The Fira Dress caught my eye immediately because of its sleek silhouette. I've always been drawn to patterns where the dress front is made from a single piece because it allows me to feature bold prints without disrupting their flow with seams. I'm excited to walk you through how I achieved the perfect fit for my Fira Dress.
My measurements are 37" high bust, 41" full bust, 35.5" waist, and 44" hips. Given the 4-inch difference between my high bust and full bust, I'm considered a D-cup. Normally, a 37" high bust would suggest a size 10D, but my hip measurement of 44" led me to consider a size 16. However, I felt that the difference might be too drastic, so I decided to experiment.
The Fira Dress has a relaxed fit, so I didn't need an extremely fitted bodice. Looking at the line drawings and photos of Liesl wearing the dress, I noticed that the side seams only flared out slightly. I decided to base my pattern on my hip measurement, working backward a size or two for the bodice. I began with a size 14 muslin without any initial adjustments to determine what changes I'd need to make.
First, as is typical for my body type, I required a ½-inch forward shoulder adjustment. Ideally, the shoulder seam should align with the middle of your shoulder joint, but in my muslin, it fell behind the midpoint. To fix this, I added ½ inch to the back yoke shoulder seam and removed ½ inch from the front yoke shoulder seam.
[Image description: A picture showing the muslin with the forward shoulder adjustment applied.]
Secondly, I realized that the bust darts were positioned too high for my body. They should aim toward the fullest part of the breast, but in my muslin, they pointed above the fullness. For this adjustment, I lowered the bust darts by 1 inch and moved the bust point back toward the side seam by ½ inch. You’ll notice that lowering the bust dart altered the side seam's curve. To correct this, I had to "straighten" the curve at my waist.
[Image description: An illustration showing the adjustment to lower the bust dart and true up the side seam.]
Thirdly, I anticipated that the hips would require a width adjustment, and my muslin confirmed this. The horizontal pull lines across my abdomen indicated that more width was needed. Checking the finished measurements for the size 16 pattern, I found it offered 4 ¾ inches of ease at the hips (49 ¼†minus 44 ½†equals 4 ¾â€). Since my hips measure 44", to achieve the intended ease, I needed a finished hip measurement of 48 ¾". The size 14 pattern had a finished measurement of 47 ¼", meaning I needed at least 1 ½" more width. I decided to simplify things by adding ½" to the side seams on both the front and back pattern pieces.
[Image description: A photo showing the widening of the hips on the Fira Dress pattern.]
Fourthly, I decided the armholes were a bit low for my preference. In the muslin, I could see a glimpse of my bra when I raised my arm. While not strictly necessary, I knew raising the armhole would make me feel more comfortable. I raised the curve on the armhole by 1 inch on both the front and back pattern pieces. It wasn’t precise—just an estimate!
[Image description: Before-and-after photos showing the adjustment to the armhole.]
Lastly, I noticed excessive fullness in the back of the dress. I usually take a sway back adjustment, but I hesitated about applying it here. The dress has a relaxed silhouette and gathers in the center back, so some fullness was expected. However, my back hemline wasn’t parallel to the ground—it was longer at the center back than at the sides. Pinning up about an inch of fabric at my waist straightened the hemline and improved the fit. I decided to apply a 1-inch sway back adjustment, splitting it into two ½-inch tucks on the back pattern piece.
[Image description: Before-and-after photos showing the sway back adjustment.]
After completing these five adjustments on my size 14 pattern, I sewed a second muslin. While I don’t always sew a second muslin, I had invested in fabric for this dress and wanted to ensure I’d be satisfied with the fit before cutting my fashion fabric.
The adjustments made a noticeable difference. The dress hung better from my shoulders with the forward shoulder adjustment. The bust darts now pointed to the right spot, creating better shaping. The hip ease was much improved, and surprisingly, adding width made me appear slimmer. The armhole was now at a comfortable height, and the back ease after the sway back adjustment was just right.
If you’re new to pattern fitting, it might seem like I made a lot of adjustments. But four out of the five adjustments I made on this dress—forward shoulder, bust dart height, hip ease, and sway back—are typical adjustments I make on nearly every pattern. Over time, these adjustments become second nature.
Fitting improves with practice, and even minor tweaks can significantly enhance the fit compared to ready-to-wear garments. With a few adjustments and excellent fabric, the Fira Dress quickly became my new favorite!
[Image description: Final muslin fitting showing the perfected Fira Dress.]
Happy sewing, and remember, perfection is a journey, not a destination!
Headwear and neckwear
Hair Claw Clips,Hair Claw,Ponytail Hair Extensions,Hair Clips For Women
ZHOUSHAN FOISON IMPORT AND EXPORT CO.,LTD. , https://www.foison-fashion.com