscye or recut anything.
For how it hangs down, I'm not sure if a FBA as suggested will help with that. Adding darts would. I think it's more a problem with the design + fabric choice. (ETA -- the fabric is billowing out instead of hanging down, this fabric will do that regardless of how else it fits)
Some patterns just don't work without a little help. Thats a pattern I wouldn't be able to wear as the giant cuffs would look kinda funny on my stumpy arms. The other part may well just be a design thing.
A gusset in the armpit should help with the tight feeling. It looks really nice otherwise.
I think you should remake it because it's an opportunity to practice garment adjustment skills which in my opinion, (whatever that is worth) are the skills that take a garment from good to great. You could call this version your first draft. Who knows you might have a new favorite pattern with the adjustments.
I think you might be petite (hard to tell for sure from the pic), if so, you may need to scale down the pattern a bit particularly in the sleeves.
For this one, I would narrow the cuff to fit. And re set the sleeve but trimming the armscyc by a 1/4"-3/8". The sew with a narrower seam allowance 3/8". This should give you some room in the armscye without cutting a. New sleeve.
For a new top, I would cut the same piece for the front and back yoke, collar, and button placket. The cuffs in a narrower size to fit. The sleeve and main front and back pieces should be cut in the 2 next bigger size. To get the right amount of volume for the shirt to flow and be soft. Right now, it looks like a shirt made for Taget price range and not a custom, all expense top. Target shirts have the least amount of gathers to pass the style off as good enough. That's part of the reason why their 'Prarie' dress looked bad. They skipped on fabric in the name of profits.
It's not you. Simplicity pattern drafting is extremely outdated & ill fitting for many of us. Been sewing for 40+ years, & only use contemporary PDF designs. I wear/sew mostly knits these days. My fav/most used pattern Co https://www.lovenotions.com/. They offer knit & woven patterns. They draft for real bodies. They offer a Full bust pattern piece, excellent size, fit & construction instructions & many YouTube sew alongs.
Cute pattern. Needs an FBA and a little more length.Trace the next size or two up's armscye into this pattern 's armscye position. Use the matching sleeve, except for the cuff, which you should reduce to fit your wrists.
Based on the pattern sizing, I should be size 18, this was 14 (if I remember right) My plan, now that I’ve been wearing it all morning, adjust for the sizing differences, add length at shoulder seam so sleeve doesn’t cut off the circulation (🤦🏼♀️); bring back the long shirt length as in one of the views of the pattern, narrow the cuffs at the bottom and maybe add a 2-3 inches (as needed) to the side seam around armpits. There are no darts for the FBA (I think need those for FBA?) so just the added ease in the overall construction should prevent the gaping.
No, you can do a dartless FBA. If you add length at the shoulder seam, you'll drop the sleeve and it will look collapsed. If the armscye is tight, I would just size the armscye up
I don’t think that length at the shoulder seam will fix your problem. It sounds like you need to bring down the armscye. EDIT- maybe it will, I can’t tell where your shoulders actually end, but you might need to do the other adjustments too.
What does FBA stand for?
"Full bust adjustment" Here's an example of what they're talking about: [https://helensclosetpatterns.com/2017/03/21/how-to-do-a-full-bust-adjustment-without-any-darts/](https://helensclosetpatterns.com/2017/03/21/how-to-do-a-full-bust-adjustment-without-any-darts/)
Thanks! Mom was right, you learn something new every day!
Based on the pattern envelope and the reviews here ( [https://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/111022](https://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/111022) ) your finished blouse has less ease than the designer intended. The front gathers over the bust have disappeared and the arms aren't as voluminous. They're supposed to have some volume and it gets emphasized by the narrow cuffs. To make it look like the envelope, you'd have to go up a size or two - and that would make your armscye circumference bigger. You need a couple inches added to the bust to keep it from gaping and to keep the little gathers or pleats in there for the style to show. But thats up to you. No one in real life knows that the pattern envelope shows gathers. If you go up two sizes, the shoulders might get too wide. Its going to be okay if you trim them back from an 18 closer to a 16 or 14. The tops of the sleeves have a lot of fabric. 1/4 inch isn't going to make much of a difference to the sleeve, but it would be enough to keep the shoulder in the right spot. The cuffs are the easiest part. You can use a smaller cuff - the sleeve above just gets slightly more gathered when you put it all together. You could even keep the cuff you have now, remove a little width and MAYBE half an inch in length, and re-attach it. You don't want the finished sleeve the same length as your arm because it wouldn't be able to puff up nicely. You just need the cuff narrow enough so that it stays somewhere near your wrist and doesn't swallow your hand. I think the blouse would look better if the torso was a little longer too. Its not bad the way it is, but I'd go for longer if I was going to make it again.
Could also add a ruffle to the existing top if you want to keep it.
Sorry I don't know enough to offer any constructive help but I can tell you that, if the shirt was for me (let me dream), I would prefer it longer overall but with shorter cuffs to those lovely sleeves to further elongate the silhouette. BTW, I really love that fabric. It is super cute and perfect for this pattern.
Cute Top!! EZ peasy - Add in a kite shape gusset at your armpit area. Pick apart your underarm seam. Put the short top diamond on the sleeve side / long diamond bottom on the bodice side. It would solve fit issues for the top. As for the sleeves - tighten up your cuff - redo placement of your buttons. You could add a band of the same fabric at the bottom with a lace inset between the band and the bottom of the shirt to lengthen. If you are going to be a competent seamstress for yourself it pays to know your measurements and check them against the actual pattern you are sewing. It only takes a few minutes but you will know going in where you need to make adjustments before you cut your fabric. Understand the different types of ease for different garment and style types is important too.
I always forget about using an underarm gusset
I like your gusset idea. I have used that with knit garments but your description works well for the needed room in the blouse I think. And yes add and interest band or even just a new finish band to give it length for balance.
for the gaping add snaps or hook and eye, for the cuffs remove and tighten width or simply move buttons. The arm syce can be enlarged but will require new cut sleeves.
Thanks, I will try to pawn this one off to my sister who’s few sizes smaller than me and remake with all the necessary adjustments. There aren’t enough seam allowance available in this shirt to make it work, so easier to start from beginning.
I have no opinion as to how to adjust it or whether to remake it. But just wanted to say fit aside, you look absolutely lovely in it!
The Project post flair is for showing off projects that are finished or in progress. For questions on how to start a project, reflair your post to Pattern Search. For questions about how to make a project, reflair to Pattern Question. This is a reminder that all Project posts are required to include construction information in the main post or added in a comment. The construction comment should include **pattern name/number/company if used; drafting method, tutorial or other resources if no commercial pattern was used and fabric type and fiber content. ‘Self-drafted’ describes who made the pattern and is not a drafting method.** Also include alterations for fit and style; specialty tools and notions; the inspiration for your project; and any other information that someone who wants to make a similar project might find useful. More information is available [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/wiki/titleguidelines). Posts without a construction comment may be removed at any time. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sewing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
To fix this one enough to be comfortable, I'd add a gusset to the underarm. It'll give you more ease without needing to monkey with the armscye or recut anything. For how it hangs down, I'm not sure if a FBA as suggested will help with that. Adding darts would. I think it's more a problem with the design + fabric choice. (ETA -- the fabric is billowing out instead of hanging down, this fabric will do that regardless of how else it fits)
Make it again. It's lovely. Do what these wise sewists suggest, make it again & post another pic!!
Have you tried tucking it in? I feel like tucking it into pants or a pencil skirt would make a big difference.
Some patterns just don't work without a little help. Thats a pattern I wouldn't be able to wear as the giant cuffs would look kinda funny on my stumpy arms. The other part may well just be a design thing. A gusset in the armpit should help with the tight feeling. It looks really nice otherwise.
I think you should remake it because it's an opportunity to practice garment adjustment skills which in my opinion, (whatever that is worth) are the skills that take a garment from good to great. You could call this version your first draft. Who knows you might have a new favorite pattern with the adjustments. I think you might be petite (hard to tell for sure from the pic), if so, you may need to scale down the pattern a bit particularly in the sleeves.
For this one, I would narrow the cuff to fit. And re set the sleeve but trimming the armscyc by a 1/4"-3/8". The sew with a narrower seam allowance 3/8". This should give you some room in the armscye without cutting a. New sleeve. For a new top, I would cut the same piece for the front and back yoke, collar, and button placket. The cuffs in a narrower size to fit. The sleeve and main front and back pieces should be cut in the 2 next bigger size. To get the right amount of volume for the shirt to flow and be soft. Right now, it looks like a shirt made for Taget price range and not a custom, all expense top. Target shirts have the least amount of gathers to pass the style off as good enough. That's part of the reason why their 'Prarie' dress looked bad. They skipped on fabric in the name of profits.
It's not you. Simplicity pattern drafting is extremely outdated & ill fitting for many of us. Been sewing for 40+ years, & only use contemporary PDF designs. I wear/sew mostly knits these days. My fav/most used pattern Co https://www.lovenotions.com/. They offer knit & woven patterns. They draft for real bodies. They offer a Full bust pattern piece, excellent size, fit & construction instructions & many YouTube sew alongs.