Anemone grading notes

Hello everyone,

After last week’s post on the Anemone skirt, many of you have asked for more details on how I upgraded the pattern. I will try to provide you more information below and document it with pictures. To me, the whole process is quite easy and I do it on a “auto-pilot” mode. This is why I may skip things that you would like to see. If that’s the case, just send me a question and I will reply as quickly as possible.

Before we get started, you can have a look at this post I wrote a while ago. Tanya has also written a very nice article about the same subject. It is very clear.

With every project, I basically follow the same guidelines.

1.       Take my measurements

2.       Write them down next to the size chart of the company I am using

3.       Calculate the amount of virtual sizes I need to add to what they already offer

4.       Transform the pattern pieces accordingly (drawing on the printed version)

5.       If necessary, transfer it onto pattern paper (if the pattern pieces overlap)

6.       Make a muslin if I am not used to the company or if the design is intricate.

What I did with the Anemone

Steps 1 to 3: I have put all the information in the table below. As you can see, I chose to grade only 5 sizes at the hips even if my measurements indicated a “plus 6”. There are a few reasons for that:

-          If you look at the shape of the skirt, it has more ease around the hips

-          I wanted to keep the proportions of the pattern

-          Grading up 6 sizes frightened me a little

-          I carry more weight in the lower tummy area, and if I need more space, I can add a bit of ease along the front seams

	Deer&Doe sizes
	34	36	38	40	42	44	46
Bust	31 1/2	33	34 1/2	36 1/4	37 3/4	39 1/2	41
Waist	23 1/2	25 1/4	26 3/4	28 1/2	30	31 1/2	33
Hip	33 3/4	35 1/2	37	38 1/2	40 1/4	41 3/4	43 1/4
	Virtual sizes						Upgrading info
	plus 1	plus 2	plus 3	plus 4	plus 5	plus 6	ME	Grading
Bust	43 1/2	46					45 1/2	plus 2
Waist	34 1/2	36	37 1/2	39	41 1/2		40	plus 5
Hip	44 3/4	46 1/4	47 3/4	49 1/4	50 3/4	52 1/4	52	plus 5?

Step 4: The Deer and Doe patterns come printed on large thick paper sheets. This makes it very easy to draw the alternative lines around the actual pieces. As explained in this post, I measure the distance between two sizes, and add it up, drawing little dots where the pattern line would be if it was graded all the way to the size I need. In other words, I am doing what a pattern software would do if they had to add more sizes.

Disclaimer: this is not the ideal way, in a perfect world, larger sizes would be calculated from another block, with slightly different proportions.

I usually try to go for the grading even if it is not the most accurate version you could have. It worked in most of my past attempts.

Example of grading along the waist.

The best way to go with curves is to measure at small intervals to make sure you capture the actual curvy design.

In some cases, the piece of paper is too small, I usually finish that small part when I draw onto Swedish paper.

Step 5: As you can see on the first general picture, a few pieces overlapped after I added sizes. The best you can do is to copy them onto Swedish paper.

Step 6: In this case, I made a muslin. I have not taken any picture of it (I feel silly now). It worked for me so I went ahead and cut my fashion fabric. I am super happy with the end result!

As I explained in last week’s post, I added a couple of features to the instructions: a lining and boning. Both steps were quite easy.

For the lining, I simply used the same pattern pieces (excluding peplums) as for the fashion fabric. I just shortened them by a few inches.

Sorry for this non-ironed-version :)

For the boning, I have cut 6x 4 inches of Rigilene boning pieces. All I had to do is sew it with the machine within the seam allowances of the fashion fabric. 

The seams were pinked after that...

And there you go! That’s how I worked around the size chart limitations :)

Not too hard heh?

Was this post helpful to you? If so, what type of info helped you the most? Let me know so I can try to include it in the future.

If you feel that some information is missing, what would you like me to include?

A spring Anemone

HI everyone,

Before indulging in my maternity wardrobe planning, I want to show my me-made-summer pretty things (at the moment, there is only one of them that still fits my little bump). I want to start with one of my favourite skirts ever: my Anemone!

As you may know, I fell in love with the beautiful patterns from Eléonore at Dear&Doe. It all started when I used their free Plantain back in January and March. Since then, I have finished 4 versions of it! But that’s another story… When you look at the patterns, they all really appeal to me because they look very flattering, cute and pretty.

I have however pondered about ordering (or not) to D&D for a long time because their size chart is not very large. Their larger size is 41in at the bust, 33 at the waist, and 43 at the hips. This means I would need to upgrade 3 sizes at the bust, 4 or 5 at the waist, and 5 or 6 at the hips (depending on patterns). Even after my many adventures in the upgrading world, I wondered if  wanted to invest into Indie patterns (and the price that goes with them) for woven fabrics with such a high risk of oopsies.

Well, one day, I just decided to try and I ordered the Anemone skirt pattern. I simply love the side peplums and the high waist, I thought it would really work for me. A colleague of mine also convinced me. That’s a funny story actually. I was checking patterns during my lunch break and I had the Anemone website window open. My colleague arrived behind me and said “Oh, that one is really something you would wear!”. I guess my colleagues see me as a peplum kind of girl…

Anyway, I ordered the pattern and I really enjoyed the packaging. It comes with two instructions booklets, one in French, one in English. It felt very odd, because if I am a native French Speaker, most of my sewing vocabulary is in English… The pattern is printed on a very large thick white paper that makes it really easy to measure and play around with upgrades. Would you guys be interested in seeing pictures of the pattern + the grading annotations I made?

I graded up 5 sizes at the waist and at the hips, to try out because I wanted to try and keep similar proportions to the ones of the original pattern. The muslin was quite nice (I forgot to document it) so I adopted these adjustments. My first idea was to sew a white skirt that I would be able to  use during spring and summer. I had the perfect fabric in my stash but I was afraid to use it directly because I wanted to use a few tricks I had not done with the muslin: add a lining, and add some boning along the seams around the high-waist. I feared that that portion of the dress would roll down and plastic boning would be a very simple solution for that. I decided to use some old cotton my grand ma gave me. She bought it 20 years ago for something like 2 EUROS a meter. What happened next is very funny. I fell in love with the end product! What I thought would barely become a wearable muslin became one of my favourite skirts ever! I love all the colours you can combine this skirt with, and there are some really pretty golden lines hidden in the pattern of the fabric.

I really like the way this pattern cheats and makes me look like I have a much narrower waistline! And oddly enough a flatter belly...

To make the lining, I just used the basic pieces of the skirt and shortened them. I really needed a lining because the waist is very adjusted and I wanted to make sure I could slip this on easier. I was also planning to wear it on colder days with tights.

We took the pictures back in May when we went to spend a week end with my family in Belgium. We were in a cute little town called Durbuy where you can still walk amongst medieval little streets and beautiful grey stone houses. They also do yummy ice creams in the summer and tasty warm wine in the winter if you are around!

Have you ever been to Belgium or Durbuy?

What is the largest grading you ever made?

Do you want to see the grading notes on the pattern? 

Shorts: Chapter 1 closed

Hi everyone !

Do you remember my struggles with shorts ? Well, I have not abandonned ! The muslin stage was very painful and I needed to close the difficult chapter with a temporary happy ending...

Erlier this month, I attacked the mythical shorts with my usual optimism. I thought that using four different patterns would at least bring a couple of successes. From the bunch, I only liked the version with 3 pleats : Burda 7/2013. But still, they were riding up. So many of you sent me tips and tricks and I decided to apply some of them to the shorts I found the best original fit:

• using a heavier fabric : beige denim
• lower the crotch length

I was not expecting much but I was pleasantly suprised with the result ! In this case, the weight of the fabric makes a huge difference. And there is almost no bunching thanks to the changed crotch length. When I put them on, I was pretty surprised.

I had no great expectations but now I know that I will get some wear out of them, Even in public !

To be completely honest, I will not be able to wear these for my hiking plans. I think they are not long enough. But they will be perfect for the warm summer days at home, even with guests, on vacation, or gardening.

Now, this first chapter is closed with a happy ending. But there is still a lot of pages to be written ! I am trying another pattern at the moment and it is quite promising. I have also ordered the Chataigne from Deer & Doe. This shorts adventure promises to deliver much more surprises !

Curvy Colette Plus Size Blog Tour : Monochrome Mabel

I am already back with my second entry in our Curvy Colette Plus Size Blog Tour. This time is all about the Mabel!

The Mabel is a skirt pattern made for knits. The skirt will hug your curves. A few versions are available : short, longer with a vent, with or without a front pannel or placket.

When I recieved the picture of the pattern, my first reaction was to panick a little bit. As you may know, the area of my body that causes the most problems is my lower stomac area. I named it my kangaroo pouch. I usually try to hide it as much as possible. With the Mabel, this is the first occasion I had to embrace my morphology.

After reflexion, I decided to go for the version 1 : it is shorter and a simple front pattern piece. The coral version worn by the Colette model completely convinced me ! A shorter version would also work better with leggings in the summer. I also thought : « If I go for a figure hugging skirt, let's embrace it to the fullest and go for shorter !

I cut the size 2XL, grading half a size down around the waist. I also chose a fairly thick jersey I had purchased as part of my mini-capsule haul. The pattern makes the skirt very interesting. And I am not exagerating, within 2 hours (including drawing and cutting the paper pattern pieces), the Mabel was finished.

I learned a lot with this project. But what I learned was about myself ! For the first time, I am wearing a very tight fitting skirt. It leaves very little to the imagination. You can see the bits I usually try to hide. Wearing this skirt actually felt very liberating. I have a larger lower stomac, so what ? In the same time, I can show off my muscly legs and my waist. I am also very happy with the back view... So is Mister !

This is such a funky skirt ! I love the fabric and it can be paired with many tops. I am planning to make a peplum top in the same fabric. Wouldn't that be awesome ? Also, isn't that a great print matching?

Mary has already revealed her beautiful polka dots version as well. If you haven't seen it, go and read. It looks beautiful on her !

So ladies, are you planning on trying out the Mabel ?

If you follow our Blog Tour, you will see 6 beautiful versions :

Wednesday, April 16th -- Jenny at Cashmerette

Thursday, April 17th -- Mary at Idle Fancy (That's me! That's tomorrow!)

Friday, April 18th -- Exclusive interviews on Cashmerette and Idle Fancy with Sarai and Alyson

Saturday  Sunday, April ; 20th -- Laurence at Quirky Pretty Cute

Monday, April 21st -- Tanya at Mrs. Hughes

Tuesday ; Wednesday, April 22nd; 23rd -- T at UandMii

Thursday, April 24th --Jenny at Cashmerette

Friday, April 25th -- Mary at Idle Fancy
Sunday,  April 26th -- Sophie-Lee at Tworandomwords

Wednesday, April 28th -- Mary at Young Broke & Fabulous

Curvy Colette Plus Size Blog Tour : A Broderie Moneta

Hello everyone ! I hope you are having a great Easter Weekend. Mine is proving to be extremely exciting ! I am sure you read all about it on my fellow Curvy Sewing Collective members, today is my turn to feature in our Curvy Colette Blog Tour.

The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster ride ! Jenny contacted me and asked if I would be interested in taking part of a blog tour involving the two new Colette patterns. My husband can bear witness, I didn't stop talking about it for days ! Colette has been my favorite pattern maker since I made my first Beignet. I was alread super happy when they announced they were working on a larger pattern block AND on knit patterns. This means a well deserved rest from upgrading for me !

Today, I will reveal my version of the Moneta.

The Moneta is a lovely and flattering dress pattern for knit fabrics. It is nicely fitted on top and loose in the bottom. It comes with different sleeves options and with free bonus collar versions !

I decided to do version 1. I need a summer dress I will be able to wear during my vacation next month and I was very interested in the lining technique explained in the instructions. I picked a lightweight Borderie Cotton Knit in a off-white color. I used a coordinated Stretch Silk Charmeuse for the lining. I cut a size XL from the shoulders to the bust and graded up to a 2XL from the waist down.

I used the pdf pattern version and for the first time in my sewing life, I could just cut the pattern along lines without having to upgrade anything ! It made me feel so good ! The sizes I picked fit really well and I did not have to do any adjustment.

This project was also a great learning experience. I have used a twin needle for the first time and could not stop playing with it. It is so cool and created such a clean finish on knits ! I was also amazed by the armhole seaming technique described in the booklet. It was magical !

I am extremely happy with the end result ! The dress is comfortable, pretty and can be dressed up or down with high heels or simple sandals. It will look great with a straw hat during warm summer days. It also feels precious with a simple cardigan. You can add a belt too. I think I will try to wear it with opaque tights as well.

As always, pockets are welcome ! It means that I will not hask Mister to carry my phone and keys around when we go for a walk or run errands.

I will use this pattern again, for sure to make some cool winter dresses with longer sleeves !

And this is not over ! I will come back tomorrow with my version of the Mabel skirt ! I can also completely recommand the posts written by Jenny and Mary and their interviews with Sarai and Alison.

Also, if you are not following the other menbers of the Curvy Sewing Collective, please do so to not miss their versions of the Mabel and the Monetta !

Wednesday, April 16th -- Jenny at Cashmerette

Thursday, April 17th -- Mary at Idle Fancy (That's me! That's tomorrow!)

Friday, April 18th -- Exclusive interviews on Cashmerette and Idle Fancy with Sarai and Alyson

Saturday ; Sunday, Aprl 19th ; 20th -- Laurence at Quirky Pretty Cute

Monday, April 21st -- Tanya at Mrs. Hughes

Tuesday ; Wednesday, April 22nd ; 23rd -- T at UandMii

Thursday, April 24th --Jenny at Cashmerette

Friday, April 25th -- Mary at Idle Fancy

Sunday,  April 26th -- Sophie-Lee at Tworandomwords

Wednesday, April 28th -- Mary at Young Broke & Fabulous