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For your first question about adjusting the skirt: if you took the bodice in at the side seams I would do the same with the skirt. Simply because it makes the maths simpler.

The cuff question: you’re on the right track with your stitching but you’re imagining the next step differently to where the pattern is taking you. 🙂
The raw, unstitched…[Read more]

Sleeve Cuff Facing:
I am not sure how to create a new thread, but I am in the Building Block book, page 45. I just completed #25. The sleeve cuff facing cut on the bias is only 1 inch wide, so after stitching the layers with a 1/2 inch seam in #25 it doesn’t seem like there is enough of the facing to wrap to the inside and sew in place with 1/4 i…[Read more]

I neglected to add that I have mild drag lines from centre front to the armscyes, which has made me think that increasing the shoulder height might be the place to start.

I have another fitting question. I just made the Gallery tunic in a size 12. It looks and feels wonderful but it doesn’t quite fit right around the bust. I’ve also made the Cappucino tunic in a size 12 and it fit perfectly so I didn’t make a muslin of this one first (should have :). At first I thought I needed a bicep adjustment but after some…[Read more]

Referring to my previous question, do I cut 1/2 inch off each side of the skirt from the waist all the way to the bottom? Or do I slash the skirt pattern somewhere in the middle and reduce the width there by 1/2 inch?

Thank you! You are a talented teacher!

If you’re not taking in at the armholes this should be fine. You could also consider adding waist darts similar to the Fairy Tale Dress for a closer fit. But yes, tapering to the waist is perfectly fine!

Glad it worked out! I’ve adjusted the neckline for friends by lowering as well and it’s worked out just fine. Happy New Year!

Hi, Liesl! Thank you so much for responding. I do hope you are feeling better!

Enbee, what I ended up doing was lowering the neckline by 1/8″ (essentially moving the seam line down to the 5/8″ mark”) which added an extra inch to the neck. I also added an inch to both front pieces at the center front, so that they actually overlapped. Since I had…[Read more]

I have no advice, but my husband has exactly the same issue and as a result all of his RTW shirts are too big on his torso. So if you have success with the modification I’d love to hear about it!

Hi Veronica,

Sorry for the silence; we’ve been laid low with the flu! In general, a longer collar band will mean lowering the neckline, but I would suggest marking the desired neckline on your muslin and measuring that first. You can probably use the collar band and collar from a different size once you know the length of the the neckline itself.…[Read more]