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Thank you Todd!

You might be interested in reading this blog post from a while back:

ask me: how to buy a sewing machine

If you’re planning to use it for labels then you could look at Etsy stores who will print onto cotton twill tape. Then you could have your own custom labels.
I find eBay, Etsy and Amazon to all be good online sources for notions like this.
Sewing shops will often stock it but may not bother putting it in their online catalogue, so you never know…[Read more]

I vote for serge, personally. If you have a serger all those little clips just sort of disappear in the stitching. Cheers!

I agree with @mlinton. It’s a little difficult to tell from just one photo, but it looks to me like you have a very square shoulder. The Fit for Real People book explains how to make the adjustment very clearly. You’ll need to account for the yoke, but even then I think it’s an easy fix and should help to get you a great-fitting shirt!

If you have a copy of the Building Block Dress book I explain how to draft an A-line from the bodice. You could certainly do something like that for this style if you’re certain you need extra room through the hips. Otherwise I’d suggest gently blending between sizes starting someplace between the bust and waist so you can get an easy curve. I…[Read more]

Thanks very much @lightningmcstitch 😊

The bust fits. However I have *very* wide lower hips, this makes fitting an absolute nightmare as patterns are generally not designed for bodies like mine😁 Extra width is mandatory for me.

I didn’t think about making the pleat deeper. I’ll give it a try. Thank you x

Louise I’d be very surprised if you needed to. Assuming your upper body (bust, shoulders) fit in a size then the garment is so drapey and loose you probably wouldn’t need any more down below.
One other way you could add some extra swinging width would be to cut the centre back a little in from the fold and make the pleat deeper. The stitched,…[Read more]

I can’t tell from the picture, but the shoulder width doesn’t seem too narrow to me, so I wouldn’t necessarily change the size. Does the shoulder seam sit where you want (not pulling backward or forward)? This looks like a square shoulder to me. I would try adjusting by raising the shoulder seam slope in the front and back and then raising the…[Read more]

I can’t tell from the picture, but the shoulder width doesn’t seem too narrow for me. Does the shoulder seam sit where you want (not pulling backward or forward)? This looks like a square shoulder to me. I would try adjusting by raising the shoulder seam slope in the front and back and then raising the underarm the same amount so that you aren’t…[Read more]

Here’s a picture showing how I might try a few little flat pattern changes to deal with that fabric “puddling” above the bust point.
Edit: image too big. Maybe this link will work… https://www.instagram.com/p/_58g8LHsSu/

Here’s a picture showing how I might try a few little flat pattern changes to deal with that fabric “puddling” above the bust point.

Try this. Pinch out about a 1cm vertical dart in the middle of the shoulder and see if that gets rid of the drag lines.
I often do this to flat patterns before cutting. I tend to leave the back shoulder the same and just ease the slightly maladjusted lengths together. For the nape of neck bunching you would do a horizontal pinch, almost like a…[Read more]