"Fit for Real People" - Arrived in the Loft

I did it! I bought my first sewing book in years! and what a perfect choice  - "Fit for Real People" by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto. For many sewists, it needs no introduction. For sewists just getting started or maybe thinking about it, it is a really wise purchase.

 "Fit for Real People" does not teach you how to sew. It shows you how to make a pattern work for you and for your body. After all, we come in thousands of variations on any size...but we all use one pattern! This wonderful book will lead you through understanding yourself, your body, how a pattern is constructed, how to change a pattern, and so much more...and it's painless! And has terrific, large illustrations and explanations.

And the book has real people in it. I am really enjoying just reading the book and following the journeys of the ladies who are part of it.

I recently made croquis...brave girl. But curious as well. Self-image gets so skewed, and what I was seeing in the mirror was clearly not what I was seeing in my pics on my blog. I look good! (pat, pat...). So here are my 2 croquis.

What I see bears out the 45+ year-old body in the book. My bust is not so perky now - but it is still there! Leaving me with a 'hollow chest', of all things, sounds awful. Is there a resort spa remedy for that? And my derriere has slid and flattened (OK, I don't really have one anymore!)

Lastly, my waist is bigger than ever in my life, coming in at 30". Oh, it was so small for so many years - I used to be 5' 8 1/2" (something else Marta and Pati point out is that we collapse a bit with age) with a 27" waist. Ah.

      

My only other sewing challenge is that my right shoulder is lower than my left shoulder. And I did not carry anything or anyone on my right hip! The consequence, of course, is that I have to do a sloping shoulder adjustment on one side. And have to be careful with sleeve lengths on my right arm so I am even!

 The wonderful thing about "Fit for Real People" is that it shows me how to do these and other adjustments for all bodice, seam, and dart types - e.g., both shoulder and armhole princess seams.

I am really enjoying this addition to my Loft library. It is so friendly and so precise without being overwhelming - and it is so applicable to my sewing. I know I will use it constantly.  Gazillions of sewists have recommended it...and I do too!

Ciao! Coco