How to… Do a bust adjustment on a darted bodice
Full bust and small bust 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. find out how full bust adjustments work and if you might need one in this article.
My Handmade Wardrobe Patterns include 7.5cm of volume at the bust. This is close to the UK average meaning fewer people will not need to do a bust adjustment when using our patterns - hooray!
A full bust adjustment is helpful if you find you have a difference between the high bust and full bust measurements of over 8cm.
A small bust adjustment is useful if the difference between your high bust and full bust is less than 6cm.
Check 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 apex
2. From the Apex to the waist vertically through the waist dart and parallel to the centre front
3. Through the centre of the bust dart to the apex
Cut up the centre of the waist dart, through the apex then to, but not through the armhole, leaving a hinge point at the armhole.
Cut through the bust dart to the apex but leave a small hinge just before the apex.
Keeping the centre front static, draw a line parallel to the waist dart cutting line, the amount you need to add into the FBA.
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.
So if there is 10cm difference between your high bust and full bust, you will ned to add 2.5cm into the bust to increase the volume form 7.5cm to 10cm. because we are working on half the bodice you’ll need to divide this by 2 so add in 1.25cm only.
Move the lower side piece to increase the front vertical opening.
Cut horizontally through the front piece (above the waist dart point if there is one or close to the apex) and bring the lower waist piece down to match the side waist piece and level off the waistline.
Be aware that this adjustment will have moved the apex down.
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.
