Fitting the Nell Blouse + Dress

Ready to make our new Nell blouse + dress pattern and want to know how to get a great fit? Well, you're in the right place!

Nell is available in printed and layered PDF formats, in sizes UK 6-34 / US 2-30 / EUR 34-62 / AUS 6-34.

Nell is designed to be loose-ish fitting, with bust darts to give some shaping to the bodice, quite a bit of ease at the waist, and a swishy, gathered skirt. All of this means that the pattern is pretty simple to fit, and so you might find you only need to make a couple of adjustments, or perhaps none at all!

In this post, we're going to cover:

• Making a toile 
• Choosing your size
• Lengthening or shortening pattern pieces 
• How to combine pattern sizes 
• How to do bust adjustments for a bust darted bodice 
• How to do wide and narrow shoulder adjustments

Common Trouser Fitting Adjustments

Do you like the idea of making trousers or pants, but feel a little nervous about the prospect of fitting them? Well, fear not, as help is here! This blog post will cover the most common fitting adjustments you may need to make when sewing trousers.

Now, before we go any further, please shake off any ideas you may have about making a perfect, crease-free pair of trousers. They simply don’t exist. Well-fitting trousers allow you room to sit down comfortably, breathe, eat, and to live your best life. They will crease where you bend and move, and will allow you space to do so. Basically, don’t get hung up on eliminating every crease and line – it’s impossible!

With that in mind, we've covered a few different fitting adjustments here, but don't feel like you have to try them all! You may not need to make any alterations to your pattern, or perhaps you feel you need to do just one or two tweaks.

Do I need to make a toile?

If you're not sure whether you'll need to make some alterations, or even what adjustments you might need, it's a good idea to make a "toile" - a mock-up garment in a similar weight fabric you don't mind using to test the fit - so you can see how a particular pattern works on you. We have a comprehensive blog post about toile making. Go check it out if you want to find out more!

Making a toile is more important if you're making something with a close-fitting crotch and bum area, like the Thea trousers, but not always essential if you're making a looser fitting garment, such as the Esti trousers or shorts or the Safiya trousers - unless you know you usually need to make lots of adjustments. For looser fitting trousers, you might want to make a "wearable toile", perhaps in an inexpensive but pretty fabric that you won't mind wearing if it all works out beautifully. 

Ready to dive in and learn how to do some common trouser fitting adjustments? Let's go...

How do I add more room to the stomach area? AKA a full tummy adjustment

Five Ways to Fix a Gaping Neckline

Have you ever sewn a garment only to try it on and find the neckline is sitting away from your body? Fear not, I'm going to share with you my five top tips on how to fix a gaping neckline on a variety of garment styles, including high, deep and wrap necklines, on both knit and woven fabrics. 

1. Stabilise those seams! (woven or knit fabrics)

If you thought that stabilisers were just for kids' bikes, then think again! Ok fine, you don't have to add actual wheels to your neckline, but stabilising a neckline seam can help prevent it from stretching out both from sewing and wear. This is a particularly good idea if you're making something with a bias-cut (diagonal) neckline, such as the Alexa jumpsuit or Pearl cardigan.

For a woven fabric, try stay tape or twill tape, a flat woven ribbon that you can buy in different widths. Stitch it to the neckline within the seam allowance, close to where the stitching line will be. 

For knits or woven fabrics, a great option is iron-on seam tape, AKA my new best sewing pal. It has a slight stretch to it, making it super easy to apply to curves and, as it's fusible, you don't need to sew a single stitch - just press it in place, again, within the seam allowance and close to the stitching line. 

If you don't have these to hand, cut iron-on interfacing into narrow strips and use it the same way. This is a perfect way to use up interfacing scraps that you've been hoarding.

2. Fabric recovery is your friend (knit fabrics)

All knit fabrics stretch to some extent - this is of course why we love wearing them and what they are designed to do. But some will stretch whilst you wear them and continue to stretch as the day goes on without snapping back to their original size.

A fabric with good "recovery" returns to its original state after stretching, without becoming baggy or distorted. Using a fabric with a good recovery is especially important when making something with a neckline that you want to keep the same shape and size, such as the wrap neckline on the Pearl cardigan or the scoop neckline on the Agnes top, as it will help it keep its shape.

To check if a knit fabric has a good recovery, cut a swatch and measure it. Pull the fabric lengthways and widthways a few times, then set it down and measure it again. If it easily pings back to the same size, then this indicates it has a good recovery - yay! If your swatch is left slightly bigger post stretching, it indicates that the fabric doesn't have a good recovery and will most likely be more prone to growing with wear.

3. Consider shortening the neckband (knit fabrics)

Fitting the Lyra Shirt Dress

Making the Lyra shirt dress and want a helping hand on how to get a great fit? Well then, this post is right up your street! 

Lyra is available in printed and PDF formats sizes UK 6-34 / US 2-30 / EUR 34-62 / AUS 6-34.

Lyra has an oversized, blousy bodice with bust darts, quite a bit of ease at the waist, and a flowy, gathered skirt. This means it not only looks ultra-cool (if we do say so ourselves) but is also relatively simple to fit - yay! 

In this post we're going to cover: 

• Making a toile 
• Choosing your size
• Lengthening or shortening pattern pieces 
• How to combine pattern sizes 
• How to do bust adjustments for a bust darted bodice 
• How to do wide and narrow shoulder adjustments

Making a toile