Recovery by clothing

[shermarama]

Don't say it too loud, but I think I might be getting better. I've done two (short) days of work already this week, and while I've got today off, I'm planning, and weirdly looking forward to, two more days of work for the rest of the week. Blimey

Comments

[openidwouldwork]

Yay for feeling better! And I wish my grandmother was still around to squeese for tips... she made pretty much all our dress clothes till I was in my twenties... bought never quite fits me either, shoulders too wide for womens, chest too wide for mens... *sigh*

[shermarama]

The fitting was quite entertaining, in that they had a man's jacket to hand, whose owner hadn't collected it yet, that was forming the basis of debate about what I was looking for. It was a little small in the shoulders and a little short, but more or less fitted. Apart from the way the lapels angled outwards rather than inwards...

[purplegril]

Clearly it would have been more helpful if it had occurred to me to say this before you moved to a different country, but I know more than one talented person who could build you patterns made to measure that you could then make yourself. Cheaper than made to measure clothing and re-usable forever. Would you consider that? Trying to engineer it yourself is pretty damn difficult and most talented clothes making types seem to struggle with making patterns from scratch or major alterations.

[shermarama]

I certainly would consider that, yeah. Is being in the same country necessary? I suppose it depends on their methods but if it's on the basis of drafting a pattern from measurements, I can take any measurements necessary.

I was involved in a project a while ago to test out pattern drafting methods which didn't really properly get going, but recently I got back in touch with someone from it who's a very experienced pattern-drafter. From the measurements that happened during the project, she sent me an A0 printable patttern for a basic bodice, which can then technically be altered or used as a basis for any other pattern. This has happened since being ill, though, so I haven't arranged printing it out and trying it yet. (Also she did say she'd changed a few measurements where they didn't seem right, which tends to make me nervous that it won't fit after all.)

[purplegril]

I will ask. I know one of the people I have in mind prefers to take measurements herself and will make pattern partly on the person to adjust it and make perfect, hence the difficulty. I'll see what they say as I have another person in mind who I think might do it too).

[friend_of_tofu]

Hooray for this!

This might seem a bit egg-sucky but as you already sew fairly well, have you thought about doing a short course in tailoring so you could learn with supervision how to do the trickier bits which are preventing you from making the very carefully fitted items you'd like? Just a thought.

[shermarama]

I'd like to, if I could find one. Recent research found a place that seemed like a good idea, schoolofsewing.co.uk, but it's in Leicestershire, and I'm... not. I've got one book about fit, and another about tailoring, and through experimentation I am gradually getting to grips with what they're on about.

[friend_of_tofu]

Agree geography is tricky. More places are putting classes & tutorials online now though, I don't have any recommendations but perhaps other sewing people could recommend some good videos to go with the book? Good luck!

[shermarama]

I don't usually find videos much more enlightening than books. I can already see what they're doing; I want to know why the thing I'm doing doesn't look like that. Without someone to look at what I've done and correct it, I mostly find the instructions only make complete sense once I've done enough trial-and-error to find the way that works.