kate-2Lots of people have asked me about resizing the patterns I post. I know it’s a lucky break for anyone who is the same size as me and a bit more work for anyone who is a different shape or size. My friend Kate fell in love with the 2 hour top and here is what she did:

I’m not that experienced behind a sewing machine so the thought of resizing a pattern was a bit daunting. But I was assured it’s not as hard as it sounds!

pattern-resizeSo, I printed out the pattern as it is (a size 12) and stuck it together. If you look on the Making a pattern fit page of Sew Different there is a chart that tells you how much to increase or decrease for each jump in size. To go to a size 18 there is a 17.5cm increase (I called it 18cm for ease of maths). So, thats 9cm to add on the front panel and 9cm on the back panel. BUT, of course, you are only seeing half of the top on the printed pattern (because you cut it on folded fabric) and so you only have to make the pattern for each front or back panel 4.5cm wider.

I added the 4.5cm onto the straight folded side and then just redrew the curve of the neckline to make it smooth. I wanted my top to be a little bit longer than the photograph you can see on the pattern download page BUT at 5ft 1 I am quite a bit smaller than the 5ft 8 that the pattern is set up for. So I just left the length as it was. And as you can see, it fall to mid hip on me which is perfect.

 

Resizing Patterns - 2 hour top

In retrospect I didn’t think about the length of the sleeves, which of course are longer on me than on Laura but actually, I’m happy as they are.

The other thing I found was that the neckline was a little wider than on Laura’s version (I should probably have brought it in slightly when I added the extra width). But again, I’m happy as it is. I did think that if anyone wanted it narrower on the neckline an easy way to do it would be to take a little tuck pleat in the front which wouldn’t alter the shape of the top but would pull the shoulders together a bit more. I have drawn a little picture here so you can see what I mean.pleat-diagram

Overall, I couldn’t believe how easy and quick it was to resize it. The 2 hour top is just one of those very flattering shapes that seems to look good on everyone.

PS Fabric from Fabworks Mill Shop