Reddit reviews Fit for Real People: Sew Great Clothes Using ANY Pattern (Sewing for Real People series)

You need to learn how to do a full bust adjustment. You'll be able to make anything fit. There's a couple of different methods and lots of information online. Fit for Real People is the most popular book and worth having. Your library may have it or you can pick up an older copy for a few dollars. I don't use the tissue fitting advice, but those few pages on the fba have paid for themselves over and over.

I have a few suggestions that may put your mind at ease.

First, measure the actual pattern or look for the amount of ease built into the pattern, I find that using the envelope measurements are often misleading and I've sewn many too-big garments in the past.

second, the hip measurement is not something to really worry about since you should easily be able to grade the side seams 1" wider each to make up the difference.

Third, look up Full Bust Adjustment . That is where the sizing discrepancy comes in. You may even find that a much smaller size will fit her back and shoulders much better that going with the biggest envelope size. AND its much easier to fit a larger bust than it is to take in a floppy back. I'd recommend doing a tissue-fit using the Palmer / Pletch method (your library may even have the book.

Finally, You may find using a fabric with a slight stretch or heavy weight knit may be all you need to get a good fit.

Good luck!

I agree with /u/justgoodenough's comment. I sew a ton, but most of what I do is sewing from scratch. weirdly, I actually find it harder to do alterations on existing clothes and get them symmetrical and without weird lumps and bumps. It might be helpful to sew a few patterns and get them to the point where you have a few where you like the fit, and then you can use those as comparison points when making alterations to existing clothes.

Also, what kind of tailoring are you looking to do? It is pretty easy to do things like change hem lengths, fix ripped-open seams, or take in the waist of a skirt or pants, but without a body double mannequin it can be sort of hard to pin something out correctly on yourself for good fit.

This Palmer and Pletsch book is supposed to be a classic for diagnosing fit problems btw...

I have had a pair of boot cut LOFT pants I got at the thrift store just sitting in my sewing box for like a year. I bought them very cheap and was going to make them into more of a straight leg fit, but they've just been sitting there despite many other, more complicated sewing projects coming and going in the interim.

Have you tried reading up on how to do pattern alterations? There are some great books available that are geared towards modern seamstresses using store-bought patterns. I really like Fit for Real People but there are others out there.

I would also recommend looking into indie pattern designers like Colette Patterns, Sewaholic Patterns, and Closet Case Patterns. I've found indie pattern companies tend to have better drafting, plus the pattern companies often run sew-a-longs alongside the pattern releases which go through common fitting problems and alterations for the patterns.

If you describe the fitting problems you're having I bet someone on this subreddit could help you figure them out too. Good luck!

I googled "Fit For Real People," is that that this book?

waves Hello!

Adding darts in a t-shirt pattern

Adding darts in a pre-purchased blouse

From what i can tell if you pull it apart at the seams, then add the dart you must adjust the length at the bottom in both front and back. Easiest way is to turn the shirt inside out, pinch/pin your darts then do a basting stitch. That way you can see how it fits in front. sew then re-hem the shirt. At least that's what I'm getting from the links i posted.

Here's the book they mentioned in one of the links. Hope this helps. :D

oh and a bit of extra reading that may be interesting

Pinning is generally done by pinning the pattern pieces to either a dress form or to the client's clothing. You can alter the pattern pieces to fit them faster and easier that way. If you want to try pattern alteration again, I'd recommend either Fit for Real People by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto and/or How to Use, Adapt, and Design Sewing Patterns by Lee Hollahan.

That being said, I've taken apart clothes and made patterns from them before. It's more of a pain (for beginners to intermediate sewing) than altering existing patterns for a couple of reasons.
You have to add seam allowances-nitpicky reason, but when you're in a hurry it's easy to forget. Failing to do this means you have no seam allowances or a garment smaller than you intended.
Making sure you can find fabrics that are suitable for recreating the garment. i.e. You don't want to make a pattern off of a knit shirt and then use a woven fabric unless you're prepared for a several fittings and altering the heck out of a muslin mock-up. Failing to do this leads to the garment just not fitting.
Related to the above reason, different fabrics drape differently. That's why commercial patterns have fabric suggestions printed on them. You wouldn't want to use corduroy where a cotton broadcloth would work better.
Knowing how the grain of the fabric needs to relate to the pattern pieces. Will they need to be cut on the bias? Etc. Failing to do this correctly makes the garment not hang right on the body.

I will be happy to help you any way I can via Reddit, email, etc. Depending on where you live, I might be able to find you someone who could teach you (hands on, in person) how to alter patterns/create patterns. Please feel free to PM me. :-)

This is more about fitting and tailoring than pattern making, but it's been really helpful to me.

I'm glad you appreciated it! I have one more for you, the cover of this book, Fit for Real People, is horrible but I swear the info inside is totally worth it. It teaches tissue fitting patterns so that you can solve fitting problems BEFORE you've spent a bunch of time making a garment to find that it fits all wrong. I freaking love that book.

Ninja edit because I screwed up my link.