Monday, March 15, 2010

Sloper!

I have a sloper! Took us several days to draft because we could only do it after the kids were in bed. Got some inexpensive fabric at Spotlight and made a mockup. It took just one fitting and some quarter-inch adjustments to the back darts, the hip seam and my freakish left shoulder and the main block was perfect. The sleeve block took three drafts to perfect. We like taking the extra time to get the whole shoulder/bust dart/armscye/set-in sleeve area fitting properly.

Must share that all three of us (Mum, Auntie Laura and me) were completely thrown off by my weird large post-natal waist measurement. It made the straightest side seam we had ever seen, since it was almost as large as my hip (with the darts drawn in), which in turn made for a very shapeless sloper. We stared in dismay and horror at The Thing we had drawn and took turns to hurl insults at its bizarreness. After rechecking the measurements, we eventually just went with whatever shape the measurements yielded, in spite of how otherwordly it looked on paper. And it turned out to actually fit me perfectly. Which says very little for the aesthetic effects of pregnancy on a person, but a lot for the combined skills of Mum and Auntie Laura.

I can't wait to actually post some photos when we get home to the US! Which is tomorrow! This has to be the best vacation souvenir ever.

So what's the first thing to make with my new sloper? A little black dress with a mandarin collar and frog buttons, a tunic, a couple more skirts and a bias-cut linen shirt are what I'm seeing in my head. Nothing with a gather or a pleat or elastic - just clean, tailored lines and lots of invisible zippers. Hurrah.

11 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful! Lovely to hear you had a good time with your family :)

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  2. Oooh yay! Can't wait to see the finished garments. And I hope you guys are having an awesome time in Singapore!!! I am not ignoring your email by the way, just haven't had the time to type it all up. Might just have to send you my # hahah!

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  3. Can't wait to see pictures of your sloper! I share your three babies = no waist problem....

    So glad you had a lovely vacation, and I hope your trip home goes smoothly!

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  4. I am so jealous! I would love to hear more about the process. I think I really just need to bite the bullet and do it! But the sleeve part scares me!

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  5. Yay! A successful visit! Loving your posts about fit. I have happily added that little extra round part to the bodice pattern for a little girl's dress and I can tell the difference of how it lays. Thanks!! Looking forward to pictures!

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  6. Yay for having a completed sloper! This post made me laugh out loud and I thank you for that. Love how you described your experience and can poke fun at yourself. I think we all have those wonky details about our body, why not embrace them?!

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  7. Congratulations on having a well-fitting sloper! Re the postpartum figure - have you seen theshapeofamother.com (NSFW)? A larger waist after 3 kids is not "weird" - it may not be what you want, but don't worry, it is completely normal! :) Healthy, in fact!

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  8. Sounds great! That is definitely a one of a kind souvenir!

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  9. Something like this is irreplaceable, not just for the usefulness of it, but for the family time and connection it provides. What a great vacation!

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  10. There is nothing like having clothes that fit you perfectly! Congrats on finishing the Sloper!

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  11. oh, I'm so glad to hear that I'm not alone with freakishly big waist measurements! Hooray for children, but oh my word, the numbers on the measuring tape are scary.
    Well, can't wait to see the clothes that result.

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