How to Make Clothes That Fit and Flatter: Step-by-Step Instructions for Women Who Like to Sew

You'd think that after wearing clothes for years, one would know a dress that fits from one that doesn't. Unfortunately, this is not so. Most women wear clothes sort of fit. Take the gal dependent on ready-to-wear. Lured by the design, urged on by a salesperson anxious to sell what's at hand, jammed into a fitting room often too small to see herself adequately, desperately in need of a dress right this very minute, she squeezes herself into the nearest promising little number. If she can zip it over her hips, it's a sale. Never mind the darts, the shaping seams, the ease. Everyone will be so dazzled by the design and the prestigious name of the designer that no one will even notice it's a bad fit. To be well dressed one needs more than a dazzling design and a lovely fabric; the key to that fashion-plate look is proper fit. Many extremely competent sewers are more discouraged by their inability to fit than to master the techniques of dressmaking. Fitting is an art, but now with the aid of this book, it is an art that can be attained by every home sewer. This is the fourth volume in the basic home sewing library by a well-known sewing teacher, and, like its predecessors, contains easy-to follow directions, copious how-to drawings and those numerous and valuable styling tips so characteristic of Mrs. Margolis' books. In nine idea-filled chapters you will learn: How to choose the right size, the right figure type, the right foundation; How to create the illusion of beauty; How to make a flat pattern fit a not-so-flat you; How to alter the pattern to fit the figure; How to make and use a basic pattern and a dress form; How to stitch-in and block-in the shape of fashion; How to choose a style with an eye to its fitting potential with skillful fitting; How to make and fit a trial muslin...plus some general suggestions on fitting procedures. Knowing how and where a garment should fit is half the battle. Knowing what to do when it doesn't is the other half.