Red Raglan Top (Butterick 6134)

I selected this pattern for my sister because it has everything I love for her body: the raglan sleeves and princess seams are highly recommended for the inverted triangle shape, and I love the way princess seams allow me to shape the garment under her bust, avoiding the whole tent/curtain problem I've already covered.  View D is my favorite, and I want to make it in a woven. 

(It's also, oddly, easier to fit a complex seamed garment than a supposedly "simple" one!)

Since pin-fitting the tissue paper pattern for the tunic top was a hilarious debacle, I opt to go straight to fabric for this one.  I double-check the measurements to make sure I am cutting the right size, then cut away. 

Butter knives make good pattern weights.

Then I use practically every pin my sister has to pin all the seams, excepting only the underarm ones so she can get into the garment.  I also forebear to pin the back darts, since I know her back will be different from the pattern's recommendation.  Once she's in the garment, I pin Center Back, the side seams, and Center Front to her camisole to keep these points from shifting when I make my adjustments.  The first adjustment is the back darts; they end up being higher and more angled than the pattern called for.  An easy alteration, and the back is done!  The front looks okay, with enough room for the bosom.  The front hem is standing out a little from the belly, but when she lifts her arm I see the problem is not in the front, but in the side panel. 

Back darts being pinned

front and side before alterations

See what I mean?  I pull the waist in and square the warp and weft of the fabric with the floor, and there's a gap of several inches at the bottom hem and a giant fold of excess fabric at the side-breast area. 

Remember her pelvic tilt?  If it shortens her back and lengthens her front, it stands to reason that the side is the place where the change is most obvious.  Look at all that fabric!  The pattern doesn't call for a dart at all, but obviously she needs one. 

In fact, the dart I end up pinning is so large it bisects the panel entirely, which means it's not a dart at all, but an opportunity to re-cut the panel in a new shape. 

The pic just above shows the excess fabric pinned out.  To the right is how the top fits once that change is made.  Perfect!  So neat and shapely!

Here's the top taken off her body.  You can see how I trim the back piece to be shorter at the side seam, so the hem flows smoothly from front to back  Then I take the side panel out of the garment, without un-pinning that dart, and use it as a pattern to cut a new panel in the new shape. 

On the paper pattern, I mark all my important changes: the shape and placement of the back darts, the new angle of the back hem, the new shape of the side panel, and the length of the sleeves.  I also make notes about her preferred length for the back panel of future garments, since she likes shirts to cover her bum when she's wearing leggings.  (She'll just have to wear this red shirt with jeans!)

The side panel ready to be carefully removed...

Then, since I'm doing all this stuff while visiting her house and the visit is almost over, I pack it up with the other half-finished sewing projects and mail them to myself to finish them at home with my own tools and resources!  I'll keep you posted! 

(Did I mention I'm really excited about this pattern?)