Good morning, sewing friends. I am ready to start the new year off with a bang and get serious about making content for you all. Anyone ready to absorb content? (Okay, I admit, I wrote most of this late in 2023, planning to be more consistent in 2024.)
I want to talk about fit today, how important a good fit is, and the trap of overfitting.
First of all, what is a good fit? Well, that is entirely up to you and your needs. Do you have specific needs or desires? For example, do you absolutely dislike being constricted in your clothing? Are you conscious of a certain area that has had fitting issues in the past and that is the important area now? Are you just aiming for “better than what I can buy”. Honestly, that aspect has been spoiled for those of us that have grown up having custom clothes made for us all along the journey. I know I’m one of those. But with RTW clothes becoming more available in plus sizes and modest enough, that is changing. But back to fit…there are a lot of perceived rules around fit, and I think we need to lay those down and really get honest about what we like in the fit of a garment. So what all plays a role in what we like? How will we be using the garment? Are we sewing a garment for lounging around the house in? Or are we sewing a garment to be worn to a formal event where we will not need to chase our toddler and bend down to pick them up? Is the garment in a woven or a knit fabric? (By the way, Knit fabrics are 100% more forgiving than woven fabrics.) Do we have other issues that dictate fit? Sensory issues or mobility issues? All of these options and opinions make up our personal idea of good fit. I may look at someone and think they need to adjust this or tweak that, but in reality they love the fit of their garment and are perfectly happy with it.
A good (your idea of it) fit is important because then you will want to wear the garment. You will feel more confident wearing it. If fit is off (from what you like) it is so easy to just let the garment hide in the back of the closet and gather dust. If the existing garment can be tweaked to better suit you, then do it so you can start using the garment. If it cannot be changed, then please get rid of the garment. Pass it on to a friend, send it to the second hand store, or repurpose it into something else. Why is the fit off? Well, a few things can play a role there…the first one is did you make the right size? How current are the measurements you used to select the size? Remeasure yourself and decide if you did the correct size. Are you using the correct fabric for the pattern? Trying to sew a T-shirt pattern in a woven fabric (and making no allowances for that) will result in disaster. Check the pattern recommendations and compare that to the fabric you are using. Did you do the correct seam allowance? Even being slightly off can change the fit of the garment significantly. What is the comparison between your height and the height the patterns are drafted for? How about proportions? Are you short waisted? Long waisted? Short between shoulder and bust apex? There are so many variables there as well that are relatively easy to adjust for on the pattern. And we will get into those adjustments in later blog posts.
Overfitting can overwhelm us so easily. I can sew it in a ¼ inch here and an ⅛ inch there, but that doesn’t mean I should. My body fluctuates enough that to make such minor changes to a garment can maybe make the fit off the next time I wear it when my body is slightly different. Knit fabrics or looser, more relaxed styles in woven fabrics are definitely more forgiving. But a tailored woven garment is fun to wear too. Just know that a knit garment will generally not need so many fiddly adjustments. But I personally don’t only wear knits. So I make those adjustments or I find a pattern company that suits my body. Each pattern company drafts on a different body block, so it may be worth your time to find a company that suits you or at least has the least adjustments.
Thanks for reading, and supporting this venture of mine.
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