Got a New Toy

I've been needing a new desktop computer for quite a while. My Dad decided to jump in and make the purchase for me. I'll pay the bill when he gets it. I'm now the proud owner of a compaq Presario that has been refurbished. It has Vista, which I'm still learning. I sure wish I was more computer savvy. Actually, I get things done just by trial and error, hoping the errors don't ruin everything. So far, I've learned how to down pictures from my camera, edit them and then upload them to my review pictures website. I still have a ton to learn about editing pictures and now I have new software to learn as well. So, there was no sewing for me this week. However, I did some pattern work on the Silhouettes Sonya's Bouse. I'm thinking about not wasting any more time on it. Two Patternreview.com members have reviewed this pattern in the plus sizes in the last few weeks. Kathi Rank, and Marilyn (Mastdenman) and with a lot of work, they got really nice blouses from this pattern. They are both way taller than I am and not quite so round. I learned a lot from their reviews.

First, I don't know what Peggy was thinking when she drafted the plus sizes. Here is a comparison of the front and back pattern pieces laid over the smaller sizes. You can see how short and straight the plus size patterns are and how long and curvy the smaller sizes are. Marilyn caught this so, before I did anything, I redrew the front and back side panels and lengthened the center front and back panels to match.


Then I pinned all the pieces together to make half a muslin with my new pattern pieces. I didn't make any alterations, but I did pin some tucks into the pattern to get it to fit my dress form better. The fit still needs a lot of tweeking. Also, the armholes are very large. The arm buds on my dress form are way, way too large for me. The armholes should be about 2/3 the size of the arm buds. As you can see, the armhole on my pattern is much larger than 2/3 of the dressform arm bud.




Besides the areas on the front pieces that I've taken tucks, I still need more bust room and tummy room. I need a high round back alteration and the bust really needs to be lowered. I paid $14 for this pattern and if I have to remake it, it doesn't seem like I got my money's worth from this pattern. I really don't think Peggy knows the plus-sized body. Why in the world would she make the hips much much smaller than the bust for fat ladies? And why is the armhole big enough for my thighs?

So, I think I'm moving on to something I know I can have some success on. New capris and a matching t-shirt. I should have them done by Sunday because I'm using my TNT patterns. I'm not taking the time to share anything more about my new outfit, I'll just show you when I'm done.