My First Traditional FBA -- A Work In Progress

I've discovered that one of the reasons it takes me forever to complete anything is because I'm delusional stubborn. When I get stuck on an alteration, I try to figure any way to solve the issue that won't result in a seam or a dart. (This only applies to knits.) Given how curvy am, this is a completely ridiculous notion. I've come to terms with the CB seam. The last holdout was the FBA.

I thought Nancy Zieman and her championing of the pivot and slide method would be the answer to my problems. That's still the easiest way for me to tackle the square shoulder adjustment, but it just wasn't working for my more extreme adjustments. What really helped me get there with the FBA was The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting, which I will review later.

So, I sucked it up and admitted that the 4" difference in my upper bust and bust measurements necessitated a traditional FBA :-(  Enter the "Y" Bust Dart Alteration from Fit for Real People.

Not sure I got the placement right, but we'll see what happens. Yep, I'm still working on B5562. (I'm really sticking to my no UFO resolution.)

I still have a teeny tiny bit of hope for a no-dart FBA.  The Sew/Fit Manual by Ruth Oblander is the original pivot and slide book and it has a special section on "Uneven Block Extensions" which is apparently what I need to make the method work. I didn't fully understand it, but I will devote more time to it later. Right now, I just want to finish this top quickly so I can move on. Since I still have to figure out the collar, I took the FBA path of least resistance.

Hopefully, tomorrow morning, I'll fill it in with tissue and try it on. I might even get to adding the width to the side seams.

Still Thinking

I will not give up on B5562! Serendipity led me to this on Gilt. It's exactly the look I want.



Here it is from the back:



I can't wrap my head around pattern drafting to visualize the change I need to make to the collar to give it more drape, so I've decided to cut it from the larger sizes and experiment.

In the meantime, I found this post from Elizabeth very inspiring. I was fighting adding a dart to this top (don't know why since the collar would probably cover it), so I did an FBA using the pivot and slide method. I couldn't figure out how to add extensions as used in Nancy Zieman's books, so I was pretending that I'd added enough width.  Elizabeth's post gave me the swift kick I needed, so I called Nancy's Notions to get some instruction. I'm in the process of working it out on the pattern now.

I also found this tutorial over the weekend and it made me want to jump for joy! Remember this muslin?



Can't wait to try Judy Barlup's technique to get rid of those darts in the armscyes! (I have the same darts in the muslin for this top) I'm so looking forward to a productive three-day sewing weekend ...

B5562 Question

I'd appreciate any help I can get with this.  I'm working on B5562 View D.


I added a center back seam and reshaped the side seams, so the fit is almost there. What I didn't account for is the the collar having less drape than what's illustrated on the envelope. Here is how it has sewn up for others, including Sharon, Lori, Shannon and Amanda. They all pretty much sewed the collar as drafted and made great tops.

I want the great top as illustrated on the envelope with all of that wonderful drape. I want those soft folds in the front and back. How do I alter the pattern pieces to achieve that?  Is it this simple? (Ignore the lines I drew.) I already added a little in an attempt to match the FBA I had to do on the front piece. 

Please let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks!