A brief overview of a Sure Fit Designs Retreat in the UK

This is not going to be a lengthy blog post you may be relieved to know. It is partly for my benefit, a log, which was the original reason I started my blog and partly to let you know about this. I also have more photos which I am not posting.

I first heard about and tried Sure Fit Designs a few years ago. I was desperately seeking a better fit than I got from RTW and balked at major pattern fitting issues. I didn't know how to do them - this was before I found a sewing class.

I sent off to America for the kit, which I have since updated, and tried it out with a modicum of success. Sadly, I didn't feel I could justify a trip to the US to join a retreat. I found Glenda extremely helpful (and still do) via email and photos. She also does Skype sessions as part of the DVD courses. I haven't actually taken mine up and am probably too late now.

Some of the tools used when drawing up the body blueprint

Marked weight change and ironically starting a pattern cutting course and a dressmaking techniques course made me put it away.

Long story short, these classes had still not pointed the way to well fitting garments.

Last year, SFD became available in the UK through Judith, who trained under Glenda in the US. This meant I could buy materials without the extortionate postage, VAT and import duties which had cost me dear. Also, excitingly, there was the prospect of attending a retreat in the UK.

Recently I got the kit out again. I signed up for a dress kit fitting retreat over 3 days with Judith in Oxfordshire. I was still in Oxfordshire as I started to write this.

There were 3 other ladies on the retreat. Each of them was new to the system. Judith was aware I'd had some experience with the kit and was a little concerned that I wouldn't get full value from the course as day 1 starts basic with measurements etc. I reassured her in advance and said I just wasn't happy with where I'd got to. (BTW, I considered day 1 extremely useful and not at all a waste of time - I picked up some valuable hints.)

Judith had asked for some photos in advance and I sent her some fitting photos (not SFD ones). I appreciated the preparation she put into the retreat and she was well prepared with advice about how I should tackle my particular issues, confirmed on meeting me in person.

Briefly - I'm tall and have a long torso but a high waist.  I have uneven shoulders and a sway back. Judith felt I might have a forward sloping shoulder and a slight rounding of the upper back which would perhaps need to be catered for. I also have a relatively narrow back. I have a DD cup size but am fairly narrow across front chest.

The SFD system takes care of a number of these issues. There are a number of measurements both of length and width to determine shoulder points, bust apex points etc.

Judith marked my shoulder line and measurements were taken from that point. Right from the start she suggested I should make separate left and right sides for the bodice and I agreed. In addition, I made the front one size larger than measured and the back one size smaller.

shoulder line marked

So I made separate right and left front and back pieces. All of us at the retreat added shoulder darts to the back bodice, which Judith demonstrated and we practised before trying out on our own patterns. (I have photos of this too)

I won't go into the drawing up of the patterns. I'm happy to share more with anybody who wants to ask specifically. Basically our measurements are transferred using a template to a pattern which should then conform  to our measurements. There are loads of videos online too showing the system and giving walkthroughs of each step. They are very helpful tutorials. These are under the parent US site.

At the retreat, Judith demonstrated each step using one of the other attendee’s measurements.

Now, I've never had difficulty drawing up the basic pattern by transferring measurements. However, here the retreat was invaluable firstly because the measurements were more accurate than any I've had before and secondly because of the explanation given around how to interpret and use the sizes eg taking into account the shoulder blade fullness when measuring the full bust even if that measurement is not then parallel to the ground - this made my full bust measurement bigger than I had measured previously. Also extremely interesting was the discussion of using part of the template dart rather than the whole.  I had intended to reduce my front waist dart in this way but forgot when I was transferring marking; I feel I need a little more ease so will reduce the dart intake next time around.

I do struggle with 3D figures and the added complexity of having to do separate right and left sides made things a bit more difficult for me. I even managed to mark the wrong side of the fabric. Fortunately just the toile fabric! It meant it did take me longer than I would have liked.

It was clear when we measured the patterns to check sizing and ease that I'd need more biceps width and Judith showed me a potentially better way than I'd used previously. I didn't add enough though and my longer sleeve cap length foiled this method.

The skirt pattern and the bodice pattern were joined and double ended darts created but the waist seam removed. The skirt was cut off at thigh level. A toile was then made of the resulting pattern. I can show you photos of my first toile without sleeves.

Front view. Poorly sewn double ended darts but I also think too big a dart intake here.

Back view showing shoulder dartt. Back is high enough up so no round shoulder adjustment needed.

Side view

There are no major issues here. Judith didn't feel I needed additional change for slight upper back roundness as the fabric was high enough at the back neck. I didn't sew my double ended darts very well hence the puckering - I pivoted sharply rather than change direction slowly. The hip area would be too tight over trousers, so more ease would be needed but this would be fine for a fitted dress. Also, these were full size darts and I think half size would be better.

Unfortunately my sleeves were too tight. I let out the ⅝” seam allowances by about half. That helped a lot. However when I set the sleeves again it became clear that the sleeve cap was too short. The upper part of the sleeve on the right in particular was twisted, tight and uncomfortable. I thought I had a good photo of this but can't find it so I guess not.

Sleeve adjustments on the sly

Not the correct angle but you can see my sleeve cap is too short - there is a marked gap

My right shoulder angle needed adjusted

Adjusted (it needed done and then redone hence all the pen

(As I write, that's where I've reached. End of day 2. Last day tomorrow.)

Day 3

I cut out another sleeve and tried it out. This had a longer sleeve cap and widened biceps below but not at the junction between sleeve and armscye. However, I had too sharp a transition between the long sleeve seam top and the underarm point and it didn't sew well. The sleeve looked much better, no longer twisted, but there was insufficient seam allowance immediately under my arm. I knew where I needed to go, though. This was going to have to be at home.

Maybe you can see the issue at the top of the sleeve seam. This is already modified from original but better now

The rest of the day was spent demonstrating what we can do with the body blueprint, which for me was actually the main thing I had wanted out of the retreat. Sure, I wanted a well fitting garment but I'm well on the way to that.

I had started with the idea that I'd take a commercial  pattern and modify it to suit my sizes. However, it's very much easier to take a copy of the body blueprint, which is an extremely basic design, and add the design features required.

I tried this out using McCall's 6028 which I intended to make up for our ruby anniversary. Judith was able to show me how to achieve this - my first try on my own wasn't right. I've been too busy to perfect my body blueprint so haven't yet drawn up the new pattern using it for this dress. I have some photos of my exercise here but think I will wait until I actually do the pattern.

Since my return home, I've been very busy with things other than dressmaking and pattern cutting.  I have drawn out a fresh copy of my blueprint, though.  I struggled a bit with my sleeve and armscye - having heightened the sleeve cap and added to the biceps width at the end of the sleeve (previously this started a full seam allowance below that), my sleeve was longer and therefore had much more ease than I wanted or felt I could ease in successfully. I asked Judith’s advice and she responded quickly. She suggested lowering the end of the armscye making it a little longer. This wasn't enough, however, and I had to do a little more.

• I narrowed the sleeve cap slightly while maintaining the height.  This marginally reduced the length of the sleeve seam
• I did lower the armscye slightly back and front. (Originally my back armscye had kicked up at the edge too much and I smoothed this out before dropping further)
• This still wasn't enough. I then scooped out the front armscye more. My cross chest width is quite narrow and while this is taken into account when drawing up, I had more available - that is I could make it narrower. I didn't need to do this at the back. 
• I nearly forgot to true up again but have now done so

Judith has commented that she plans to make changes to the way she approaches asymmetrical figures such as myself, especially with large biceps. She finds large biceps are commonly associated with the need for a longer sleeve cap; the fact that I’m 5’11” with long arms just adds to that need! She also has a couple of other refinements in mind. She feels that this might have allowed more time to perfect the sleeve within the time available; she is disappointed that I/we didn’t get there. I’m reasonably happy, though. I can work on my own and contact her if needed and know she will respond in a helpful and timely manner. I enjoyed the retreat and am signing up for her pants retreat later in the year.

I'm planning to make a toile over this coming weekend. Fingers crossed! I thought I'd post the first section though.

College classes, toiles and sloping waistline

I've been thinking hard what to do in next term's classes, that is between today and July. 10 evenings 2 hours each at pattern cutting,  same at dressmaking techniques and 11 weeks at my daytime class with guided learning which is 4 hours;  unfortunately I do have to miss a few of those because of golf and other commitments.

Although I have enrolled in the college courses for next term,  there is a massive shakeup because of funding and the need to accredit courses. I've paid 50% more to attend next term and at the moment it's not actually clear it's going ahead and if it does,  on which nights. We students don't feel it's right to alter the course and night ⅔ of the way through the year,  so many haven't signed up. There was only one pattern cutting class but several dressmaking classes - at beginner, continuation and advanced level. At the moment there is only one all level course;  the tutors have campaigned for more - obviously,  it's their livelihood that's at stake. They have 35 names for a 12 place class! They did assure is that they would work with the students as before. I'm not sure they can actually promise that.

The original plan for pattern cutting classes is drawing up a trouser pattern, cutting and getting a decent fit to create a block (sloper) and then make some design modifications. I'm happy with this plan. I didn't achieve a good fit from the dressmaking class on jeans but I did spend the majority of the classes available making jeans for DH as I wanted to practice the techniques taught before I forgot them. so I only had a little time on mine. I'm absolutely determined to have a pair of well fitting trousers for me by term end.

This term the evening dressmaking class was meant to be working on your own project. I'm undecided whether to make a dress or continue with last term's ill fated trousers. The dress,  I think. However, as this will now be module 1 of a BTEC, plans may change. I don't have any desire to do a qualification but I do like a more structured teaching approach, so I'll wait and see. There isn't another course near me. My Thursday class is great and I think the tutor is fantastic but at the end of the day it's not a structured class.

I'm assuming it's still a bit early to be making mother of the bride test garments for my youngest daughter's wedding next year but I have a couple of items in mind - though please make further suggestions! At the moment,  I'm thinking possibly a dress with a lace top layer or cardigan type item or jacket?  

I like the lace top but am not keen on the dress though a bias dress can be very flattering I'm told

It can still be pretty cold in June here though it's also possible for it to be very warm so I'm looking for layered items, I think.  I'm planning to lose quite a bit of weight!  3 stones, I think (52 pounds; 18 kg) I need to anyway as I've put back on everything I lost last year - I lost 2 stones. Shame on me. I'm not fit and my joints are suffering.

During my Thursday class,  I intend to make a blouse - one that fits of course but using the best techniques I can.  I discussed this with Lyn last term and a blouse  was her suggestion. Today was the first session of the new term. I've chosen to repeat the blouse I made for DD1, in the same view, view A, after looking at other patterns I also considered. For me this time. 

 

Final blouse for DD1

Hers was cut in a size 14 with an FBA. After discussion with Lyn, and measurements, I decided to go with the size 20. I did cut into the pattern for DD1 but only a couple of pieces are affected and I fixed them today. The different sizes are fortunately spread across three separate sheets. I've lowered the bust apex by cutting and inserting a 2" strip between the armhole and apex, and of course also lengthened on the back. I also added a touch to the hip area, by grading between my size and the size up, which was on a separate sheet. I haven't altered the waist dart position - I'll wait to see what it looks like. Also, I may need an FBA as I take a D cup, though by their calculations I shouldn't need one. I'm narrow at the bottom of my back and carry more in front - we did discuss whether to do a larger size for the front and smaller for the back..  I felt the neckline was a little low for DD1 but I'll see what it looks like in the muslin. I'll cut that out and sew it up for next week. For the actual blouse I will use a fairly lightweight cotton, possibly some Liberty fabric I have though the blouse might be better in a plain fabric.

As if to bely what I said about this not being a structured class, the theme of this term is pockets and we have some homework to do for next week.

I've been working on my personalised bodice, using SFD. I drew up and cut out the pattern without too much difficulty, though I was concerned about bust dart placement. I started by using a material which was very difficult to use;  I had bought it cheaply to use for toiles. It slipped so much and was so difficult to sew that I gave up on it. I then cut out in some polycotton which worked better. However,  there was something far wrong with my front bodice side seams, related I think to the bust dart not being correct. I hoped that R could comment. I had a toile sewn by Sunday when I had a sewing bee with R, my pattern cutting tutor. She tested the fit on me and pinned some adjustments. These were - she lowered the neckline, slightly adjusted the slope of one shoulder, narrowed shoulder significantly by taking in at shoulder and also widening neck, took in at the upper side seam (I had enlarged here because of my large biceps)  but lowered the armhole to give additional room, significantly increased the back darts and shortened pattern torso length. She noted that the toile was too tight below the waistline but it was supposed to stop at waistline and I had to lose quite a bit of fabric length.

I have a significantly forward tilting pelvis or forward sloping waistline which means that my front bodice length is a lot longer than my back bodice length. R and I had a discussion about this, which I find more significant in a skirt (or trousers),  where I have to shorten front length and lengthen back. However,  such a sloping waistband doesn't look good (DH commented adversely when I tried on). The conclusion of our discussion was that I needed to compromise and bring up the front waistband, to make the waistband sit more level. If I can't cope with such a high front waistband, I have the option to remove the same amount all the way around to make a waistline below natural waist - or I could cut off same and create a yoke.

I also had a skirt block with me.  R suggested raising back by 2 cm. Otherwise it was pretty good except that the right side seam didn't lie where it should.   Left and back were fine. R measured the pieces against my skirt block where I had to make separate sides because of asymmetry; this asymmetry accounted for some of the problem but I had used the slippy fabric I originally used for the bodice and that accounted for more. R felt my block from class was valid (though front waistline was very low and after our discussion,  I feel I need to raise it.)

I have a bodice block from my pattern cutting class but when I started to design with it,  R changed the fit rather a lot, so I'm not sure how useful my block is. R agreed.  I also have one from a brief course I attended last summer (before I knew about the college course)  - the 3 blocks I have are all completely different!!  Ideally,  I would sew up all 3 and decide which was best to work from,  I suppose.

On Monday,  I drew up a completely new pattern for skirt and bodice. I made some but not all of the adjustments R had pinned because I realised as I was redrawing the pattern that I may have made an error with the armhole. So I didn't enlarge for large biceps but did drop slightly. I shortened bodice significantly.  With the skirt,  I raised back by 2 cms.

I cut the pieces out of a well behaved piece of fabric, probably upholstery.

When sewing,  I found my dart problem was even worse than before. For some reason I had more problems sewing one side than the other. On the front, there was a very significant bend and I had to force the fabric to join the back.

A very significant gap - this is not the waistline!

 

Dart opened out

 

I sewed the pieces together to make a dress. I found,  however,  that I had to lose the 2 cms extension on the skirt back. I found the waistline higher than I'm used to - R says a higher waistline is slimming so I'll have a go!

I took the dress to D's sewing bee on Tuesday evening and tried it on for her advice as the other students were late. D shortened back bodice length even further as she said there was significant puddling - is this a sway back? Or just a large derriere? She pinned back darts longer and wider. She noted that the side seams were bowed - one side worse than the other. I took the toile apart and showed her what I thought was issue with front dart and she described how to fill this area out. The fill in is almost exactly the shape that she drew on the back pattern piece when drawing a straight side seam. So I'm sure this is the problem.

 

I spent the rest of the evening working out and trying to do the adjustments. As I've added to the front side seams,  this could make the bodice too big but it was tight previously.  I'll just have to sew it up again and try.  I made a rough adjustment to the toile but I'll transfer these to the pattern pieces properly and cut another toile,  perhaps next week. At Thursday class today, I transferred the alterations onto the pattern tissue. I'll make up the new, 3rd, toile, before going to pattern cutting class (if that happens)

New dart and side seam is much wider.

Pin shows original top of back dart - now both longer and wider

So over the next 3 months, I'm going to make 3 garments for me - trousers, dress (?) and blouse. Does that sound reasonable? It's unfortunate that I'm doing them all at the same time but that can't be helped - I don't like using one tutor for another tutor's project. Should I finish one early,  I can decide on another.

Recently I made a cardigan and that was nice because I didn't end up in the seemingly interminable toile making and fitting issues. I might take a break - I want to make some pattern weights and a scissors holder - no issues with fit there!  Just cut and sew.

I'll update later.

Pie Crust Promises and Plans

Well, I reached the end of 2014 with many semi-promised makes unmade. I won't go into these in detail - but there were way too many. DH feels I need to focus on making things for myself, though he's not averse to the jacket I'm planning to make him using the lovely thick Burberry wool I bought when we were in Harrogate. I need to find a suitable pattern as I'm not up to drafting one for myself, though maybe I’ll have to as I haven't found a suitable gents' patterns on my searching (and of course DH has to approve, possibly the most difficult part!). There don’t seem to be many around. Anyone any ideas? I took a photo on my phone of a jacket that was fairly near the idea but it is so out of focus that I can't use it.

The other promises, those that I intend to honour, are New look 6048, a Project Runway summer dress with fairly full skirt, for DD2:

  

 

 

a tweed mini skirt for DD3 using a basic McCall’s 3830

 

 

or Style pattern (1961 or 1987 - both pretty old patterns and not on any database I found) and possibly a further, modified, New Look 6047 blouse for DD1.

 

 

I'm afraid my daughter was ill when she took this photo.

 

  

DD1 likes the blouse as she likes simple cuts. She finds it a touch low, by the sound of it, but said that she could fit a camisole underneath, so it sounds as if there is too much ease. I had done a FBA so perhaps I need to keep this but make a smaller size. She would also like it a little longer.  Our plans to visit after Christmas have also fallen through because of illness so I haven't seen the blouse on my daughter as yet and she hasn't been up to taking any different views.

 

I re-start my sewing and pattern cutting classes in mid January and have one more sewing bee next week. In the college sewing class, we're going to be looking at trouser skills and then make a pair of trousers, to fit. Making a well-fitting pair of trousers is something I have aimed towards. I started fitting using the Sure Fit Designs system even before I started on my current path. I made some pretty acceptable but not perfect muslins but I was actively losing weight at the time and as a result, the fit was off every time I tried it. I'm afraid I've put most of that weight back on - but not for long. I do plan to get rid of it again. In a previous class I attended, I started to make a pair of pants from a Palmer Pletsch pattern McCall's 6901, but the summer break then life events stopped me continuing - and the fit was horrendous, even after tissue fitting, so I've had no desire to pick it up again, but pick it up I will do and  either finish or jettison in the next few weeks.  I also need to finish the skirt I started making using the same McCall's 3830 pattern I'm considering for my daughter's skirt, above. Until I finish these two and finish the alterations and repairs for DD3, I'm best not to start anything else. However, I do plan to better document both my stash and my makes.

 

McCall's 6901. This looks slim fit - mine were most definitely not!!

 

My youngest daughter has long wanted a mini skirt made from our family tartan. This is not a tartan in current production (I don’t know if it ever was - certainly not in the years we tried to find it) but a few years ago my husband sourced a 'pattern' for the two tartan variants, the dress (rusty orange red) and the hunting (moss green) and a mill in the borders of Scotland willing to weave it. It cost a pretty penny as there was a minimum quantity required and each yard was pricey anyway. DH ordered the minimum quantity of double width heavy weight hunting tartan. When it was on the loom, he was called to see it and took a bottle of malt (whisky - Dalwhinnie in this case) with him to toast the tartan with the weavers. He got a kilt made from some of the tartan (there's 8 yards of tartan in a kilt) but there's a fair bit left over.

 

You can just see the kilt (hunting tartan) in this photo,
though the tartan itself is clearer - there's some double imaging here. I wish I had a better view.
The ghillie shirt was one of my first ever makes last year. I entered it in a Pattern Review competition for men's wear. It has never been worn since! Now that I have a modern sewing machine, I could have completed the neckline closure, which I couldn't do at the time. And the fabric would be more suitable next time around.

The tartan is really a bit heavy for a skirt for my daughter - and I have quite liked the idea of a long straightish skirt perhaps in tartan but more likely a complementary colour. Women aren't supposed to wear tartan and a tartan skirt alongside the kilt would be too much in any case. So we need to get more tartan woven in a lighter weight.  I'm not sure whether we'll choose the hunting or the dress. We haven't checked to see whether the mill is still in business but need to do so soon. It’s not really worth ordering just for a mini skirt, though, but perhaps we need to do it anyway.

I have been looking in the after Christmas sales and have bought nothing. Not a stitch of clothing. I nearly bought a pair of bargain Jaeger trousers but they were a little large in the waist, so I decided not to - I’m at my maximum weight at the moment. There was also a lovely brown leather jacket which was almost perfect - but the shoulders were a little wide for me.  The smaller size didn't accommodate my hips. I tried on and rejected quite a few other items.

This led me to realise

1.   It's not a bargain if it doesn't fit well, so I end up not wearing it

2.   Cost should not be the prime motivation in purchasing

3.   I need to consider colour more carefully

4.   I need to be sure that any new garment would fit into my wardrobe (literally as well as metaphorically!)

5.   Any garment needs also to fit into my lifestyle.

6.   I'm becoming much fussier, thinking 'I could do better than this' or asking why I should buy something imperfect to alter or tolerate

7.   I have too many clothes already.

8.   Like many, a small percentage of my clothes are worn repeatedly.

9.   I need to discard clothes before I can have more - there is literally no room for more!

Oh, and I have nothing to wear!

Decisions

1.   I am going to spend on average 1 hour per day for the next month going through and culling my clothes. I am going to be ruthless.

2.   I am going to follow a plan - not sure which one yet - to identify a series of outfits I can wear with the clothes I have. I'm reading some blogs for ideas and already have a number of books including Colour Me Beautiful (I was considered a summer years ago but sometimes wonder if I've moved more to winter with my silver grey hair. I might try to get retested)

3.   I am going to identify any gaps in my wardrobe and construct a reasonable plan and timetable to fill those gaps.

4.   I'm going to bite the bullet in more ways than one and I'm going to sign up for the RTW Fast. Am I mad? I'm so slow. I'm not very proficient. Etc.  However,  I have lots of clothes so I shouldn't often be in the position of having a serious deadline (although I have always responded quite well to deadlines!). And it's not as if I can just go out and buy clothes anyway. My skills would hopefully improve dramatically over the course of the next year. I'm assuming of course that I can wear the RTW I have, can modify that which I already have to fit and can continue to purchase footwear, lingerie esp bras and jewellery. I'll check out the rules, though.

5.   I have downloaded an app to help me with the wardrobe planning

6.   Tidy and rearrange ‘sewing room’ aka dining room. A lot of my stuff was moved out for Christmas to allow full use of the dining room. Today we started to rearrange the room with a view to making the layout more sensible and I started to cull my books and magazines. There's already quite a difference. Tomorrow we'll start to move my sewing stuff back in but we plan to keep the big boxes of stash fabric elsewhere (though not sure where that is!) and I might get to start to sew early in the New Year.