Fitting Dresses...A Plan of Fitting, Part 4

Continuing with the "Fitting Dresses" booklet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A Plan of Fitting

It is suggested to pin and baste all the different parts together - blouse, sleeves, and skirt-- of the dress together in readiness for the first fitting.  A basting line that marks the center back and center front helps in fitting.  Put the dress on, adjust it, and pin the openings together accurately.

Before doing any actual fitting, study the effect of all sides of the dress on the figure in the mirror.  Decide what is good and what needs to be changed.  Check to see if the lengthwise yarns drop straight at the center front and center back, and if the crosswise yarns are parallel to the floor -- especially across the bust line and the hip line.  Keep them that way throughout the fitting.

Following is a suggested procedure to use when fitting a dress:

Fit the blouse first.  Fasten a string around the waistline to keep the fullness in place.  Since properly placed shoulder seams act as an anchor to the dress, start the fitting with the shoulders.  If the pattern calls for shoulder pads, they should be in place before the fitting is done.  Then fit the neckline.  This helps to hold the shoulder seams in place.  The bust and the back are fitted next and then the armholes are made ready for the sleeves.

Before fitting the skirt, adjust the waistline fullness to the proper location.  Pin the skirt to the waistline, matching center front, center back, and side seams with corresponding points of the waist.  The waistline, like the shoulder seams, is an anchorage point.  After it is correctly fixed, the hips can be fitted.

During the first fitting, slip the basted sleeves onto the arms to test their width and length.  After the first or later fittings, when all the necessary changes have been made in the rest of the dress, pin and baste in the sleeves.  Examine the sleeves on the figure carefully from the front, back, and sides for fit, comfort, and position of the grain of goods  See that the armhole seam line ad the fullness o the sleeve cap are well placed.  Make any desirable changes.

If many changes are necessary in any part of the fitting, rebaste and try on the dress again before the final machine stitching.


What do you think of this plan of attack?  Do you follow a similar plan when your making a top, a dress or a jacket?

Happy Stitching!