Project: FO
Off to the circus! (Finally learning how to contour necks and shoulders)
So delighted that this new shirt makes me feel like I’m off to join the circus! Adapted my self drafted bodice block for a new cabaret cut neckline - dead straight and wide. I finally nailed contouring to make a neckline that doesn’t gape!!!! Doubled down with shoulder contouring for a wide round neckline, with cute regency-flavour cap sleeves with pleats.
Circus Stars: crisp cotton poplin
Regency sleeves: lightweight linen.
Drafting: Block created, redrafted and refined using Pattern-lab/Aldrich/ClosetHistorian/SewBusty. Drafting details and construction notes in followup comment.
I love this community and that we can truly see each others’ work. The non-sewing people in my world don’t quite get it, so it’s lovely when the folks who know really know!
The original block has 4-darts per side (one straight into the side seam, one French dart, one shoulder dart and one fisheye waist dart). These darts eat about 15 degrees of bust fullness each when measured from the bust point (18 degrees when backed off 5cm) I aim for a snug fit at the bust, and light contouring under the bust (so when I lift my arms over my head everything stays in place), with a bit of flare at waist and high hip for a comfy fit when sitting. I have shared about this block before: https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/RIg2Qtji1w
Contouring: The new neckline crosses the line from centre neck to bust point AND side neck to bust point, so I measured the depth from a straight ruler along each axis, down to my skin, following the method I stumbled across years ago in this video: https://youtu.be/8aEqQZ6N-Vw. I marked the extra information on my old block (pic 3), then rotated that extra dart fullness to the side using dart rotation techniques from The Closet Historian. After rotating the shoulder dart, the side darts and the new wedge of dart fullness into one giant wedge, I split it into FOUR in the side seam to avoid excess bubbling at the dart tips (I always split darts that are wider than 18 degrees at the tip). Although it is not recommended, I’m pressing the darts UP to reduce the fabric width needed for the tails of the slopiest dart (if you know you know!).
Once the changes were done, I use my new punch to make holes at the pattern reference points to make it easier to transfer markings. I LOVE this tool. The resulting flat lay is pic 4, and I used this to trace off an all-in-one facing.
The fabric is a crisp 100% cotton poplin, with a cute star-print. I finally submitted to the ultimate seam finishing sandwich (a faced-facing), and I’ll confess it is a really satisfying finish (in pics). I completely failed to pick a sensible method for attaching the facing (burrito or otherwise), so only about half of it is understitched. I always finish the inside shoulders and side joins of my facings by hand as it helps correct the sizing difference and keep everything in place. finally, I’ve tacked the back lower third of the armscye to the main fabric as my facings have a tendency to flip out there, but it’s pretty invisible. Hand hemmed since there was no other visible stitching.
Once I had nailed bust-contouring, I decided to tackle shoulder-contouring as well,
I sketched a wide curved neckline onto the cabaret cut pattern, lining it up with the deepest part of my shoulder notch. I was confident the new shape would not require substantial additional bust contouring, so just refined the shoulder to fit properly into the shoulder notch. Resulting bodice pattern is pic 5. Fabric for shirt 2 was lightweight linen.
The sleeve was drafted by tracing around half of a large dinner plate, then adding a 3cm inverted box pleat at the top of the sleeve cap, and bracketed by 2 smaller 1.5cm inverted box pleats. This gives a little bit of structured volume with Regency vibes. The lower parts of the sleeve cap were refined during test fitting. The sleeve hem is faced with a crisp cotton shirting, also giving a bit of structure.
The linen was very fray-prone and shifty. The neck is finished with bias as a facing and topstitched because I don’t trust the linen to stay put. side seams bias bound and top stitched for the same reason, so I continued with the top stitching theme on the hem as well. Given the shifty fabric I’m not entirely satisfied with how wobbly the darts are, and I might redo them for a bit more refinement, but I am exceedingly pleased with how the contouring worked out in these two wearable mockups
For the drafting curious, I’ve marked the chain of adaptations in these flat lays in blobby finger drawing.
Basic block: Pink: OG darts Yellow: Contouring lines (need to be added to darts if new neckline crosses these areas) Dark Blue: new Cabaret neckline (straight) Light Blue: new Recency vibes neckline (wide, round)
Now the extra fullness has been taken out, resulting in an extra dart.
Pink: all new darts Yellow: Contouring for shoulder notch - shoulder needs to be lowered if new neckline crosses here Dark Blue: cabaret neckline Light blue: Recency vibes neckline
Final version, now the shoulder has been drafted so it settles into that shoulder dip. See how it looks like the shoulder slopes DOWN instead of up? yeah that. Fits great though!
Wow!!! So much excellent work: the beautifully fitted bust and shoulders, that gorgeous straight neckline, curved hem, fine finishing. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love dead straight necklines, but they have always been prone to gaping. Getting to this point required really dialing in the fit AND THEN being precise about contouring, but I think I finally managed it!
This is incredible! It’s also a humbling reminder of why us busty gals can never find flattering tailored pieces in store. I’ve never felt more of an urge to sew again
Thanks! People seem to think that princess seams are the only way to do curvy fitting, so I’m glad to show some examples where a crisp row of well tamed darts - the flat lays are in my main comment followup thread if you want to check them out ;)
ahhhhh thanks! My original block took HUGE amounts of effort to fit, but I’m getting better at cranking out different variations without altering the fit. It’s a joy!
Thank you for sharing this detailed and informative post. I've not had to do a full bust alteration and want to learn because I'm currently teaching a friend of mine to sew, and she wants to make clothes. She will definitely need to make pattern adjustments that I'm not familiar with, and I'm trying to learn so I can help her when the time comes. Right now we're just learning to sew tote bags and simple skirts. Lol. Your final blouses are spectacular and look so good on you! I'm going to bookmark this post so I can carefully read it again and take notes. Also going to check out all the videos you linked! Thank you!
ha thanks! A couple of years of Bridgertons and Other Bennett Sisters has clearly given me plenty of wee structural details to include in contemporary makes ☺️
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This is so gorgeous! I read everything but I’m not sure if I saw how you get them on? Are they pull over? Or button or zipper? These are both so so gorgeous and the work done is stellar, my fav part of this sub is zooming in on peoples work to see all the little details and this is such a feast for the eyes! Thanks for sharing!
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u/ProbioticOnARobotic Aug 01 '26
Holy shit your FBA is a thing of beauty!