Simplicity 2599, more Truthtelling, and sewing for a small bust

First thing's first: A big thank you to Amy Karol for sewing Simplicity 2599 in Liberty. I love this poppy print so much and this was exactly the right thing to make with it. So given that I exactly copied that idea, there's not a lot of creativity put into this top in my part, but there is a nice amount of pattern manipulation—I tweaked it to fit me right.

I loved Melissa's Truthtelling post of a couple months ago—so much good advice about picking a pattern. Among other things, Melissa writes about what she looks for in a pattern as far as style goes. What things would she try on in the store. I had been nodding my head in agreement until this part, until I realized that some of her definite do nots were some of my definite dos. She says nothing that gathers at the waist for her, and I say, "yes, please gather at the waist! (Just don't squeeze it.)" She asks, "Where are the darts?" and I say you'd better be careful where you put those darts, buddy. So then the light bulb went off—we have completely different bodies. It shouldn't have been such a surprise, but it was. Now you know I love checking out flickr to see how patterns I am considering look on many different people. Being able to compare real bodies in patterns might be the best way to decide if one is going to work for you, but you have to be honest and aware of your shape. I think I consider these things when purchasing a pattern, but I'm pretty sure I'm not always honest with myself about how something that could look really cool on other people just might not look cool on me. But, OK fine, now you're at the point when you've chosen a pattern but what size to cut? Here's another falsh of knowledge from Melissa's post—I remember reading some time back on her blog that she cuts the same pattern size that I do. Good gracious! How would that ever work? The same size for two different bodies? How is it possible that anyone ever gets good results when sewing from a pattern? Enter my prime home sewing problem—The Small Bust Size.

General small bust problem: The pattern companies are not thinking about you

Sewers in the know correct me if I'm wrong on this fact, but most patterns are designed for a C cup. If you have an A cup and you cut a more fitted pattern as-is, you may end up with puffy fabric at your bosom. This is very disheartening. The pattern maker does matter some here, particularly if you compare Japanese patterns to American patterns. Japanese patterns are generally more boxy and less fitted, and I've found that works well for a small bust.

Small bust problem #1: Cup Size

A number of modern patterns are starting to include different tissue pieces for B,C, & D cups. This is a really great start. It doesn't help those of us on the ends of the spectrum, exactly, but it gives us something to work with. If you compare the different pattern pieces for B, C,&D, you'll notice that the main difference is the size of the triangle which you pinch in to form the dart. Bigger bosom=bigger triangles. Great, right?! If we want to fit a smaller bust, we just sew a smaller triangle right? Not quite so fast. If you simply cut the same pattern and sew a smaller dart, the fabric you cut is still there, it's just outside the dart instead of inside the dart, which means you have random extra fabric in your shirt, which makes it puffy feeling in the armpit. No one likes this. I think if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's nicely fitted armpits. I made the mistake of trying to fix a dart this way while sewing a vintage pattern, and here's the puffy pic to prove it. (Doesn't this shirt look like a dentist or a lunch lady? Also, BTW the small busted ought not sew vintage blouses. Torpedo bra anyone?)How do we resolve this? Oh, I had my clever seamstress friend, Sarah on the phone trying to figure this one out. Here it is: Before you cut your fabric, you need to make your side dart smaller on your pattern so you cut less fabric right there in the bust area. To do this, pinch in the middle of the dart on your pattern and just fold the extra tissue down. Keep the dart as long as it was, just make it a smaller angle.

Small bust problem #2: Side darts

If you have a small bust, you can use a side dart, but it could take a lot of manipulation (see above). Even after all that, it might not be quite right. For example, on my Simplicity 2599 Liberty top at the top of this post I cut the smallest cup size of the multi-cup, just-my-size pattern and that pretty much worked, except that the darts were under my bosom. Now, this could be because I'm on the petite side, but I think the pattern didn't account for the fact that when you have smaller breasts, the center of your bust is higher on your torso. Good thing I chickened out and made a muslin first before cutting into the good stuff! I fixed this problem by taking a half-inch tuck in the pattern above the dart.

Back to side darts. How to ditch them: One of my all-time favorite patterns, Simplicity 4077 doesn't use side darts for shaping at all—it uses front darts. This works great for a small bust as it's much more subtle, just like us, the small-busted. Subtle.

Small bust problem #3: Sidelinin' it—the side seam and bust-to-waist ratio

The side seam was a major point of contention with my gray McCalls dress. This pattern has seam shaping on the front. I should have been rather hesitant to try a pattern with seam shaping in front, but I wasn't really putting the proper amount of thinking into fitting my bust at that point. The pattern had cup sizes and the front luckily went OK, but oh the side! (See diagram.)

The pattern company adjusted for cup size on the front, but they didn't adjust at all on the side. I do not have a V shaped side. Because my chest is not terribly much wider than my waist, I do not need a lot of extra room at the top to accommodate it. How to fix: If your body has less of an angle at the side seam, just sew that seam with less on an angle. Instead of keeping strict with your 5/8 seam allowance, allow the seam allowance to grow bigger as you stitch from the bottom to the top of that seam. Warning: in patterns with sleeves this will affect the size of your armpit hole. I find issue #3 to be more of a problem with sleeveless tops than ones with sleeves.

That's my take on it. There may be more correct solutions, but this is what I've found through trial and error. If you read this blog because you know me and not because you like to craft, and you really never wanted to hear me say "bosom", I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you've read too far.