FBA

In the Sewing Matrix the term FBA is not what regular Earth people think it is. It’s not a kind of a fashion police either. It stands for Full Bust Adjustment. It’s a pattern manipulation technique that allows you to enlarge the cup size.

If you met me, you might have noticed I’m unlikely to need full bust adjustment no matter the pattern. Good for me since it makes things way easier. That’s the thing; most of sewing patterns are made for the B cup. For those of you cursed with cups bigger than B, this technique will prove very useful, typically if the garment feels awkward around the chest or the fabric pulls at the front and is simply too tight in that area.

You can use this technique regardless of the cup size really, I still make FBA in some patterns to add more fullness and – let’s not be afraid to say it out loud – cheat a little and shape a more feminine silhouette. Here’s how to do it!

Find those numbers

Always start with measurements. To determine your cup size measure upper bust first. Then measure your full bust. The difference between those two indicates your cup size.

If the difference equals 1in you have the A cup, 2in is the B cup, 3in is the C cup, and so on.

Let’s assume that you’re size D. The pattern is for size B. It means that you have to add 2in more around the bust (B=2in; D=4in → 2in difference between B and D). Now that you know how much you need to add, the question becomes what size should you enlarge?

This is important since the pattern is designed for the B cup. So if your bust measurement is 38in, subtract those additional 2in (the difference between B and D) when choosing the size. In this case you’d choose 36in, taking under consideration your true hip and waist measurements as you would usually do. In other words, all else being equal, your bust would measure 36in with the B cup.

Draw, cut, shift

Draw:

·      a straight line through the middle of the bust dart toward the center of the pattern (blue line);

·      a line through the middle of the vertical dart toward the center of the pattern (red line). The intersection of these two lines indicates the bust apex;

·      a line from the bust apex toward the armhole, just above the most curvy part (green line);

·      a horizontal line just above the vertical dart (pink line).

Cut:

·      along the red line from the pattern’s edge and further along the green line. You want to leave a tiny hair of paper at the armhole so those two parts are easy to shift but aren’t entirely separated;

·      along the blue line from the pattern’s edge toward the bust apex. Again, don’t separate it entirely.

Now, in the example we agreed you need to enlarge that area by 2in. The front pattern piece is actually ½ of the whole front (if for instance it’s cut on fold). That’s why we need to divide 2in by two as well. We get 1in. Take a piece of paper, just to cover the cut area. Draw two vertical lines on it 1in apart. 

Shift:

·      align the red line on the paper along the drawn line. Tape it only above the dart for now. You will shift the part under the pink line later;

·      tape the other red line along the other drawn line;

·      secure the green line with tape as well;

·      cut along the pink line and move the bottom part so it’s the right length again. Tape it.

Here is how it looks in motion:

You are almost done! Mark the new apex point at the same height as the previous one. Just move it left to the center of the new vertical dart.
Draw the new darts starting 1.5in from the apex.

 

Dandelion Lobelia Tee

Po raz pierwszy wydrukowałam zaprojektowaną przeze mnie tkaninę. W Polsce można drukować na tkaninach dzięki Cottonbee, w Stanach takie usługi prowadzi Spoonflower. Rysunek powstał w Illustratorze. Z szerokiej oferty tkanin wybrałam bawełniany batyst. Kilka dni po zamówieniu dowiedziałam się, że wycofują tę tkaninę z oferty. Dostępna będzie już tylko do końca listopada dla klientów, którzy kupowali ją wcześniej. Wielka szkoda, bo materiał jest idealny. Muszę uzupełnić zapasy i zamówić go więcej zanim będzie za późno.
Wykrój na bluzkę to Lobelia Tee. Całe szycie zajęło mi dwie godziny. To zdecydowanie mój najprostszy wykrój. Możesz go uszyć rano i tego samego dnia założyć do pracy. Sew’n’go.
Przy okazji, zdradzę wam dobre wieści. Właśnie dodaję zapasy na szwy do wszystkich moich wykrojów. Dzięki temu szycie będzie jeszcze szybsze i łatwiejsze. Gdy tylko skończę wszyscy, którzy kupili moje wykroje wcześniej będą mogli otrzymać nowe wersje.

I decided to finally try and print custom fabric at Spoonflower. I made the drawing in Illustrator, chose Spoonflower’s cotton lawn and ordered 2 yards. Timing turned out to be perfect. I just got an email that they are withdrawing this fabric and it’s only going to be available until November and only to the clients that ordered it already. It’s a shame because this cotton lawn is fabulous. I must stock my stash up before it’s gone.
I used same old Lobelia Tee pattern for this project. The whole thing took me about two hours. It’s so simple, you can make it in the morning and wear it the same day to work - Sew’n’go.
I have some good news by the way! I’m adding seam allowances to all my patterns to make it even quicker and easier. I know most of you got used to having them included. I’ll keep you posted in this matter. Once it’s all ready, I’m happy to send new versions to all clients that bought the old ones.

Cosmos Dress Sew Along Pt. 2

In this part of Cosmos Dress Sew Along we are going to sew the sleeves and skirt to the bodice. In the next post I’ll also write about other easy skirt options you can choose instead of a full gathered skirt.
Last week we sewed darts, buttoned closure, side and arm seams of the bodice. Having all that we can now take up with sleeves.

Sleeves
Iron stay tape around the armholes.

Sew and serge side seams of the sleeves.

Sew their hems; simply double-fold the edge and topstitch.

Turn sleeve right side out and bodice wrong side out.

Put sleeve inside the armhole. Pay attention to putting the right sleeve to the right armhole.

Pin with pins, starting from points 9, 10, 1 and 3. Baste the cap between two dots to fit it to the armhole. Unpin it and press with steaming iron to shrink the excess of fabric. Just like we did with the arm lines.

Pin it back and sew to the armhole.

Voila! It wasn’t so hard, right?

Repeat with second sleeve. We can now proceed to the skirt.

Gathered Skirt
Cut the pieces from the fabric. Long metal ruler and rotary cutter are super helpful here. Don’t forget to add seam allowance before you cut!

Sew side seams of front and backs and serge.

Iron stay tape to the lower edge of bodice.

Set your sewing machine on the longest stitch and baste the skirt’s upper edge (on seam allowance). Don’t sew in one long line; rather divide it in to a few. It’s easier to gather this way. Leave long tales of threads.

Pin the skirt to the bodice, right sides facing each other, in a couple of places. Match side seams and back centers of the bodice and the skirt.

Now pull those tails to fit the skirt to the bodice. You can tie them together to secure what you just gathered. Add some more pins along the edge.

You’re ready to sew it. After everything is sewn serge this edge and press it up on the bodice. Serge backs centers.

Whip It Up Challenge

Zostałam wybrana do udziału w wyzwaniu Whip It Up organizowanym przez portal Sew Mama Sew oraz Ink and Arrow Fabrics. Kolekcja tkanin Whip It Up zawiera bawełny z kuchennymi nadrukami. Stąd temat wyzwania – Kitchen Linens (Tekstylia kuchenne). Oprócz tkanin ze wspomnianej kolekcji mogliśmy użyć też niektórych z serii Pixies.
Po małej burzy mózgu zdecydowałam uszyć etykiety na słoiki. Zrobiłam kilka projektów, z których wybrałam dwa. Powstały z nich te zestawy.

I was so excited when I found out I was chosen for the Whip It Up Challenge organized by Ink and Arrow Fabrics and Sew Mama Sew. Seriously, I was over the moon. The Whip It Up collection contains kitchen-related cotton fabrics so our theme was to design Kitchen Linens. We could also use some of their Pixies fabrics.
After a little brainstorm I decided to make labels for jars. I made a couple of designs and settled on those two sets.

Tkaniny jakich użyłam to:
• Aqua - salt and pepper shakers
• Black – kitchen items and phrases
• Yellow – eating utensils
Do tego dołożyłam akcenty z kolekcji Pixies w kolorach Tomato, White i Seafoam.

I used
• Aqua - salt and pepper shakers
• Black – kitchen items and phrases
• Yellow – eating utensils
The accents are made with Tomato, White and Seafoam from Pixies collection.

Po drodze powstały również te dwie samotne etykiety w nieco innym stylu.

I made these two as well, however decided on not making it into whole sets.

Rzućcie okiem na pomysły reszty uczestników:
• Cindy Guch of Raspberry Sunshine
• Jenny of My Handmade Home
• Dena Wilkins of Living Water Quilter
• Bethany Raymond of Sew Not Perfect
• Linda Rose of Sew Happily Ever After

Have a look at the projects of the other challengers:
• Cindy Guch of Raspberry Sunshine
• Jenny of My Handmade Home
• Dena Wilkins of Living Water Quilter
• Bethany Raymond of Sew Not Perfect
• Linda Rose of Sew Happily Ever After

Cosmos Dress Sew Along

Cosmos Dress Sew Along starts today. If you don’t have the pattern yet, you can still grab it 30% off from Kollabora.
We’re going to start with preparing the pattern, adjustments and sewing the bodice. Next Monday, April 25 we’ll continue with sewing the sleeves in and attaching skirt to the bodice. I’ll show you how to sew a few skirt options. We’ll finish on Thursday, April 28, with sewing the zipper and stand collar.

Print the pattern and stick it together. Remember to print the page with a test square first. Make sure it’s 2in by 2in (5cm by 5cm). Now, after you chose the proper size for you, add seam allowance. Yes, before you cut the pattern pieces out. I prefer to use 1 cm seam allowance but most people add 1.5 cm. It’s up to you. After you trace it around on the paper, you can finally cut it.
I strongly recommend starting with muslin before you cut your precious fabric. You don’t have to go through all the details sewing the muslin. To be honest, it’s enough if you just check the shape of the bodice.
The most common adjustment is changing the bra cup size. My patterns are drawn for B cup. If you feel that bodice is a little awkward around the bust and wrinkles closer to the armpit, try to fix it by making FBA (Full Bust Adjustment). You can find a tutorial here.

Let’s start sewing! Cut all pattern pieces out of the fabric.
Cut the bodice opening like on the picture here (fig. 2 on the instruction) and put some no fray glue in the corners. Give it a little time to dry.

Sew the darts in the front and the back and iron them flat (bust darts up, vertical darts toward the center).

 Iron interfacing on half of each placket (fig. 1 on the instruction).

Put the right side of the placket to the right side of the front and align its interfaced edge to the edge of the opening. Sew from the neckline to the end point of the opening.

Press seam allowances toward plackets like on the picture.

Mark your seam allowance on the other edge of the placket and press it with iron.

Fold it again such that the loose edge just covers the stitch.

Pin it from the right side.

Topstitch from the right side of the fabric. It’s easier if you move your needle slightly to the right (as far as you want the top stitch to be from the placket’s edge) and lead the center of the foot along the placket’s edge.

Put the right placket on top of the left one and secure with a pin.

Do you see the hole at the bottom of the plackets? Slip plackets’ ends inside the hole together with the small triangle part of the front so they stick out on the wrong side of the bodice. Pin all those layers together like on the picture; sew across and serge.

Tada! Plackets are almost ready. You will still need to sew buttons and buttonholes. We’ll get back to that later.
Align the back and front right sides together; sew side seams and serge.

To ease the shoulder lines pin them together first matching points 3 and 4. You’ll see that back’s shoulder is longer than front’s.

Baste back shoulder and pull the thread so it fits the front. Make a knot to keep it this way.

Unpin it and press basted line with stemming iron (only back). It may take you a couple of minutes. You want to shrink the excess fabric. Remember to always use temperature suited for the fabric you’re using.

Once you get rid of all those bumps pin it with front again and sew. Take the basting stitches out after that. Serge.

Ready bodice.