Tuesday 14 January 2014

::Sewing:: Pattern Bust Adjustment Measurements

On the interwebs there are LOTS of resources on HOW to make bust adjustments to patterns.
But something that I've struggled to find is information on (a) how to determine bust size and (b) how much to overlap/spread the pattern by when making an adjustment.

The other day I came across some really great information about this topic and I thought I'd share it here. Hopefully you'll find it helpful too.

Selecting a Pattern Size

When selecting a pattern size the idea is that you want to make as few adjustments as possible.
So ideally a pattern that closely matches your shape in most respects is the best way to go.

Bust Size


Take chest/high bust measurement (1)
Take full bust measurement (2)
(Great post on body measurements by Miss P)

Subtract the chest/high bust measurement from bust measurement
below is a table found on p15 of The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting by Sarah Veblen

A cup = 1" (2.5cm) or less
B cup = 1 1/4" to 2" (3.2 to 5.1 cm)
C cup = 2 1/4" to 2" (5.7 to 7.6 cm)
D cup = 3 1/4" to 2" (8.3 to 10.2 cm)
DD cup = 4 1/4" to 2" (10.8 to 12.7 cm)

SBA or FBA pattern Overlap or Spread

When making either small bust adjustments or full bust adjustments below are the amounts to close (remove) or spread (insert) when doing the bust adjustment.
Note: these are only for half a bodice pattern. So the total decrease or increase accross the whole bodice will be twice the amounts given below.

AA cup - close 3/8" (1cm)
A cup - close 1/4" (6mm)
B cup - no change
C cup - spread 3/8" (1 cm)
D cup - spread 3/4" (1.9 cm)
DD cup - spread 1 1/4" (3.2 cm)

Source - p130, The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting by Sarah Veblen

Is there a question that you haven't found an answer too? What was it? Have/how did you overcome not being able to find information about it on the interwebs?

Until next time, hope you're finding solutions too
V xo

p.s. when I was looking for images I came across this post. Gah! Where was this before!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by. I really like reading your comments, so drop me a line by clicking to comment

Please don't comment anonymously though - you can leave your email if you don't have an OpenID.