How to… Do a bust adjustment on a darted bodice
Full bust and small must adjustments (FBAs and SBAs) can be the saving grace for many fit issues. By adding or removing fabric on a fitted garment at the bust you can achieve a perfect fit.
A full bust adjustment is helpful if you find you have a difference between the high bust and full bust measurements of over 5cm.
A small bust adjustment is useful if the difference between your high bust and full bust is less than 3cm.
If required, move the dart up or down before making an FBA or SBA
Click here to fInd out how to tell if you need a bust adjustment and FIND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR CHEST/HIGH BUST AND FULL BUST MEASUREMENT eg. 7cm
I’ll share my tried and tested method for creating an FBA on a darted garment…
On the front bodice draw 3 lines –
1. From the armhole to the BP/apex
2. From the centre of the dart to the apex
3. From the Apex to the waist vertically through the dart and parallel to the CF
Cut up the centre of the waist dart, through the BP to the Armhole. Cut through the lines leaving pivot points attached at the underarm and at the dart point
Keeping the CF static, pivot the 2 side pieces to increase the front vertical opening.
Take the difference between your high bust measurement and your full bust measurement, half this and add this into the centre of the waist dart.
Cut through the front piece (just above the waist dart point if there is one) and bring the lower waist piece down to match the side waist piece.
Redraw the dart legs with the dart point ending at least 2cm below the bust apex. Extending the dart all the way up to the bust point can result in very pointed boobs!
If there is no waist dart, you can either add one, or you can remove the extra added into the waist (if it it not required) by taking it off the side seam.
You can now make up a toile of just the front panel/s and pin it onto the back panels of the first toile to check the fit again.
Find out how to do a bust adjustment on a Princess seamed bodice…
… With our step by step guide.
