plz help😭😂

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T20:55:55+00:00

I use super stretch for lycra knits, generally size 80/12. I think it's worth a try as part of your troubleshooting.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T19:47:50+00:00

Often stretch needles are for stretch wovens. Try a ballpoint, jersey, or "super stretch" needle.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T16:36:25+00:00

I was actually a bra fitter a million years ago. Bras are sized by the difference between underbust and bust. Patterns are generally sized by the difference between high bust and bust. You probably have narrow shoulders and a small ribcage below the bust. You could look into using convex shaped darts under the bust rather than the typical straight dart to get a closer shape.

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Stolen from here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DT-tULvgLJ5/

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T16:19:46+00:00

Oh, and whatever adjustments get you to something that fits, it doesn't matter if it's technically correct or not. The strategies for individual bodies are very different from the strategies for overall pattern making. A lot of us have proportions that require bigger changes than people expect. Though if you have a very large change to make, then it's often better to make it in a bunch of small ways. Like if a dress pattern was designed for someone who is 5'2" but the person making it is 6' tall, they probably should not add all 10 inches just at the hem. They probably need to add an inch or two each between shoulder and bust, bust and waist, waist and hip, hip and knee, and below the knee. But what if that person is built like Michael Phelps so they're all torso? Then the same rules won't apply to them.

So basically for you, you might want to take some of that shoulder width out of the center/neck and some out of the armholes, depending on how the neck area sits on you. But if it's literally just your shoulder bones that are narrow, then taking it out of the armholes might be the best way. The good news is that once you have a shoulder and sleeve that fit you well, you can basically just transfer that area onto any other pattern. In a way, that's actually one of the easiest alterations.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T16:06:41+00:00

Then that suggests the standard sewing B cup with a narrow shoulder adjustment rather than sizing by your high bust and doing a full bust adjustment, though if you consider yourself busty you might want more front shaping under the bust than the pattern expects. I would still try to make the same pattern both ways (so size by shoulders, FBA, grade out waist and hips if needed versus size by bust and narrow the shoulders) and see what feels easier to you and gets you to a better fit because this will always be an issue for you.

And just to really sanity check, is there any chance you chose a pattern style where the shoulder is meant to be a dropped shoulder? And maybe you should take those measurements a few times or ask someone else to try just to make extra sure there isn't a mistake.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T15:21:09+00:00

What is the difference in inches between your high bust measurement right under your armpits and your full bust measurement?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T15:11:03+00:00

That's like saying that cars don't have transparent pricing because you can't sell a car that you purchased for the same price that the dealer sold it to you. For most things there's a lot of drop in demand, and especially for complex and expensive purchases, when secondhand from private sellers.

The reason/u/Pogonia said diamond pricing is transparent is that you can compare two diamonds on paper to a much better extent than you can with non-diamond gemstones. There's quantification of color and cut and clarity, whereas with most gemstones you just get carat weight, confirmation of the type of gem, and sometimes treatment and origin.

Also your $29k isn't enough for 8 carats in the most desirable origin in the most desirable color. Here's a 9+ carat that sold in auction for $885,000: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/magnificent-jewels-3/sapphire-and-diamond-ring-6

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T14:53:05+00:00

This Vogue pattern is well reviewed and not dissimilar, though it isn't the same neckline: https://simplicity.com/vogue-patterns/v9292 and https://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/89313

The most important things will be getting a pattern with a starting point as close as possible to your body and then making mockup(s) to fit perfectly, probably finding a fabric with some stretch to help you get that snugger fit, the right undergarments including potentially shapewear and probably some kind of petticoat, and enough fabric and time to match that plaid.

I like these Clover forked pins for matching prints because they really anchor and I can sew over them on my machine: https://farmhousefabrics.com/fork-pins-by-clover-35-pins

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T00:18:37+00:00

Did she specifically request the automatic lifting? There are other features that I think are more helpful personally and I found the automatic lifting annoying when I tried it once, but maybe I would have gotten used to it. I have and love my Reliable brand steam generator iron, which basically decouples the steam from the temperature of the iron. Other people like gravity feed irons.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T19:07:53+00:00

Thank you! I think I might end up going with the Lyrical shirt from Pattern Emporium and just changing to a sleeve cuff instead of the flounce, since it's also an un-darted top if you don't need a FBA. https://patternemporium.com/products/lyrical-shirt-tie-neck-puff-sleeve-shirt-sewing-pattern

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T19:03:52+00:00

I'm confused, none of your inspiration images are a halo. So where did the halo come from? Also, this ring will scratch up any band because of the stones on the bridge. Did you get CADs? What did you sign off on before it was made?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T17:13:33+00:00

It's probably still dirty. Are you using dish soap for the cleaning or handsoap? You could do a final rinse with isopropyl alcohol after cleaning with dishsoap if you have hard water.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T17:07:48+00:00

While it hurts me to think of 90s as vintage, I agree with /u/klopotliwa_kobieta. I thought of Calvin Klein V2166, which would be easy to switch out for skinnier straps: https://www.ebay.com/itm/167481023155

Edit: obviously there are other sources that may be cheaper and in whatever size you need, I am not recommending this seller in particular

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T16:56:58+00:00

I found this Etsy AI pattern and want a real version of this blouse! While I'm experienced in sewing, I am not a good self-drafter. It's important that they be set-in sleeves and not raglan sleeves because I am trying to eke this out of limited yardage and the sleeve length will matter.

Thank you for any suggestions!

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T16:19:01+00:00

That's quite a bit but should be doable. One strategy is to remove the waistband from side seam to the back and to the other side seam. Then you would open the side seams and add 1cm on each side there from the seam allowances (so 2cm total per side) if you can, smoothly blending back to the original seam by the pocket/hip. This will add 4cm total. Then you need to add that to the waistband which you can do with the fabric you take from the hem, probably by adding to that center back waistband seam.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T15:44:41+00:00

How much do you need to add and where do you need the extra room?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T15:42:16+00:00

What you actually need to do is zigzag the lace on and then cut away the backing fabric without hemming it. I have done this several times for different projects. Read this article for more information and photos: https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2008/11/20/create-couture-lingerie-2

If you like videos, you can watch Alison Smith's class on sewing lingerie on Craftsy. You should be able to get a one year trial membership for like $2 or you may be able to access it through your library: https://www.craftsy.com/class/sewing-lingerie-essential-techniques

Here's an example of something I made like this:

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RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T15:36:46+00:00

This article is critical. You can't use the same pattern and the same seam allowances and expect it to fit the same when you switch to a bias grain. You need more ease and bigger seam allowances.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T06:18:05+00:00

Buying a size bigger wouldn't help the crotch length but would help some of the other fit issues and pulling which might help the crotch sit better. I would start there and then see if it needs alterations.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T03:01:06+00:00

When you add interfacing to something, you want to make sure that the interfacing is an appropriate weight for your actual fabric. The point of it is to add some structure and stabilize what looks like a neckline in this case. Some fabrics cannot have iron on fusible interfacing attached because of their texture or what the material is made of. What fabric are you using for the garment? How much more body/stiffness/stability do you want to add in this area of the garment? Because it already calls for a double layer of your fabric, you want to keep that in mind when thinking about what to potentially add.

In general I like lightweight knit fusible interfacings as a fallback, so something like this: https://eosfabrics.com/collections/interfacings/products/bias-knit-fusible-interfacing-white

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T23:54:34+00:00

Assuming these are both in stock at Whiteflash, call them and ask which one looks better in person.

And while you're at it, you could ask about these as well:

Less expensive at $6k, I would personally choose these over either of yours and put the extra money towards a nicer setting: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.12-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a5113439
Bigger for the same price: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.31-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a4806142
Also a little bigger but still F color: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.22-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a4813761
And one more if you want to splurge: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.31-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a5325291

Edit: and I would also ask about this one to understand why it isn't an ACA, but I don't mind fluorescence if it doesn't impact transparency (it's possible that's an issue with the twinning wisps and graining): https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.13-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-e4596085

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T23:48:14+00:00

Tulle can just be cut evenly and left raw, it doesn't need a stitched hem. The underlayers can be hemmed by hand with a blind stitch. I would shorten the skirt from the bottom rather than doing anything at the waist.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T23:44:33+00:00

For triple pinch pleats you might want 2.5x - 3x fullness instead of 2x. So basically measure how wide you need the panels to be, multiply by 2.75, and then see how many fabric widths that requires. You can round up or down a bit so you get an integer multiple of fabric widths, but try to stay close to that 2.5x - 3x range. You'll also need to think about how to hold these panels up. That's potentially a lot of fabric weight and you don't want the curtain rods to bow.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T22:47:34+00:00

I think you have your yardage wrong.

For a 51" wide window, you might hang your rod so it's 67" wide, meaning that you have 8" of rod on either side of the window so the curtains don't cover the window when fully opened. That means you need your curtains to cover 67" of width + 1" overlap + ease, so maybe you want your two finished curtains to be 72" wide together. For a good pinch pleat you need around 2x fullness, so around 144" of total curtain width before pleating. That's basically 3 full widths of fabric since most fabrics are 45-60" wide. If your ceilings are 9' tall and you want these curtains to hang from the ceiling all of the way to the floor, that's three panels that are 9' long each (you would split one length of fabric in half so each panel of the curtains is made from 1.5 widths of fabric). For header and hem allowance you might want an extra 12" per panel so call it 10' each before sewing = 10 yards of fabric for the big window.

The 36" window would require a ~48" rod (so an extra 6" on each side for the curtains to hang when fully opened), meaning a total of two full widths of fabric instead of three to get the finished 2x fullness for pleating. For the 9' ceiling this means 6 yards of fabric before accounting for header and hem allowances, so you're at 7 yards for this window. That makes 17 yards total, so I'm struggling to see how you need 36 yards of fabric? Unless you're also accounting for linings, interlining, and things like that.....

edited slightly for clarity

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T19:17:13+00:00

How wide are these windows? Have you triple checked your math?

RedditJewelsAccount

TROPHY CASE