Here’s a few pictures of some amazingly shredded bodies of a few people around the world, with an emphasis on their insane V lines. Check them out and hopefully it will help motivate YOU to get that V line going as well! Check out Part 2 here!
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One of the problems I face with many patterns is neck gape on commercial patterns. It can be on the front, on the back, or even both. Some people might ask, "Well did you choose your pattern by your high bust measurement?" Yes, I did. My high bust measurement is about 34" which is a size 12 Big 4 pattern (McCall's, Butterick, Simplicity, and Vogue). My front width measurement also corresponds to a size 12 as per Nancy Ziemen's recommendation for pattern size in her book Fitting Finesse. So why do I get neck gape? I think it's because of my narrow shoulders and hollow chest, paired with my full C-cup bust. A logical solution for many people is simply to drop down a pattern size and perform an FBA (full bust adjustment) and adjustments further down. For some reason, there is a negative association with altering the neck and shoulders, and IMO, it really is one of the easiest places to alter a pattern with many styles. It's simply the way I prefer to alter patterns for my figure, although it seems contrary to what most will recommend. Therefore, when I buy sewing patterns, even though I use the correct size for my figure, I often end up with neck gape. This is quite an annoying problem, yet such an easy and simple fix. I am going to show you two (I have three total however) methods today that I use to remove neck gape on patterns. The first is VERY simple, the second is a little more work, but targets the exact area. I don't use one exclusively, it really depends on the pattern and how much gape needs to be removed. If it is small amount and depending on the pattern style, I use the No. 1. If the amount to be removed is more than a 1/2", I use the second method. The two methods are: 1. Shifting the pattern's center front 2. Dart and Tranfer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- METHOD NO. 1: Here is a miniature sample of a pattern front with the bust apex marked as a dot. The pink construction paper is the "pseudo" fabric. The pattern's center front (CF) is placed on the fold. Let's say I have a small amount of neck gape that I want to remove, not more than a 1/2". What I'm going to do is shift the top, CF of the pattern over to the right, off the fabric fold a 1/4". Yes, I did say a 1/4". Remember, this is only half the pattern. A 1/4" will actually be a 1/2" removed from the entire front neckline. The 1/4" shifted over to the right is illustrated in the picture below. Notice the fold of fabric under the pattern is marked with a broken line. That broken line will now become the new CF. I will mark a new grainline marking and cut off the excess as shown below. This will complete Method 1, and very easy method to remove neck gape. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- METHOD NO. 2 This method is a more precise method, targeting the exact area of the neck gape when it is more than a 1/2", and transferring that excess somewhere else. That "somewhere else" in my sample below is a bust dart, although it could be rotated anywhere on the bulging block (anywhere around the bust apex). First, here is a picture of my sample pattern front: Next, I draw two lines: one from the area of the neck gape to the bust apex, and one from the side seam to the bust apex as shown below. After drawing these two lines, I cut them with a scissors *almost* to the bust apex, leaving a hinge of the pattern right at the bust apex. In the picture below, notice how I am lifting the upper piece that has been slashed on both lines. It doesn't lift up completely because of the "hinge" at the bust apex. Now I will slide the lifted piece over to the right, let's say 5/8" inch for this example. This will remove a total of 1 1/4" of neck gape. Yeah, that would be a lot. But it happens sometimes. Notice in the picture below, when I shift top of the pattern over to the right to remove the gape, a new dart forms at the bust. OR...if you have an existing bust dart, it will make your existing dart bigger. The broken line represents the amount that is removed. Next, I will true the neckline and fill in the new bust dart with tissue as shown below. That completes Method 2. Both are different methods that basically accomplish the same thing--removing that annoying gape. This method can also be used on the back bodice as well. I usually remove back neck gape and transfer it to a shoulder dart or convert it to a princess seam by transferring the neck gape excess to both a waist and shoulder dart combo. Hope this helps in your quest to remove neck gape :) !
wbff pro competitor
Andrea Ager
A few days ago, a PR member sent me a PM about altering a forward sleeve. She needed a bit more info, and I thought it would be easier to answer with pictures so I decided to create a tutorial for it. Bear in mind: WHAT I'M ILLUSTRATING IS BODY SPECIFIC FOR MY FIGURE. This may not work on someone else's figure, so it would be prudent to check out my slide show to see if my figure is similar to yours. I'm working off of a 42-year old body with forward shoulders and broad upper back. Long arms, long legs, short waist, rectangular torso with not a whole lot of waist definition, 5' 7" in height, somewhat slender, hollow chest, full bust (propped up most of the time with a Wonder Bra LOL), and narrow shoulders. So, knowing that, let's proceed... TUTORIAL: Altering a Sleeve for Forward Shoulder Step 1 - Alter the bodice. Let's assume it's a 1/2" forward shoulder alteration. Remove 1/2" from the front as shown and add 1/2" in the back as shown. Another option to consider is moving the entire shoulder seam 1/2" forward. In the pic below I'm tapering to 0 at the neckline rather than moving the entire shoulder seam forward. Whatever works best. Step 2 - Examine the sleeve pattern. Most sleeve patterns I see are like the one below and symetrical. If this is the case, the sleeve will need to be altered for a better fit since this draft does not mirror a typical figure. Draw a vertical line from the center of the sleeve cap at the top to the middle of the hem at the bottom. Draw a horizontal line perpendicular to the vertical line across the sleeve right above the notches. Also draw in a hash mark on the horizontal line a 1/2" away from the vertical line toward the front of the sleeve as shown. Step 3 - Cut the pattern on the horizontal line. Move the upper pattern forward a 1/2" so the vertical line on the top piece is aligned with the hash mark. Step 4 - True the cutting lines. Normally I don't true my lines this way except for sleeves. Flatten/true the back as shown, bubble and true the front as shown. The sleeve is now asymetrical reflecting a true body shape. Normally, this would be the end of it, but not for me...what else is new. I measure the SEAMLINE of the front and back of the sleeve separately as shown below. Subtract the seam allowances from your measurements. Then I measure the front and back armholes separately on the bodice pieces. Subtract the seam allowances from these measurements. Now I make comparisons of the front sleeve seamline and front bodice armhole seamline and the back sleeve seamline and back bodice armhole seamline as shown on my "math" sheet below. If there is more than a 1/2" difference, I adjust the sleeve. Usually there is no problem on the back, but there is too much ease on the front to the point where it would look gathered. Therefore, using the above example, the front sleeve has 3/4" excess of fabric over that 1/2" of preferred ease. So I reduce the ease in the front of the sleeve as shown below. Draw a line (shown in green) 3/4" above the horizontal line. Slash the green line and overlap it to the blue line to reduce the ease as shown below. True the cutting line as shown below: And that completes the alteration. I do this for almost every sleeve. I hope this information is helpful to one of my body twins out there.
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