It's bust adjustment day here at the Willa Coat Sew Along.
But before we talk about how we do a small and full bust adjustment on the Willa Wrap Coat, let's talk about what a Dior Dart is...
What is a Dior Dart? AKA a Darted Princess Seam
Willa doesn't have a true princess seam - true princess seams run down over the top of the apex of the bust, or at least, very close to it. Willa's 'princess seam' runs more toward the side of the bust, with a dart sharing the shaping at the side of the centre front panel. This dart is called a Dior Dart.
This type of shaping is great for thick fabrics, as it shares the shaping load across the dart and the side panel seam, meaning any potential bulk is shared out over a few places, rather than just one.
I chose to call the way Willa was shaped as a 'darted princess seam' because everyone knows what a dart is, and everyone knows what a princess seam is. Where as 'Dior Dart' isn't a very common place name. Apparently this type of dart shaping originated with Christian Dior and it sounds like a great story to me, so, let's stick with it.
Performing a bust adjustment on a Dior Dart is pretty much the same as performing a normal one. And while you could rotate the dart to the shoulder, stick the whole pattern back together, do the bust adjustment, and then put the Dior dart and princess seam back again - and this would be the most accurate way to do it - that is not only time-consuming, but very fiddly. And any changes this makes to the side panel is extremely minimal.
Also, because you'll be doing a bust adjustment on a pattern that already has bust cups included, the adjustments you'll be doing are hopefully going to be small enough, that any changes to the side front panel will be essentially non-existant, especially in a style like Willa. So, I opt to just perform the bust adjustment on the centre front coat, and add/remove the necessary bust fabric at the Dior dart, ignoring any adjustment of the side front panel.
Which brings me too...
Do You Need a Bust Adjustment?
Remember, Willa does come with multiple bust cups, A to F! So, before you dive in, take a few minutes to see if you really need one.
Keep in mind that I have integrated 2 cups per front bodice though, as Willa is a relaxed wrap style around the front, meaning it's much easier to fit than a regular tailored coat.
There are 2 cup fronts per pattern set - A+B and C+D in the Original sizings and C+D and E+F in the Curve sizings. This does mean that if you fall into the smaller cup, there may be a touch more fullness at the bust, but again, this is really not noticeable due to the way the coat fits.
Measuring for a Bust Adjustment
If you sit to either side of my size guides in the available cups, you may decide that you need to perform a bust adjustment. Because I already provide you with several cup size options, start with the pattern pieces that sit the closest to your current measurements. This way, you won't need to do a massive adjustment like you may have needed too if the current cups weren't provided.
To work out what cup size you are, take the difference between your Full Bust circumference Measurement and your High Bust circumference measurement. Compare this difference to the cup measurement tables here.
- Measuring for a Small Bust Adjustment AKA SBA
If you need to perform an SBA, I'm assuming here that your bust is smaller than an A cup in the Original sizes - the difference in the High Bust and Full Bust for an A cup is 1cm(3/8") in my patterns OR you're smaller than a C cup in the Curve sizes - the difference in the High Bust and Full Bust for a C cup is 5cm (2").
Original Sizes example: If both your full and high bust measure 84cm (33 1/8"), you have a difference of 0cm/". If you start with the size 10 A+B cup pattern pieces, you can opt to perform a 1cm (3/8") to 3cm (1 1/4") SBA.
Curve Sizes example: If your full bust measures 102cm (40 1/8") and your High bust measures 99cm (39") you have a difference of 3cm (1 1/4") which puts you at a B cup. Using the size 16 C+D cup bodice, you can perform a 2cm (3/4") SBA, since the C cup has a difference of 5cm (2"), you only need to remove 2cm (3/4") to get to the 3cm (1 1/4") B cup difference.
- Measuring for a Full Bust Adjustment AKA FBA
If you need to perform an FBA, I'm assuming here that your bust is larger than an D cup in the Original sizes - the difference in the High Bust and Full Bust for an D cup is 7.5cm (3") in my patterns OR you're larger than a F cup in the Curve sizes - the difference in the High Bust and Full Bust for a F cup is 12.5cm (4 7/8").
Original Sizes example: If your full bust measures 104cm (41") and high bust measures 94cm (37"), you have a difference of 10cm (4") - which is an E cup in my patterns. If you start with the size 14 C+D cup pattern pieces, you can perform a 2.5cm (1") FBA.
Curve Sizes example: If your full bust measures 139cm (54 3/4") and your High bust measures 124cm (48 7/8") you have a difference of 15cm (5 7/8") which would put you at approximately a G cup in my patterns. Using the size 26 E+F cup bodice, you can perform a 2.5cm (1") FBA.
You'll Need:
- Your Willa Coat Front Coat Piece (A) and lining pieces for the initial adjustment (you will need to adjust the length on the rest of the coat bodice pieces though)
- Measuring tape & scissors
- Ruler/pen/sticky tape
Steps:
1. Take your Front Coat pattern piece (A) and draw in the seam allowance for the armscye (you can draw in the full seam allowance OR just a little piece approximately at the centre). Do the same for the Front Lining piece (G).
Small Bust Adjustment (SBA)
You will need to adjust the bottom hem length of all the remaining 'bodice' coat pieces, including the linings/facings.
You also need to will then need to taper out at the waist/hip by the same amount you performed your bust adjustment, to correct the original waist/hip measurements. Depending on how big your bust adjustment was, you can disperse this across the 'princess' seam and the side seam if you want too.
Adjust pocket placements back to their original markings (unless you're moving them for personal preference).
Full Bust Adjustment (FBA)
You will need to adjust the bottom hem length of all the remaining 'bodice' coat pieces, including the linings/facings.
You also need to will then need to taper in at the waist/hip by the same amount you performed your bust adjustment, to correct the original waist/hip measurements. Depending on how big your bust adjustment was, you can disperse this across the 'princess' seam and the side seam if you want too.
Adjust pocket placements back to their original markings (unless you're moving them for personal preference).
Remember to perform the bust adjustment on your Front Lining piece (G) as well!!
You can purchase your Willa Wrap Coat pattern here.
xx
J
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