Fitting Journal: Pattern Runway Pussy Bow Blouse

Hi all!

I didn't intend to take a one-week hiatus, but you know how it is sometimes:  stuff is going on, but nothing really worth writing about.  I did a lot of crafting in the last week, but one (knitted) item is a gift I won't be able to post about until February.  Then I started a BHL Charlotte skirt muslin; it's got some problems that I'll have to work out, so no use writing about that yet.

I put the skirt on the back burner for a while in order to try some of my newly learned fitting techniques on my favorite blouse pattern:  Pattern Runway's Pussy Bow Blouse (which from now will be known as the PR PBB).

I've made this blouse twice before.  The first one was a bit too small across the back and the hips.  The second time I made it, I gave myself a 1/4" broad back adjustment and graded the hip out from XS to S.  And that one fits pretty well - acceptable really.  But I wanted to see if I could tweak the pattern a bit more.  I'm always chasing the dream of a blouse that fits my wonky body perfectly.

So over the weekend I got out my pattern and went to town.  In the interest of clarity, I'm going to show each adjustment separately and how I feel it worked.  What that really means is:  WARNING:  Picture Heavy Post!  But that's better than no pictures, right?!

I increased my Broad Back Adjustment from 1/4" to 3/8".  This did make it more comfortable to wear, but it ends up looking like there is a lot of fabric back there, especially around my waist.  I may consider adding in some vertical fisheye darts in future.

A 1/2" Sway Back Adjustment took care of some of the pooling of fabric in the lower back.  I could probably take more out in the future.

I did a 1/2" Foward Shoulder Adjustment to both shoulders, tapering to nothing at the neck.  This blouse does sit more comfortably on my shoulders than the previous two, and doesn't pull to the back.

I gave myself a little extra space in the back for my shoulder blades with a Prominent Shoulder Blade Adjustment, as shown in Fitting and Pattern Alteration.  I used the "seam method" - you slash the seam line and move it out, so that while you give yourself more space, the length of the seam line remains the same.  (This book was a gift from my mom a year (or two?) ago - it's very expensive, but a super reference book if you can afford it or if you know someone who wants to give you an extravagant gift!)  I think this worked pretty well.

I used that same "seam method" to swing my side seam out front and back by about 1/2", making sure front and back match.  On my first two blouses, I can't really button the bottom button; on this one I can.

Moved shoulder point forward 1/2" to match forward shoulder adjustment.

And cut 1/2" off the front sleeve seam and added it to the back sleeve seam so that the sleeve seam would match up with the side seam.  While the shoulders feel good, I'm not sure this sleeve adjustment is working for me (this is one of the methods recommended in Fit For Real People).  The armscye feels tight, and there is still some pulling on my right arm especially.

The only adjustment I made to the front was to move the bust dart down 1/2", based on trying on my second blouse.  But once this blouse was finished, I decided I was better off with it in its original position, so I moved it back.

I'm having a period of low sewjo - we all get those - so that coupled with wanting to knock this one out to assess the fitting changes means that this isn't the best blouse I've ever made.  It's not horrible, but it's not the awesome blouse I was hoping for.  Part of that is the color - while I like this fabric as fabric, it doesn't really suit my coloring.  I feel it really washes me out, and even with the pink and white designs and the cute red buttons, it still reads GREY.

That said, because I don't LOVE it, that means I will probably actually wear it!  I've noticed I have a tendency NOT to wear the things I love, for fear of messing them up.  (I'm working on it.)

Here's the thing I'm struggling with, and I'd be curious to know if any of you have this problem too.  I'm starting to wonder if the holy grail of a perfectly fitting shirt is a myth.  I've noticed that a lot of my clothing that LOOKS good doesn't feel comfortable to me.  And the things that do feel comfortable tend to look sloppy and frumpy.  I've been operating under the assumption that there's a happy medium, but I'm starting to wonder if that's true.  Technically, this blouse fits better than the first two.  But I much prefer how the second one looks on me, and it's not just about the fabric choice.

Granted, it does look better across the upper back.  On the next one I will move the dart back to its original position, which should take care of some of that frumpiness across the front,  and also shorten the shirt - I think this is 1 or 2 inches too long for me.

I'm also going to consider adjusting for my lower right shoulder.  I haven't wanted to go there - having to make two separate pattern pieces for left and right just seems a step too tedious.  But then I think, what if that's the missing piece of the puzzle?

So, even though this isn't the OMG PERFECT shirt I was hoping for (because let's face it:  that's the hope with every single project, right?) it is wearable, and I learned some things. 

And this is my third make from Stash, so that gets me one step closer to a new fabric allowance :-)