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.

 

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.

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.

Making a framed clutch

Och wow. Blogowanie ostatnio wyleciało mi całkiem z głowy. Nie zdawałam sobie sprawy, że poprzedni post napisałam w listopadzie! Czas najwyższy zaprowadzić z powrotem porządek. Jeżeli obserwujecie mojego Instagrama lub fanpage na Facebooku to widzieliście, że nie leniuchowałam. W istotcie, pracowałam nad moimi wykrojami i kilkoma weekendowymi projektami. Jednym z nich jest właśnie ta mała torebka. Uszyłam ją na walentynkową wymianę na Instagramie.

Oh wow. I quite forgot about blogging. Didn’t realize the time passing by and that my last post is from November! I definitely need to pull myself together. However, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you know that I wasn’t doing nothing. In fact, I was working on my patterns a lot and completed some weekend projects.

One of the things I made is this small clutch. It’s a gift for a Secret Valentine Exchange that is happening on Instagram.

Odkąd się nią pochwaliłam, wiele osób pytało mnie jak się taką robi. Już tłumaczę.
Przede wszystkim potrzebna będzie ramka, której nie przyszywa się do tkaniny. Wśród takich zauważyłam dwa główne rodzaje. Jedna posiada tunel tylko na górną krawędź torebki. Takiej właśnie użyłam i dalsze opisy na niej bazują. Tunel drugiej obejmuje otwarcie torebki dookoła.
Mamy już ramkę. Następnie – wykrój. Jest bardzo prosty. To co dołączamy do ramki to nic innego jak torebka z prostokątnego kawałka tkaniny. Na zdjęciu umieściłam wskazówki dotyczące szerokości. Długość zależy od Ciebie. Rysunki pokazują szycie krok po kroku.

Since I shared this picture a lot of people asked me how it is made. Here is how!
First of all, you need a frame but not the ones that you sew to the fabric. I noticed there are two major kinds. One has a tunnel only for upper edges of the purse. The other has a tunnel all around the purse’s opening. I used the first one and further description is based on this kind.
So you have a frame. What’s next? The pattern. It’s very easy. Actually, what you attach to the frame is just a tote. You sew it from a rectangular piece of fabric. Look at the picture to estimate the width. The length is up to you. Fallow Step by step pictures to sew one.

Następnym krokiem jest przyklejenie torebki do ramki. Doradzono mi użycie kleju E6000. Podobno jest bardzo mocny, a po wyschnięciu zostaje elastyczny. Aplikacja prosto z tubki może okazać się skomplikowana. Chcemy precyzyjnie nałożyć klej bez wybrudzenia ramki na zewnątrz. Dużym ułatwieniem okazały się specjalne strzykawki do kleju.

Next step is to glue the tote to the frame. I was advised to use the E6000 glue. It’s supposedly super strong and stays elastic after drying. Applying it straight from the tube might be tricky though. You want to be precise and not make a mess all over the frame. To achieve that I used those glue syringes, which you can find on Amazon.

Najpierw musisz zaznaczyć szerokość ramki na torebce. Następnie zagiąć tkaninę do środka w wyznaczonych punktach i spiąć szpilkami. Klejenie było znacznie łatwiejsze, gdy położyłam ramkę na stole i wsunęłam uszytą torebkę trzymając ją dnem do góry. Klej musi schnąć przez 24 godziny.

First, mark the length of your frame in the middle of each side of your tote. Then fold sides to the inside like on the picture and secure it with pins. I found gluing easier to do if I put the frame on a table and slide the tote upside down to the tunnel. After that you let it dry for at least 24 hours.

Kiedy klej dobrze wyschnie, możemy docisnąć ramkę do tkaniny. Zauważyłam dużą dyskusję na temat tego kroku w Internecie. Niektórzy twierdzą, że sam klej wystarczy (muszę przyznać, że ja właśnie poprzestałam na kleju). Inni twierdzą, że pewniejsze jest ściśnięcie ramki, co jednak wymaga wprawy i narzędzi. Postanowiłam to przetestować przy następnej torebce. Znalazłam odpowiednie narzędzia na Etsy. Na przykład takie. Dam wam znać jak poszło.

Once it’s dry you can clamp the frame. There’s quite a debate about this step on the Internet. Some people only use glue (which I did to be honest) and find it efficient enough. Others say it’s not reliable and it’s always better to clamp a frame. I still have one frame left and will try to crimper the fabric into the frame. I did some googling and found tools on Etsy. For example this one. I’ll let you know how it went.