The book has a very cheesy cover but is full of tips and pictures and alteration instructions for every possible fitting problem imaginable. The method proposed by Palmer/Pletsch is the tissue fit method. Basically you cut into your paper pattern tissue (or as I choose to do, trace the pattern onto tissue) and then you pin the tissue and put it on - as if it was made of cloth. According to Palmer/Pletsch this method is accurate and time-saving because there is no need for a muslin.
Now, let me tell you I did not smile like the woman in this picture when I wore my pattern tissue. The whole process was extremely messy and it was very difficult to tell whether the tissue fit proplerly or not. I was so unsure of the pattern tissue fit that I made a muslin anyways. Not one muslin, but two! And before I cut into my fashion fabric I might even make a third. So, time-saving is not the word I would use.
The alteration methods proposed in the book are fairly easy to follow because they are very well illustrated. The difficulty lies in recognizing what alterations are necessary. Do I have sloping shoulders? A round back? A high waist? Palmer/Pletsch suggest that everyone should make a Bodymap in order to recognize how your body is different from the standard proportions. So this is what I did:
So, apparently my left shoulder is lower than my right, I have a short waist, am long-crotched (not something I would use to describe myself to other people) and have long legs. Make any sense? Now I don't quite know what to do with this information but lengthen all my skirts and pants like I've always done. Palmer/Pletsch suggest that one should also do assymetrical shoulder alterations if one shoulder is lower than the other, but that seems like going a bit far. Does it really matter? In the end all I'm doing is a Full Bust Alteration and adding some extra ease and length here and there.
Still, the book has some very eye-opening information. In one chapter Palmer/Pletsch compare pattern companies' standard measurements and show how every company essentially uses more or less the same measurements, even when European pattern companies (i.e. Burda) are compared to American ones. Therefore they reason it should be sufficient to fit only one pattern to your body, record the alterations and then apply them to all other commercial patterns. So maybe all the hard work I put into fitting this one pattern will prove to be useful and time-saving for future pattern alterations.
However, I ask myself yet again: is it really worth working with commercial patterns? Perhaps it is better to draft your own. Drafting takes some time, particularly in the design department, but at least a good fit is ensured from the start. I'm still undecided about this topic and don't want to give up on my pattern fitting efforts just yet. How about you?
I have the book too and love it because of all the solutions it provides to different figure issues. But tissue-fitting is not what I like either. Never do it actually, in my opinion you need a sewing buddy with fitting experience for that.
ReplyDeleteI just tissue fitted my last dress and it ended up a big fat fail. I am all alone in my sewing world and it is just so hard to fit yourself. I think if I made one of those duct-tape me-forms tissue paper won't be bad. Less chance of tearing and I can actually see what is going on, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteI used that book to develop my sloper. Made a couple of muslins before getting the fit down. Once the sloper is done, I haven't used any commercial patterns! I just trace the sloper onto tissue paper to get a new pattern, and make the design changes on the tissue paper. And yes, you won't have to worry about fit - it will fit! (unless your measurements change). I should say that I've only sewn dresses so far and the designs have not deviated much from the basic silhouette. Translating the design element onto flat pattern is probably the most challenging and stimulating part of pattern drafting (to me, at least). I still subscribe to Burda mags for reference on how certain pattern pieces should look like.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, that tissue fitting looks like a disaster! I always make muslins of everything. Often I have to make a gazillion muslins... but there really is no other way to get things to fit properly (although I never bother with the facings or anything like that).
ReplyDeleteI think you can't go past making your own patterns. I haven't used a commercial pattern in about 8 years. I use that Winifred Aldrich book (I think it's called Metric Pattern Cutting) to make my own blocks which fit me perfectly then go from there. It is tedious and takes ages at first... but eventually when you develop a library of patterns it's not hard to make new ones. Probably the last 5 things I've made (and the next 4 I have planned) are all based off the same pattern, but the dresses all look completely different.
And don't worry about any "figure flaws". Chances are, if you don't already know about them, they're not significant enough to worry about! Adjust for a full bust and don't worry about the others!
Never do it actually, in my opinion you need a sewing buddy with fitting experience for that.
ReplyDeleteWork from home India
I agree with Lily; make muslins to draft your own "basic" patterns. I use commercial patterns, (but they generally fit me, I must be a standard), and I re-use patterns over and over and add my own little variations and mix and match patterns for a different look each time... Once you've drafted your own "basic" patterns (eg. such as a sheath dress, full skirt, pencil skirt, wide leg trousers, slim leg trousers, halter dress, button-up shirt, collared shirt, T-shirt, dress with princess seams, darted bust seams etc) you can just vary the extra design details yourself...
ReplyDeleteSorry for the massive comment, and good luck!
I just found your site (forgot how I got here, maybe BurdaStyle) - it's one of my favorite things to stumble upon a blog about sewing clothes, yours is awesome! I too have this book - it was recommended reading for a pattern fitting class I'm taking. I've sewn for a long time, off and on, but just started garment construction. The teacher is having us make a sloper in class, and also fit a commercial pattern to ourselves. But with the tissue fit it is only working because SHE is making the adjustments while it's on me. I can't see what's going on in the back! I made a paper-tape dress form, and so far, so good. I only wish I had a neighbor who also loves to sew! Great blog :)
ReplyDeleteI have used the Palmer Pletsch system for 12 years now and you CAN do it yourself. I use two long mirrors and take things step by step. I don't have anyone local who is able to fit me but I have been able to take the Palmer Petsch courses in the States and it is a fabulous system. I have also done advanced pattern drafting but it never worked for me.
ReplyDeleteEach to their own, but I would say, give it a go and persevere.
I just stumbled upon your blog and I love it! The way you described your incessant need to learn how things are done, describes me to a tee! Any time I've expressed a desire to learn to "make things" like shoes or bras and such I get the weirdest expressions from people.
ReplyDeleteBut figure that I'm 5'10" tall, wear a 38DD and a size 10W shoe and you'll see why I am determined to learn. Nothing fits unless you have a ton of money to throw at it, or are willing to wear something ugly.
I've learned that I can purchase men's RTW jeans in a 30W 32L and I get a perfect fit and how I wish I could get all of my clothing that way. Women's tall jeans still cut under my ribcage and make me feel like I'm wearing a straightjacket.
Even going by commercial patterns, I'm all over the place. I remember when I was in my early teens and everything fit as soon as I put it together. I even made extra money by sewing for others! It was that easy.
Nowadays, It's almost torture just buying a pattern that has several different peices to it. If I buy by chest size, upper bust doesn't go with my waist or hips because they just don't. Never mind the length of my neck to waist.
A lady on youtube stated that Butterick Pattern 6092 was a sloper pattern and the instructions inside showed you how to alter for cup size, etc. Which to my knowledge is a first for a commercial pattern. I had to buy it in 16W because it doesn't come in 14W. But it's only $3 because it's going out of print. It might still help me in learning how to make a sloper that fits or learning how to adjust patterns.
Then, I've got, "The Perfect Fit" just recently given to me and I haven't really gotten a good look at the book, but it does show you how to take proper measurements, which seemed to be lacking for me.
I know how to take the upper bust measurement and the full bust, etc. But nobody tells you, when you take the back length measurement from that nobby little neckbone down to your waist, do you measure from the top of the bone or from the middle? Or maybe even the bottom. Then if you use a tape measure for the waist that is half an inch wide, do you measure from the top of the tape or the bottom? The answer, use a piece of string.
I'm tall, so there's no way to guess whether I was doing it correctly or not if I'm trying to compare it to a commercial pattern; however, "The Perfect Fit" shows it in photos and it's the first time I've seen it done closeup. Hurray!
They do "pin to fit" with the commercial pattern. However, they also go over the "figure outline" that you started above. Which takes a sewing buddy if you are going to get the outline. My boyfriend will have to do that (thank God he's patient enough to do it.) And further into the book it shows you how to cut and tape for alterations with the pattern laying flat. It also goes on to creating a muslin and adjusting the pattern as you go.
So, it might not be as techinical as the books you've managed to read, but it does give you the basics (in color photographs) and I believe that once you get the basics, you can go online and research how to solve other problems that aren't covered in most of the less expensive books.
I also ordered off of Etsy, a photocopy of a book published in 1949 by the National School of Dress Design. Lesson No. 32, Basic Styles in Lingerie. It teaches you how to draft a bra and a slip from a basic bodice sloper. Hence my quest for how to draft a pattern. I want to design my own bras as well.
I see you have just as many fitting woes as I do :) It really takes time and practice to fit something well and I still don't think I know how to do it properly. Always some new problem comes up....but we'll get there... with our nerdy incessant need to learn :) I'm sure we will
DeleteWith all the time dedicated to adjusting the patterns, I agree with what Tuppence mentioned - make your own dress form with duct tape. Measurements and proportions are always spot on. This takes dedication (a few hours) and a really good/close friend/partner, but the result is so worth it!
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