Monday, May 14, 2012

Lessons from the Fitting Front: Barriers

Here's something I learned recently, while S was assisting me with the (ridiculously intense) bust adjustments on the Tailored Suit (cue sharp intake of breath): I no longer have full-on-top breasts. You know how I've been telling y'all for almost 5 years about my unique, sometimes challenging, always observable high bust? Well, it's moving on, apparently.

How did I learn this? I gained some idea when I did a muslin and discovered this (see photos). But it turns out, no matter how I tried to resolve the extending puff of fabric above my full bust, it didn't go away till S suggest what I needed was an SBA (small bust adjustment) above my full bust which had already been FBAed up the yin yang. Um, what?!

I'm the woman with the notable full upper bust. How is it that I had to adjust my (on paper) size 6 pattern into an (on paper) size 4 pattern between an inch above my nipples and my breastbone??? (The trolls are going to have a field day with that sentence, by the way.)

Here's my point (and Fitting Barrier 1): One's identity does not always reflect reality.

I can dwell on how I feel, existentially, about a full bust that has lost some of its fullness, projecting my angst (if nothing else!) and assert that nothing's changed. Or, I can fit the bust I have and make it look terrific. I have opted for the latter and I recommend it.

All this is to say that fitting is a dual experience: it's the determination of how to shape cloth around the body for optimal effect AND it's the ability of the one being fitted to allow the body to be what it is. To allow the fit to be simply what is.

Caveat: This is not the optimal time to dislike any aspect of how you look (not that that's necessarily in your purview). If you can't get with what you see as you fit, I can only suggest that you aim to change it by other means. Fitting is focused solely on what is, not on what you would like it to be. I've had these hardline words with myself on more than one occasion, I assure you.

Fitting Barrier 2: The second barrier to good fit? Fear of unknowable complexity. New sewists are particularly susceptible to this. Hello - it's hard enough to figure out a princess seam without applying it to a garment that's been fitted to perfection. What do those drag lines even mean? Are they drag lines? Maybe they're puffs of extra fabric. Maybe they aren't even there. How does one reflect changes to a muslin back onto a paper pattern? How does one make changes to a muslin? What's a muslin?? What's the point???

I'm not going to sugar coat it. It's practically impossible to learn everything at once, regardless of how kick ass you happen to be. Maybe, as you develop initial technical skills and confidence, fine fit (as opposed to excellent fit) is just fine. I worked mainly with stable knits for much of my first 2 years of sewing. I'm only just beginning to tackle the vast unknown that is my fitted torso. And I now have the benefit of a fitting friend!

That brings me to Fitting Barrier 3: You only have 2 hands and a certain amount of energy before you'll likely want to chuck everything out the window. I cannot recommend a fitting friend strongly enough. I'm not saying you will find one (though I wish one for you, truly), simply that you should be eternally open to the possibility. Seize upon it at any opportunity. And, as you continue on your own, recognize that you can't do everything in one session. Finding good fit is iterative. Iterations go faster with more hands.

Why am I focusing on barriers? Why not?

These are the landscapes in which we find ourselves. You're probably challenged by one of these barriers to some extent or another. Maybe you have others you can share.

Would it help you to know that most everyone feels out of his or her depth? I mean, I haven't done a scientific poll, but every book I read, every blog, every person I talk to reiterates this sense of fundamental concern. What if I'm not doing it right because...?

I think it helps to assess our concerns. I have encountered - nay, continue to encounter - all of these concerns on a regular basis. But I'm trying to push through in pursuit of the greater good.

So, today's questions are: Do you consider yourself a novice or an expert (or somewhere in between)? What fitting barriers have you experienced, do you continue to experience? Experts: Can you give us some tips about how to develop confidence and skill? What are moments of epiphany you've experienced?

Let's take some time to talk about our concerns and, in so doing, release them. OK?

19 comments:

  1. Such a huge novice here. And I have experienced plenty of barriers! Mainly numbers 2 and 3. I've felt so overwhelmed by how I feel I have no idea what I'm doing, and then the fact that I'm all alone. Seriously, I'd kill for a fitting buddy, lol!
    I'll get better. I can do this... just gotta keep telling myself this.
    By the way, I enjoy your writing style! :)

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    1. Thank you so much J! BTW, feeling overwhelmed is par for the course, I think. Even if you're not a huge novice. Maybe I should only speak for myself. :-)

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  2. Ah and then there are the body changes that occur after the age of 50 when menopause and gravity *really* start to take their toll! But all kidding aside the general rule is to take a full set of measurements about every 5 years, assuming that ones weight stays within about a 5 lb range. Having that full set as reference is really helpful and the great Cynthia Guffey taught me in a one of her classes to take 1/2 body measurements as well (back waist side-to-side, front waist side-to-side) because that makes flat pattern ease measurements really simple since most patterns have front and back pieces. Also - on the whole aspect of how overwhelming this is (and I agree it is when one first plunges in) as we know, size and fit are really two different things. Size is just a starting point in a size range; whereas fit is the process of making the pattern fit one person uniquely. Size is a tyranny imposed on us by commercial manufacturing.

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    1. Must you add to the endless concerns?? :-)

      Interesting about measurement taking advice. I actually check my measurements, like, every 10 minutes. I guess that's why they're always the same (more or less) :-) Excellent clarification about the distinction between size and fit!

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  3. I am very much looking forward to your fitting posts, since we seem to have a similar bust shape and I have not found much advice yet. I am a novice, and while I can sew a pattern, the fit so far was less than optimal. Too large, and I had a hard time finding out that the back was too wide and I would need 30.5" overbust patterns instead of the 34" I had. I have trouble sewing with knits, so I ran into fitting issues early on.

    Mona

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    1. Mona: I love it when people can relate to my shape (or when I can relate to theirs)! Hopefully this will be a helpful series. I'm sorry you've had trouble with knits. For women with our shape, they can be the only thing that gets us through till the fitting skills develop.

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  4. Kristin, all your barriers are real and pointing them out helps to "clear the air" so we are all aware of what we are dealing with. Fortunately, I learned the basics of sewing long ago, so I'm pretty comfortable with the actual sewing part. I think Phyllis really hit the nail on the head with the coment about 50 and menopause. My body has changed more in the last 5 years than the 30 years before that. I am still in the #1 barrier about some areas of my body as it currently exists. As I have commented before, I would love to have a fitting buddy. I think that search is going to be my next goal.
    (and I haven't gotten pictures of my jacket up on Craftsy yet. I have only taken a couple of overall shots and I would like to get a closeup to really embarass myself!)

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    1. I really do want to clear the air! And I'm sorry to hear more about the over 50 changes. I don't want to deal with that! :-) Let me know when your pics are up. What do you think of the new Craftsy interface, btw?

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  5. You are so right about recognizing (and accepting) the reality of our bodies. And how that's a moving target. We have so much of our identity tied up in our bodies, it's hard to be objective about them, and even harder, I think, to accept change.

    I feel like my "fitting list" keeps getting longer---when I started, I knew I would need to lengthen sleeves and pants-legs, and perhaps enlarge waists. Now, I do all that, plus petite alterations, square shoulders, and swayback adjustments, and am terrified that the list will just keep getting longer.

    And then I run into a pattern where I did one of my standard adjustments and it wasn't necessary, and my entire "identity" goes into a tailspin all over again...

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    1. It is hard to accept change - but I think it's harder to "see" it, than anything. My fitting list is really hitting a peak. Short waist, bust adjustments, arm tweaks...

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  6. This was a great post, and I so admire your willingness to commit to the fabulous fit. I guess my personal feeling is that it's easy to make fitting feel too hard. Going through a garment from top to bottom and correcting every wrinkle sounds scary and big, and I'm with the lady who wouldn't make more than two muslins. But, I do have a basic knit top pattern that I'm trying to improve with each top I make. I make up a version starting with the pattern then see what tweaks it needs and try to guess if they are due to the fabric or could be tweaks to the actual pattern. I'm fine with it being a really slow process, and the pattern is pretty good now.

    And yeah - bodies are totally a moving target. Overwhelming again! Ack, do I have to go through some formal process over and over? I prefer to accept some imperfect, but decently-fitting garments, that will eventually get me to a great fit.

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    1. Thanks Erika! It IS easy to make fitting seem hard. :-) I think it's a great idea to tackle things one issue at a time, every time you make a new garment, consider that area you're trying to improve.

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  7. oh god girl. i get anxiety attacks when i hear about bust adjustments. i don't know why. i just wish i had a fitting friend like you do.

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    1. So do I! And I have a fitting friend! We would be happy to welcome you into our fitting friend circle. Please move to Toronto.

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  8. Our head space is often different from reality, isn't it? I hear you on that high bust issue, it's come up in bra making for me. I know I need a good cup size and yet you can put fists in the space in the upper half of the cup. I don't have a lot of tissue up there.

    I am not good at all at fitting. I know enough to know it's not my strength and it's really hard to pin out stuff on your own body. When I do need a second set of hands, I get my mom to pin out the excess but I often get back home and feel overwhelmed by pins I don't quite understand and it becomes a UFO.

    Give it time and practice, I know I'll get there eventually.

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    1. What's up with that?? Where are my boobs gonna land by the time I'm 90?

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  9. I am an in-between sewist; I've made a few very simple garments that I'm proud of, and a lot more that are just "good enough." I don't have barrier #1 because I don't think of myself as any particular label (I've never really been able to find a set of body-shape labels that I can confidently apply to myself). Barrier #2, I just keep plugging away on. I accept there are things I can't do yet and make stuff anyway (hence the pile of "good enough" garments). Barrier #3 I can't seem to get over; I'm an introvert and find it difficult to meet people and become friends.

    I have one TNT pattern, a tank top. I've made at least a dozen from it--I even franken-fitted some long sleeves onto it, for a wearable if not great winter blouse. I'm not happy enough with anything else I've made to call them TNTs yet, although I've made two different skirts, 3 jackets from 2 patterns (that is, 2 of one and 1 of the other), and two other blouses. One jacket and one skirt were unwearable; everything else has been worn many times.

    But as I get better, a little every year, I notice the things I'd do differently. I care more about how things fit and how they look. Sometimes I wish I'd saved a favorite fabric for when I have more skills, even though it was only having a beautiful length of fabric to work with that encouraged me to try something.

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    1. Well, it's great that you have strategies with 1 and 2! Every time I make something (for better or worse) I think about how I need to tweak it next time. It's a pain.

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  10. Novice. I got really frustrated last year with these fit issues. "You only have 2 hands and a certain amount of energy before you'll likely want to chuck everything out the window." So true. I'm glad I took a break and that I had time to observe how Martin works. I fear I don't have that kind of patience but what I do have is his skills to help!

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