Sewing With Nancy

Do you ever shy away from sewing fashions since getting the right size fit seems daunting? Well, don't worry, you're not alone. During the next two episodes, I'd like to share my favorite pattern fitting techniques that are easily mastered without cutting the original pattern pieces apart. Fitting should be approached as if you're putting together a puzzle. During the first episode, learn a new approach to choosing the right pattern size, easy ways to measure and then how to change the pattern with simplified pivot and slide techniques. "Solving the Pattern Fitting Puzzle," that's what's next on Sewing with Nancy. Sewing with Nancy, TV's longest-airing sewing and quilting program with Nancy Zieman

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making a difference in sewing, quilting, crafting, and needle arts for over 30 years. Amazing Designs and Klass Needles. Before buying a pattern, obviously, you have to know what size to purchase and conventional wisdom when fitting patterns is to measure around the circumference, around the bustline, and choose a pattern accordingly. Now, if you have a model-type figure, that's perfect. But if you have more ins than outs, well, maybe you'll end up with what I call "gaposis." This illustration exaggerates it a little bit, but it shows what may happen. The neckline may be too large, shoulder seams fall off the shoulder, arm hole too deep, get wrinkles underneath the arm, but yet, it fits around the bustline. It's a little difficult to alter the shoulder area, but it's much easier just to change the bustline, which I'll show you in a few minutes. I like to purchase a pattern to fit your shoulders. So, to do this, we're going to start off with a new measurement-- perhaps to you-- called the "right size" measurement. You'll need a sewing buddy to help you do this measurement. Don't measure on yourself. Put on a camisole and have your buddy measure above the crease in the arm, across the front width, to the other crease. You're not going to find this measurement on the back of the pattern envelope. It's a measurement that we kind of used through time. It works well. And here's the simple way of determining what size you should get. Size 14 happens to be 14" and it changes 1/2" per size. So, if we'd go down to 13.5" that would be a size 12. 13", a size 10, and so on and so forth. In the opposite direction, the same thing. If you know that 14 is 14", then a size 16 is 14.5". Size 18, you got it, is 15". Now, if you're thinking, "Oh, I'm really going down in sizes," well, you can modify it. Just go down one size, but I assure you you'll get a better fit. And I'll show you how to change the pattern in the circumference measurements, as we go along. So, you have the right size and you're going to choose patterns that are simplified. We're not going to choose something that has many pattern pieces when we start off. You just want something very simple; streamline... Simple top I'm wearing today or a blouse that has a front, a back, sleeves, whatever you may like to use. Don't make it too difficult at first because once you know your fitting formula, you can apply it to all other pattern pieces. It's that simple. So, now that we have the right size, you're going to cut out the pattern that coincides with your size. When I first started teaching fitting-- I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was-- but, you know, each pattern had a size in it. Each envelope had a size in it. Now everything is multiple-sized where the sizes are nested. This pattern happened to have six sizes, but I cut it out according to a size 10, cutting along the lines that coincided with the 10. So, you're going to cut out your front, back, sleeve, whatever the basic pattern pieces are for this measurement. And then, after cutting out the sizes, you can gather your tools. We'll be using this in our next segment, but they're very simple. You need a tape measure, obviously you know that, some pins, two colors of marking pens, and tracing paper. That's it. Nothing detailed about this. Now, the first measurements that you're going to need to do just to get the ins and outs of your pattern will be bust, waist, and hip. And, again, use your sewing buddy. Have your sewing buddy help you. And here's an illustration of working with the bust measurement. Just measure around the fullest circumference, and you can see that simple measurement. Do not take it too tight. do not take it too loose. Maybe have your sewing buddy put a thumb or finger underneath the tape measure to get it just right. And measure to the closest half an inch. Do the same at the waist. Bend over to the side, as you can see in the illustration, to find the deepest wrinkle. It's your waist. and then measure around the circumference. I say measure to the closest half of an inch because you know what a piece of chocolate cake can do. So, don't measure just perfectly to 28 3/8". It's not going to work.

Hips

hips are... generally 9" below the waist, or you can see the measurement there, and around the circumference. So,

you have the basics that we're going to start off with

bust, waist, and hip. And on my little chart, I have a little note that I reference the back of my pattern envelope for what size the measurement was made for. Now, some companies have the measurements written on the envelope. Sometimes they're online. So you can just go online to whatever pattern company it is and you'll find out what size it's been made for. And that's what I have

for the three measurements

bust, waist, and hip. I have my measurements, first of all, 38, 30 and 42. And then I have the size that the pattern was made for.

And you can see

they're smaller. And then, the difference between the measurements-- two, two, and four-- is what I'm going to change to my pattern.

Nancy sighs dramatically

And you can see

Now, you might think, this is a lot of work to make the changes. It's not going to be. But your pattern-- Your garment will fit in your shoulders so much better if you buy the pattern to fit your shoulders rather, as I said earlier, than your ins and outs. So take a little time to do these basic measurements and then we're going to make the changes. In the intro, I mentioned that there were pivot points or we're going to make the changes by pivoting and sliding the pattern. We need some little markings on the pattern and with those markings, you can see these cross-marks. And the first cross-mark we need will be at the shoulder and the underarm. And I marked them 5/8". This gauge is 5/8" wide. That's the seam allowance at the shoulder and also at the underarm. And now that I have my pattern ready, you'll get the idea as we go along. I'll show you next how to do the changes. Now that you have your pattern size determined, your pattern is cut out, measurements taken, now it's time to make some little fine tune adjustments onto your pattern to solve the pattern fitting mystery. To do this, we have-- I'm going to reference again the measurements that I used. And I needed to add 2" at the bust and waist. This pattern is really simple. It doesn't have any fitting at the hips, so we're just going to worry about the bust and waist. and we need to add 2" to both. So, how do you determine what you add where? Well, there are two side seams. One on each side, and then, the front and the back pieces. So your measurement is going to be divided by four. So just like when you're in third grade or wherever, you have four side seams and we're going to add 2". So, that's 2/4, or 1/2". And you do not have to learn to write upside down. I just do that for you. So, you can see you add 1/2" on each side. I have several layers of tissue paper and with the marking pens be careful because it may go through one layer of tissue paper. So, that's why I have several layers here, working on a mat. The first step is to always trace the original pattern piece. Trace around the sides, the arm hole, and the side area. And I can trace a little closer than I'm doing right now. So, we need to add just 1/2" to the bust on each side and 1/2" to the waist. So, we'll measure out from the underarm 1/2" and the same down here. Now, if this had been 3" for the waist, you'd add 3/4". Whatever the measurement happens to be. You do the same tracing along the back. So, whatever you added to the front, you add to the back. And then, do the same measurement. So, so far, really simple. Now comes the technique that I like to call pivoting. It's like the fulcrum on a clock that pivots back and forth. You place a pin at the shoulder where the stitching lines cross. That's where we had the little 'X' marked. It has 5/8" seam allowances. So, I put a pin in this area and then pivot or move the pattern out so that it meets the increase mark. And then, I'll just kind of do it hash mark, make it quicker. Mark the arm hole, go around the corner. And I'm going to pivot now to the waist change. Now, if we look down way at the waist, you'll see that the pattern is pivoted beyond that measurement. So I'll just place the pin at the underarm where the stitching lines cross and align everything up. And then, I'll just mark all the way down. And what I could do-- Whoa! What I could do at this time is to mark the dart legs, where they end, and there's my change. Now, I'd like to ask groups when I show them this, "Will the sleeve fit into this arm hole?" It doesn't look that way. If you look at this armhole change, now maybe darken this line, when it's in the unpivoted position, it looks bigger, but notice, I traced identical armhole shape, so it's going to fit. Whatever you do the front, you do to the back when it comes to width changes. And, again, I'll put a pin just to give you a reference. A pin, pivot to meet the increase, trace the arm hole, then place a pin at the underarm and go to the change and, presto, you're set. And here are the changes. Pretty simple, easy to work with and you didn't have to cut apart your pattern piece. If you wanted to do a different change or you didn't like what you saw, you still have your original pattern piece intact. Now, if you didn't need to change the waist, let's say the waist was just the right size, well, then, you trace the pattern. And maybe you can take a little bit more time at home to trace it accurately. Measure out whatever you need to increase and I'll just guesstimate that 1/2". Trace to meet the increase and then follow the line. Now, if, by chance, you had to change, make it smaller, you just pivot inward instead of outward. And now. it tapers down to the original cutting line. And there, you can see the change. There you go. So, whatever you do to the side seam in the front, you do to the side seam in the back. Now, maybe you want to practice. Maybe you want to practice doing this. So, we have some mini patterns for you. If you go online at

NancyZieman.com

And you can see

that's where you can watch all Sewing With Nancy videos and you click on the videos. This program is called "Solving the Pattern Fitting Puzzle." Click on our two episodes, and there you will find, you can print out lots of different mini patterns. We have 12 of them, and they're all the sizes we'll be using in these programs. And let me just show you what I have here. You're not going to do this now because then you'd miss the rest of the show, but you can do this at your convenience. Rewatch the program. And then, you can just practice with these little patterns-- the techniques-- so that when you need to do it later on, you can see it. I'll reference these little patterns as we go along throughout this program. I'd like to show you another option. Let's say you had a hip change, and let's just move this over. And I have another pattern piece that is long. It doesn't have a fitted waistline. It just has... you would fit the bust and the hip. I think you might get the idea what happens here. You trace the armhole and all the side. Now, the hip is about 9" from the waist. So, I can measure out. Let's say I need a 1/2" at the bustline. And then, I think I needed 4" at the hip yet. That's what I usually need. So, the hip is approximately 9" below, so I'll measure. Since there are four side seams, I'd measure out 1". So, you can see the different changes. And then, I will do the pivoting. Pin goes at the shoulder where the stitching lines cross. I pivot out. Trace the armhole. It's redundant, but I think you'll understand. And then, you just angle it so that it meets. You're connecting the lines, connecting the dots. And then you maintain the same style that the original designer wanted with the changes that fit you. Now, you may want to change a dart. You saw a dart that we had earlier. The dart may need to be raised or lowered. And to change length, you're going to slide the pattern up and down. And you can see that sometimes the marking pen goes through all the layers. So that's why I have some double layers. And on this illustration, you can see that you have to try on the pattern. Pin the shoulder seams together, as you can see on the illustration and mark where you'd like your dart to point. And that's what I have measured on this particular pattern. So, here you can see where the measurement is. The distance that it needs to be lowered is 3/4". So to do length changes, to change the position of this, we're simply going to trace the hemline, so get it anchored and you can trace all the way around. And then, I'm going to slide this pattern down 3/4" because I'd like that dart-- let me get the right end of the tape measure, here we go-- I'd like that dart to be 3/4" lower. So, just slide it down, and then continue to mark that dart. After I mark the dart, bring it back up, and it's lowered. So, now this new pattern piece is attached to your original pattern piece and you can cut it out with those changes. During this first episode,

we're working with just the basics

bust, waist, and hip. If you're wondering about the sleeve and the shoulders, stay tuned for or tune in to our second episode. I just want to make sure that you understand this technique. And when you're working with a princess style, is what this pattern showcases, there are extra seams, and this is great if you need gradual shaping, perhaps more than 4" on many sides. You can see this extra seam that goes down the middle and also in the back. These little mini patterns showcase what the pattern may look like, where there's a front, and then, a side front. Here's the traditional side seam, the side back, and the back piece. You can add in the middle section, as we just did at the underarm seam. But then, also, you could add at the front piece and the back piece. Now, I'm going to show you how that's added on the big pattern pieces. But you have eight seams now, eight side seams. Not eight seams, but eight side seams. So, divide your needed changes by eight. So, here is the back-- excuse me-- the side front piece. And I've already added-- Let's say you needed 3" at the bustline area and eight cut edges, we'd add 3/8. If you needed 8" for the eight side seams, you'd add 1" on each hip side. And you can see that the gradual change has been made. But for this front piece, you need to find out where that bustline measurement is. So, I just aligned up the two pattern pieces and marked approximately where the bustline would fall. So, I placed a stitch or a pivot point at the intersection. It's basically marking the seam allowance, where the seam allowance is at the shoulder. I guess I better measure out first. That would help. Let's do some measuring and measure out 3/8" at the bustline area, 3/8". And then, 1" at the hip line. And you pivot to the bustline change and draw the line. Now, you might guess, you place the pin at the stitching line and pivot to angle the two together. It pivots like a fulcrum on the old grandfather clock and draw it down. Gradual subtle changes, but yet getting the widths to fit the measurements on your body. You do the same changes on the back pieces so that you just take it step by step, puzzle piece by puzzle piece, and soon you'll solve your pattern fitting issues. Since you're watching Sewing With Nancy, I know you appreciate fine workmanship whether it's sewing or quilting. And today, it's going to be costuming because you have the treat of seeing the activewear-- tongue in cheek-- of the Downton Abbey costumes. And we're at the Paine Art Center with curator Laura Fiser. And, Laura, today we're going to have activewear. Whether they're hunting, riding, farming... Right. We have some great fashions to share. We do. Downton Abbey is set at an English country estate. So, there's lots of opportunity for "life on the land" costuming and we have some great pieces on view in our main gallery and beyond. This is a traveling show and we're now in Oshkosh viewing this. And, Laura, we're going to start with a riding outfit. Yes. It is the opener to the exhibition that was on view in our main gallery. And it's Lady Mary Crawley looking so distinguished in a riding ensemble. It's a split skirt so that she could ride sidesaddle comfortably and that would just be a feat, in and of itself. And underneath the riding skirt are actual jodhpurs to protect her legs and make it easier for her to ride this horse. So, the costumes are authentic from the exterior all the way to the underpinnings. What I found out that's so fascinating is that the actors wore identical to what it would have been in the era. Yes. It's all true to the period, and that helped them get into character. Of course. And then there's the land girl. Yes, in Lady Edith. During World War I in Season Two, Lady Edith Crawley worked as a land girl helping on the tenant farms around the estate. And it's a fantastic daywear ensemble that allowed her to ride a bicycle, as well as a tractor and help out on the land. Now, we can't forget about the downstairs people because they made the upstairs people enjoy their activewear. Right? Right. Mrs. Hughes is a pivotal character, the head of the female servants. She looked very distinguished. Very distinguished. She really ran the house. She was a wonderful character. She was on view in the Paine in what would have been our servants quarters because we also were designed to look like an English country estate. And you can see that her costume that, while subtle and all black, it has beautiful detailing on it in the little lace cuff and showed that she had a position of honor within the household. And the book that I read about all these costumes, silk and cotton and wool were the only fabrics available and that's what you have. Right. And that's what we have. They weren't using any synthetic fabrics. If a piece was made for the television series, it was true to the 1910s and 1920s and used all the period fastenings, as well. World War I was a big part of the season, one of the seasons, and here you can see Sybil in a nursing outfit, a military outfit, and then daywear that was worn by Mary Crawley. Yes. And the costumes of Matthew and Mary are particularly poignant. You can almost picture the scene when you see those costumes. They're having a concert for the convalescing soldiers who were resting in the infirmary at Downton Abbey because they used Downton Abbey as an infirmary. So lady Mary has a beautiful A-line skirt and a floral blouse. The blouse is a silk chiffon blouse that's original to the period. It's a vintage piece. And then her skirt reflects the palette of military wear, which is really interesting. And then Matthew was missing in action as a captain in World War I and right when Mary is singing to the soldiers, Matthew appears. Oh, the drama. And it's a beautiful moment, yes, captured on TV. Yes, it is. Now, we're going to next look at hunting... hunting outfits. Yes. We have several costumes in the exhibition that show that they were living on this country estate. So, they would have shooting parties or just walking the land and hunting parties. And these are two gentleman's outfits, in tweed. And it's an interesting look at the aristocrat Robert Crawley. On the left. On the left, versus on the right Richard Carlisle, who was a newly made man, very wealthy, engaged to Lady Mary Crawley and he has a tweed suit made, but it's all heavy tweed so he's very hot. And he complains to Mary that he's hot and she said, "Well, if you were one of us, you would know what fabric to have you tailor to make a suit out of." So all of that is very authentic and just beautifully made and well tailored. And all these costumes are courtesy of? They're courtesy of Cosprop, which is a London-based costume house, award winning. They've won many Oscars and Emmys and they provide fantastic costumes. Laura, thank you for letting us join you at the Paine Art Center to show you the fashions of "Dressing Downton." It's been my treat to be here and to see these up close. I hope you've enjoyed those as well. If you'd like to rewatch this segment or any series of Sewing with Nancy, go to NancyZieman.com online and you can also join us on social media platforms like Facebook and my blog. Thanks for joining us. Bye for now. Nancy has written a fully-illustrated book that is used as a reference for the fitting techniques featured in this two-part series. The book is $24.99, plus shipping and handling. To order this book, call 800-336-8373 or visit our website at SewingWithNancy.com/2915. Order item number NZSCBK, "Nancy Zieman's Confident Sewing Collection Book." Credit card orders only. To pay by check or money order, call the number on the screen for details. Visit Nancy's website at

NancyZieman.com

we're working with just the basics

to see additional episodes, Nancy's blog, and more. Sewing with Nancy TV's longest-airing sewing and quilting program with Nancy Zieman has been brought to you by Baby Lock; Madeira Threads; Koala Studios; Clover; Amazing Designs and Klass Needles. Closed captioning funding provided by Pellon. Sewing with Nancy is a co-production of Nancy Zieman Productions and Wisconsin Public Television.