Friday, February 24, 2017

Second Thoughts... and Third Thoughts

I always had it in mind to use Simplicity 1538 for this fabric but the day I cut it I was wearing an old McCall's 4922 and impulsively decided that I wanted to use that pattern instead. Then the day after I cut it I wore the Simplicity 1538 and wished I had stuck with my original plan. But it's okay. It's another one of those things that I like much better when I'm just wearing it and not looking at pictures of myself wearing it.

It was 80°F and extremely windy yesterday when these were taken.

It has a relaxed fit, which seems a little bit wrong for something with princess seams (or maybe it's just too large?) and somehow it overemphasizes my pear shape. I wish I had stuck with my original plan but, as I said, I like it just fine when I'm wearing it. I love the colors, which are a bit brighter in person.

Here's one more pic just because cat.

4 comments:

  1. Pretty! The fit looks good to me, though the shoulders are slightly dropped (I don't know this pattern, so I don't know if they're supposed to be). If I were you, I would experiment with shortening the length a little; sometimes that helps me with the overemphasizing problem. Do you ever make shirts with a half placket (I sometimes see these called "popovers") rather than the full one? I think they can help us pear types because everything interesting is at the top so they make us look a bit more balanced.

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    1. Thanks.
      I have been thinking about shortening it. I have always had mixed feelings about this pattern even though I have made it several times. Surprisingly, it seems to work a little better with flannel. I have two flannel shirts made from it that seem to fit better and that's without my having actually done anything to correct the fit. I don't know... it seems like it's just too large, even though it's the same size as other McCall's patterns that fit just fine.

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  2. the fabric is very pretty and the lively colors suit you. i agree that the shoulders are too wide and the half-placket is a good idea. being a pear-shape myself, i often find that a shorter shirt is more flattering in that there's simply less of it. but what's troubling is that there's a fold line where a dart would be and that shouldn't happen with the princess seams. that indicates that the top of the princess curve needs to be pinched in to remove some excess fabric from the side front. you'll have to experiment to see if both concave and convex parts need to be adjusted or only the side front. start by narrowing the shoulder and see how much better that makes it. that alone may be dragging the fabric down some. it looks like the circumference is good and those tweaks aren't that difficult, just a nuisance. just remember to start with the shoulders and see what falls in line. when you narrow the shoulders, don't be surprised if the sleeves are a little too short.

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