Plus Size Croquis and Fitting Advice Appreciated

[OrangeKnickers]

Adding another link to a dress I want to make. It's a Mod 60's inspired dress. This time I've knocked it up a notch. It's still based on the front view of the croquis but it's all shaded and purrrty. What do you reckon?

Link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/5077971829_8f240222b8_z.jpg

I really like that 60's style, so I'm a little biased to begin with, but I like it.  The vertical strips are well placed and slenderizing.  I'd love to see it made.   

[kinzerbud]

This is the coolest thing ever. Sorta paper dolls all grown up...and such a great tool to "try on" patterns before putting so much work into them. Thanks so much for sharing this..I had never heard of it before.

[bananabanana]

This is a great idea.
I really like the mod inspired dress.
My favourite of the patterns is B5384 (though I don't think I could cope with wearing the pintucks on the boobies)

[ThriftyMillennial]

I decided to take it easy and start with a straight skirt block as a pattern, it's the lower half of a dress block anyway. I drafted it on Friday (following Helen Joseph Armstrong's "bible") and noticed I have a very obvious sway back. My first impulse was to correct it to look like a "normal" pattern but I didn't and I'm glad! the waistline sits flat against by back with no drag or pull marks. I made it up in a plain white poly/cotton I had stashed away as I'm trying to use up my stash before I buy any more nice fabrics.

I'm not 100% confident on the rest of the fit... the side seams are straight, it fits... but it doesn't fit like RTW and that's messing with my head a little.

This is possibly a bit too philosophical, but I think we (being plus sized gals) tend to wear a lot of firm, tight or binding clothing because of the type of fabric the garment is made from. I don't think there is anything in my wardrobe without a certain amount of stretch. Even my work blouses have 3% elastane. Don't get me wrong, I love these types of fabrics but I seem to have forgotten what it feels like to wear something that fits without it stretching to fit (?). Laugh at me, laugh with me... I know it seems like a very silly thing to say but it's niggling at me. I think it's strange that *I* think -in order for it to fit- it should be tight.

Getting back to the straight skirt- it fits, and it fits properly for what it is and what it's made from. If I take it in to be as firm as I think it should be I get those dreaded pull lines that point to the problem zones. 

To everyone who has been inspired by the "real life" croquis, I'm glad you've found it useful but I won't take credit for the idea. I first heard about it in college but my teacher had been using the same theory (with photographs and tracing paper) for many, many years working as a custom fit dressmaker. To kinzerbub- "paper dolls" is exactly how she explained it.

[lissablair]

This is possibly a bit too philosophical, but I think we (being plus sized gals) tend to wear a lot of firm, tight or binding clothing because of the type of fabric the garment is made from. I don't think there is anything in my wardrobe without a certain amount of stretch. Even my work blouses have 3% elastane. Don't get me wrong, I love these types of fabrics but I seem to have forgotten what it feels like to wear something that fits without it stretching to fit (?). Laugh at me, laugh with me... I know it seems like a very silly thing to say but it's niggling at me. I think it's strange that *I* think -in order for it to fit- it should be tight.

Oh my goodness yes! I'm SO with you on this one.  I went through my closet the other day looking for old clothes to recraft into a rug, and the ONLY things in my closet that didn't have that 3% elastane, spandex, or other stretchy substance were the few pieces that I've made for myself.  And another drawback to that sort of clothing is that, when you go down a size or so, anything that's designed to fit that snugly will completely lose its shape, instead of just looking a bit loose. 

[Psycho Sue]

Hi baby!

I wanted to weigh in! I am so impressed with your fashion drawings.   WOWZA! YOU GO GIRL!   I just taught myself to do the same recently, but I am doing it with pencil. I went nuts and started re-drawing all my patterns to my body shape!

Then I started designing, just fitted a sloper, made a dress form, and am now sewing very fitted garments to my fat hourglass figure. I gotz a bit obsessed with fitting fat bodies. It's quite a challenge.
My drawings show we are similar shapes. I found the croquet on an internet search and made some changes based on my shape.


I love love love the fitted waist on myself. On my blog there are pictures of these dresses on me. Also the process of getting through the sloper and fat body fitting issues are there.

Fitting Issues were:  
-waist almost 20 inches smaller than hips 47W/ 62H
-sway back
-upper bust 5 inches smaller than full bust
-large upper arms 20 inches in circumference
-uneven hem (big butt)

All of the above are NORMAL body fitting issues for real women. And all these issues are not designed for in commercial patterns. YOU know!
So major problems with puckering on the upper rear and bagginess in the upper chest, too smallsleeves. All these are regular RTW clothing problems.

I am still fine tuning some of these fitting issues but I am darn close. The easiest to tackle was the upper arms. The obvious is the flutter sleeve design to work around this. But with careful work I drafted a fitted short sleeve. There is a constant struffle between the sleeve size and raising and lowering that arm scythe Low arm scythes make me nuts because  they cause bagging, and i hate that.   I have yet to get a good fitted long sleeve.

The swayback is greatly improved by using 2 darts on the rear as well as a wide slope from waist to hip. This is where full skirts are great. In working with my fabric sloper I had issues with my side seam being pulled to the back. I added more fabric to the back and it still went all crooked. I never figure out wtf happened there  

The chest bust problem I am still working on. I am using french darts right now to control this. As well as in multisize patterns doing a size-blending on the chest area to a smaller size.

As far as styles and flattering and all that, I am getting past that concept where "fat people can't wear this because blah blah" I think paying, attention to proportion, you can pull off anything. What fashion drawings don't model is confidence. And that, my love, is the magic fabric that makes me pull of this fitted lime green dress at work today   THAT, and amen for shape wear. Your sketches are so awesome and using them you can see proportions clearly. FANTASTIC!
And i might suggest that you try to model some princess seams styles. They really IMHO flatter this figure type.

[zaluly]

Thank you for this awesome, informative post..I'm not a very accomplished sewer and always have fit issues, so I think this'll really help. I agree with Psycho Sue, confidence is key, regardless of your size; as is personal style (LOVE yours, PS), and of course fit.

[saylo]

ThriftyMillennial, this is cool. I've seldom seen proper pattern sketches on real curvy women before.

By the way, you don't happen to have a pattern for that mod dress? The photo shop version of it looks great!

[Macedwarf]

I love this!  May have to try making a croquis for myself at some point, too.

[rottenlittleboys]

I think the reason why I didn't like B4657 was because the suggested fabrics were chiffon and georgettes. All I can think of is a mother-of-the-bride look in some pastel green floral print. It reminds me of my mother, or even worse, my grandmother! When I look at it I think it should be worn with a big hat and sensible shoes. I'm having a giggle over what a monstrosity it looks like in my head but believe it or not, I also agree with what you said about how it balances my figure out.

Urgh, I HATE the georgettes and chiffons that most of us have had exposure to over the years from the big box stores. Yes it is supposed to have body, but it is not supposed to leave you with nightmares stiffness. The original georgettes and chiffons were made from silk. They are in the crepe family of fabrics, so you can start from there.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-georgette-fabric.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiffon_%28fabric%29

I have a feeling you know more about fabrics than I would, but I would totally ditch the recommended fabrics on this one and try it in a softer, drapier fabric. Like jersey knit, daphne or even a light weight quilting cotton.

I pick out my fabrics first and then either look for a pattern or draft something (simple) myself.