An Engineer's Guide to Handwork

Trousers that fit! The Pattern I am using the Meriam Trouser pattern from Cashmerette. As is typical with their patterns, it is excellent. The pant leg is balanced properly at the knee, and all the pieces match up nicely. The instructions are very good, the welt pocket and fly particularly. And they even provide a "full bum" back piece, which is a godsend for some one shaped like me. All in all, highly recommend.  Fitting I used the Top-Down-Center-Out method for fitting, and had good luck with it. Though I did end up with a waist too big for the waist band, that was very much a me issue. I somehow managed to skip the basting step in the top down center out method, so I didn't get everything quite right with my new waistline. I'll go back and baste it, and pin trace the seams to make sure I got it right. I ended up decreasing the rise by 1" at the back and 3" at the front - this sets the waistband fairly low, around the top of my hip bones. This tends to be

 The next thing on my list of garments that are hard to buy for my body is pants! I have a lot of butt, and a fair amount of thigh, and proportionally a much smaller waist. In a front view I'm reasonably straight up and down, most of the difference between waist and hip is "Z" dimension (where X and Y are horizontal and vertical).  I am starting with the Meriam Trouser pattern from Cashmerette. On first inspection, it appears to be a very well drafted pattern. The center grain line is balanced at the knee on the front and the back, and the seam lines match up. I measured 40" at the actual waistband location (around my hips rather than my natural waist) and 48" hip. This puts me right at the size 18. I used the full butt option, since I know I'll need it.  I am fitting them using the Top Down Center Out method by Ruth Collins, @ithacamaven on instagram (and described by The Crooked Hem on youtube - her how too guides were super helpful). It basically has yo

Bras! My creations since August One of the hardest things to purchase off the rack (at least for me) is bras. I recently re-measured and tried to order some using the r/abrathatfits subreddit instructions, and aquired one whole bra that mostly works for me, at the (dicounted) price of $60. I decided that enough was enough and it was time to go back to bra making. I did make several bras years ago, using the Pin Up Girls Shelley pattern and the Boylston bra from Orange Lingerie. Both required a fair amount of modifications to work for my shape. It turns out the bra making world has changed fairly significantly in the intervening 6 years. I ended up using the Labellum bra from LilyPaDesigns, on the grounds that it's shaped similarly to the Shelley, and is drafted for a fair amount of projection. I used the fitting instructions from Sew Busty for sewing a fitting band and getting the cups corrected for my shape. I ordered some dissolvable thread, which is pretty great for test fitt