Sunday, February 17, 2008

Here We Go Again - BWOF 3/07 blouse

Obviously, I just do not have a normal body. I'm having all kinds of fit issues again. As you can see in these pix, there are some definite areas of concern.


Some fixes I did on my own. I moved the shoulder seam 1/2 in toward the front and that seemed to help. I also realized I needed to move the bust point down about 1/2 inch. I had already cut a 36 at the shoulder, 38 under the arm tapering to a 40 at the waist and 42 at the hip. I did not raise or lower the waist.

Thankfully, I am taking Shannon Giffords blouse class on PR and she has given me some good suggestions. First of all, I lowered the shoulder 1/2" for a sloping shoulder. Next, I did the dart change, only changing the point of the dart and angling down from the original side seam markings. Shannon suggested that lowering the entire dart would make the bust look lower and I have had this experience (on the dreaded dress)
Next, I took a 1" tuck all the way around the bodice at the elbow to see if this would improve the proportions. I think it has made a good difference.

























I have sent pix to Shannon and am hoping to get "further instructions" tomorrow. This class is not a fit class at all, so I really appreciate her expert advice. She is always so helpful and a great teacher. If you ever get the opportunity, I would recommend taking a class from her.

Tonight PR had an "expert chat" with Aimee of Betsy Ross Patterns. That was interesting and fun. It's great to see people who have put their dreams into reality. Sometimes making fairly good money is not such a good thing. It makes you feel "stuck" in your job. I got into teaching because I really love it. I still do. Too bad "teaching" is so little of what I do. Actually, I am teaching all day long, but I really have no choice over what I teach, or even how I teach it to a certain degree. Our days are practically scripted for us (and are literally scripted in some areas.) Our districts "motto" is Children First. It should be "test scores first" or "Federal money first" or "Administrative upgrades" first. I even know some teachers who have cut the "children first" off of their name tags because of the frustrations of all we are asked to do that has so little to do with the true education of children. Teachiing is almost NOTHING about why I got into it about 25 years ago. It is discouraging. I would really like a change, but I feel stuck because of the money. It's not even the money, but moreso the benefits. Health insurance in particular. My husband has pretty good benefits, but they do not cover me or the kids. Just one visit to the emergency room will give you a quick lesson in why insurance is essential. I have had some great improvements in my health lately (I have rheumatoid arthritis and have recently been able to get OFF of the chemotherapy that I have been on for the past couple of years - Yay!) but even simple things like viruses, medications, asthma, can add up to big medical bills. I'm really thankful that I have good insurance and I intend to make sure that I keep it!

Tomorrow I have the day off. I'm hoping to get some sewing done!! I'm doing TERRIBLY on my fabric diet. It's almost a lost cause (not giving up and still keeping track.) I bought six yards of fabric when I went in to JoAnns today plus I bought a partial bolt of tracing material, about 11 yards. Everything was on sale, so I didn't even use my coupon. I also bought about 5 spools of thread.

Here are the fabrics I bought. The pink one is a lighter weight brocade. The green is a pale lime colored poly silky. It is almost like a chiffon, but a little heavier and opaque. The black and white print is called a crinkle chiffon, but really it is more like a georgette in that it is also more opaque than chiffon, but still fairly sheer. I'm going to make the tie neck blouse from the Feb issue of BWOF in either the green or B&W, or both!

10 comments:

Vicki said...

Nancy, I was going to suggest shortening the shoulder to waist length - but you have already done that with excellent results. It is looking pretty good just like that. It will be interesting to hear what Shannon has to say.

And I hear you on being stuck in a job for the money. Luckily in Australia health benefits are paid mainly by the government and not our employer so we don't lose benefits by changing jobs.

Summerset said...

The changes have definitely helped the blouse - it looks so much better.

I understand about how you feel about teaching. Many teachers feel that way; it is not the teaching that's the problem it is the rest of the "baggage".

Bonnie O. said...

I love your new fabrics and think that black/white fabric will be perfect for the sleeveless blouse. I hope to make that one, too!

cidell said...

Nice changes. I'm making a second muslin today too as I also have the day off!

I have a friend who left the DC area teaching to go to PA because he had more flexibility in teaching. He also loves his job, but the day to day was really getting to him.

Debbie Cook said...

There is nothing wrong with your body!! It's just different from the pattern model is all. The changes you made to the pattern look very good.

Ann Made Studio said...

The changes you made look good.
I agree with Debbie, it's not your body just the pattern:) It'll be great to see the finished blouse.

Maureen said...

Nancy, you have such a good heart, who cares about the rest :)

...and from the teacher in our house...DITTO!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Nancy - part of your quest for better fitting is the fact that you are getting more accomplished in your sewing, so your fitting skills need to be upped to match. It is a learning process and you are doing great! So my post is just one of encouragement...keep going, pretty soon it will all just come to you!

As for health insurance and money, let's just not go there. I think one of the true tests of being an adult is working a job that you don't necessarily like but it is necessary for your family...been there, done that.

And for fabric accumulation, I'm right there with you...24 additional yards are winging there way to my house and for no other reason than I wanted them and I'm not sewing...does THAT make any sense at all?! *LOL*

a little sewing said...

Nancy, you are doing great! I am in the same class and haven't gotten as involved yet. My fitting adjustments are very similar to yours.
This is the first I read about your health issues. That is some pretty serious stuff- congrats to you on doing alright with it.
And regarding the need to work, the baggage with the job, yep... got some of that, too.
It is a real balancing act to hold down a job, keep a decent attitude and enjoy life, don't I know it!

Anonymous said...

Hey Nancy, this blouse is really looking good! I think that the adjustments are right on target. Really, you should be able to do this on all patterns as your basic changes. My dd likes to say that the models are the abnormal ones and the rest of us are normal. So, if you do not have the body of a fit model, you won't fit the pattern or the rtw!
I like Shannons ideas especially about the dart. Shortening above the waist all around seems to have solved a lot of your wrinkle problems.