Fitting and alterations
Fitting and alterations: technique guides for UK sewists.
I poke through every pattern and product so you only get the best.
– Pinny
Full bust adjustment (FBA) basics
An FBA adds room over the bust without making the shoulders and neckline bigger. You slash the front pattern piece and spread it to add width and length at the bust.
How to make a toile (muslin)
A toile is a quick test version of a garment in cheap fabric. You sew the main seams, try it on, mark changes, then copy them to the pattern before cutting your good fabric.
How to shorten trousers
Mark the new length with the shoes on, unpick the old hem, cut leaving a hem allowance, finish the edge and re-hem by hand or with a blind hem.
Swayback adjustment
If fabric pools in horizontal folds above your bottom at the back, a swayback adjustment removes a wedge of length from the back pattern at centre back, tapering to nothing at the side.
Taking in a dress at the side seams
Turn the dress inside out, pin the new seam line evenly on both sides, taper smoothly back into the original seam and sew. Try it on before trimming.