Making Room for your Busts the Easy way, sort of

One huge reason I like Burdastyle patterns and some Simplicity patterns, they understand that a women sewing isn't always B-cup, and with this knowledge they make patterns for women with larger busts.

Pic 1:  Pattern Adjusted for the Bust

Pic 2:  Front and back side by side

But, you buy a pattern that only accommodates a B-cup. What do you do now? You would need to do all the things you usually do to determine what size to make. Here is the what you can to do after this. For every bust cup after B add 1/2 inch to lengthen the pattern under the breast dart.(Depending on the ease of the pattern it could be a little more or maybe a little less.) In Pic ! that is exactly what I've done, by bust is a D cup so I added 1 inch of length under the breast dart. I have only tried this method with patterns that have a breast darts, I don't know if it works for other types of patterns for certain (a princess seam would be similar but not exactly the same).

In Pic 2 the patterns are side by side, when cutting out the fabric, you will need to add to the back  pattern piece whatever you added to the front. So I added 1 inch to the bottom of the patter piece when cutting the fabric out.

Now, I am very tall, nearly 6 ft, so adding 1 inch to a garment  is not a big deal. BUT, if you are shorter you will want to make an adjustment to the bottom of the pattern. For example if you are 5'5" you won't want to add any length to the bottom of the back piece, the pattern is probably already too long.  This is where things get a bit tricky and odd for me. BUT, I tried it because I made a couple of jackets for a shorter person. The first one came out longer than I wanted it, but the second one was a work of art. Or so I thought. I made the 2nd jacket shorter from the bottom. I shortened the front 3 inches and the back only 2 inches. Where as the first jacket was 3 inches too long, with not adjusting the length.

The Classic Go To Patterns

Simplicity 3845 - Skirt

McCall's 2094 - Blouse

Do you have a favorite classic pattern? Have you ever made it and wore it out and thought of making it again? What's stopping you?

For me, sewing what is familiar and comfortable is rewarding and quick. I have a few patterns and I sew over and over and over again. They are just so easy and the results are great. I have this got to skirt that I have sewn at least 6 times, I have made other skirts but this skirt is so easy and a classic, it never goes out of style. This McCall's 2094 Pattern was nice I bought it twice. Now, I know how I would adjust the pattern to a larger size, but then I didn't so I bought the pattern twice, at least I was consistent. 

 Generally, I sew almost all Burda Mode Patterns, however before my subscriptions to BurdaMode Magazine, I had a few patterns that I liked a lot. These patterns are classics, I can sew them 20 years from now and they would still be in style. This skirt now takes me about 1.5 hours to complete, and the shirt maybe 2 hours tops. Sewing is an adventure and just like some adventures you would like to try it over and over again.

If you are learning to sew or are experienced I think having a go to classic pattern that doesn't go out of style is a great bet. If you are ever in a pinch and you REALLY need something quick you can whip the pattern out and whip that garment up in no time at all.