Burda Style For people who sew

Hello, I am after some advice as I have been staring at the pattern pieces for a whole day now and trawled the internet, this is my first dressmaking attempt for 25 years!. I have had a good read on this website and know that this dress can come up large with the ease allowance etc.

According my measurements I should be a 46 hip and 44 bust. so I have cut the pattern pieces accordingly.

then I rad about ease and this dress and noted the finished bust and hip sizes on the pattern and have now cut the bust pieces to a 40 and then the bottom should be a 44.

My questions are:

> if the top pieces are cut to a different size to the bottom, will they match up, or do I need to do something at this stage? The ‘altering patterns sizes’ tutorials I have seen have been based on a shirt or bottoms, whereas this dress is cut in separate pieces for the top and bottom.

> I am tall 178cm, so also need to lengthen pattern. How do I know how much to lengthen the pieces by? and will I have to do the bust pieces as well as the skirt?

Sorry for so many questions, any help much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Nic

May 10, 2012, 01.53 PM by mintymonkeylover

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  May 10, 2012, 05.59 PMby katexxxxxx

  Have you remembered that ou need ease in your pattern? You don’t want the pattern to match your measurements exactly or you won’t have room to move and breath in it…

  And yes, you can slide from one pattern size to another. Just look at the measurements and see if you need the adjustment between waist and hip, bust and waist, or ned to make it a bit bigger at the waist and then a bit MORE bigger at the hip – if you see what I mean! With multi-size patterns you just gently grade the line from one size to the next at the point you need it.

  For lengthening, you need to decide where and how much you need to lengthen the pattern.

  If you need it all in the skirt, look at your waist to hip distance: if that is longer than the pattern add what you need there and the rest between the hip and the hem.

  If you need it all in the bodice, determine whether you need it above the bust line, below the bust line, or a bit of both and add it in… DO NOT make armholes deeper! For above the waist lengthening, cut a curved line from the under arm seam up over the bust to the CF and add the extra in in a curved slice.

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    May 12, 2012, 07.40 AMby mintymonkeylover

    Thanks very much that makes sense, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Think I just need to take the plunge and see how it turns out. Thanks again.

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  May 12, 2012, 12.18 PMby katexxxxxx

  Make it in some gash bit of old sheet first, to check the fit after all your pattern alterations. :)