Grading a skirt pattern

I sewed a skirt from a Burda pattern 2 years ago in desperation. I had gained weight and none of my skirts fit me anymore. 6 months later, I dropped all that weight and the skirt was simply too big. I liked the skirt pattern and it fit really well, but I had to grade the skirt pattern down in order to use it again.

In order to grade the skirt, I had to figure out the grade for Burda's patterns. I did this by looking at their measurement charts and comparing the sizes. With a little math I determined that Burda was using a 1.5 inch grade in the waist and hips. After comparing my measurements with the chart, I learned I only needed to go down one size.

So I pulled out my handy Jack Handford grading book and followed the instructions for grading a woman's skirt one size down. There are charts and instructions for a 1, 1.5, and 2 inch grade. It was so much easier to do than I expected. I knocked this out pretty quick. This book is now out of print, but if you can find it, buy it.

And I may be too much of a nerd, but I assigned a style number and created my own cutting spec for future reference. Now all I have to decide is which fabric to use to make up my next skirt.

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 6 : How to correct the fit of the armhole of a fitted t-shirt

I created some drawings to further explain the armhole problem on my t-shirt pattern. Nearly all drafting instructions that I've seen for t-shirts are pretty much the same. First you enlarge the armhole and drop the shoulder. Then the front and back bodice are traced off with identical bodice shaping and armhole shaping. The only difference might be the neck. If you lay the pattern pieces on top of each other, you will get something like this.

This kind of pattern works ok for a boxy, loose fitting t-shirt. If you want a more fitted t-shirt, then it simply won't work. In my case, the symmetrical armholes caused the front of the shirt to be pulled toward the back. The closer the fit, the less symmetry in general. When you look at the human body, you can see there is no symmetry between the front and back so patterns should reflect this. (Most people are not truly symmetrical left to right either). Children generally are more symmetrical than adults and the patterns for them reflect this. But, even there, the more fitted the style, the less symmetry though the differences are smaller. Anyway, the patterns above resulted in a fit that looked like below. The red arrows help emphasize the shape and length differences of the front and back armholes.

To correct this problem, I needed to lengthen the back armhole. I compared the armhole of my blouse pattern, which was not symmetrical, to the t-shirt armhole to determine how much longer it should be. Slash and spread and the pattern should look like something below.

 With a result that looks much improved.

The next thing on my list is to make adjustments for front versus back body width.

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 5 : Evaluating the fit of the armhole

I sewed up two more samples of my t-shirt pattern. I was still not satisfied with the fit. There were wrinkles around the armhole and elsewhere. I spent a bit of time studying the pictures below to try understand the fitting problem and how to solve it.

It finally occurred to me why the armhole was giving me so many problems. The back armhole was too short. You can actually see in the picture that the front of the t-shirt is being pulled toward the back at the shoulder seam and underarm. The fix was rather simple - make the back armhole longer.

What a difference, don't you think? There are some other fit problems. I'm still debating the amount that I scooped out on the front armhole. I think I may need some extra width across the front. And then there is the sleeve that wants to twist. But overall, this is pretty good and those complaints are minor. Will there be a version 5.0? Probably.