Full-bust adjustment on Sewaholic Belcarra Blouse

The Sewaholic line of patterns is specifically designed to fit and flatter pear-shaped woman.

I am pretty much the opposite of a pear-shaped woman.

My bust is my largest measurement, then my hips, with my waist not much smaller.

But the great results a variety of women are getting from the Belcarra Blouse pattern looked too good to resist, so I jumped in the fray.

Then came the pattern adjustments.

I started by making a muslin of the pattern as it was. It seemed to fit everywhere but the bust. Here is the result, after some slashing to accommodate my figure:

I marked my bust point, then made slashes typical of full-bust adjustments, so I could see how much room to add.

Obviously, I had work to do on the pattern. I made a typical full-bust adjustment, so the front bodice pattern looked like this:

Here you can see the full bust adjustment. Width is added across the bust, length is added to the center front, and a dart is added to the side.

For a typical full bust adjustment, width is added across the bust, length is added to the center front, and a dart is added to the side.

After trying that on, I realized that the bust point needed to be raised. I guess this is pretty common. The way the full-bust adjustment is done ends up creating a dart that does NOT point toward the apex of the bust. You often have to move it, but it’s impossible to know exactly how much to move it until you’ve done the adjustment. From this pattern alteration, I cut a new front bodice piece and replaced the slashed one.

As you can see, the muslin fits Gene much better, but the bust dart needed to be adjusted and the hips are way too wide.

As you can see, the muslin fits Gene much better. However, the bust dart needed to be adjusted and the hips are way too wide. I have them pinned in an inch on each side, for a total of four inches.

To accommodate these changes, I altered the pattern again.

Here, I raised the bust point, then narrowed the hips. I almost made them straight but settled on a gentle curve.

Now, I think I’m ready to cut out my fashion fabric.

Taking a simple blouse pattern made for a pear and altering it for an apple is a lot of effort, but I think it’s going to be worth it. I had forgotten how nicely raglan sleeves sit on my shoulders, and this is a quick basic pattern. Once I have this pattern perfected, I can sew up a bunch of these basic tops. I’m hoping they will make a good substitute for the cheap knit tops I always buy at Target.