SewJazz

A fitting session for Leena's Women's collection

A fitting bodice is a good way to get started with SewJazz. It's a medium-level project. Fitting bodices are only used to check your measurements, so you make them with low-cost muslin fabric and use the simplest stitching. This walkthrough will take you through a fitting for designer Leena Lähteenmäki's Women's collection. All of the patterns in the collection are based on the same fitting rule, so once you have tested and saved your measurements, you can use them to run any of the designs in the collection.

Leena's bodice patterns can be used both as fitting shells, and as slopers or base patterns for your own designs. Unlike plain slopers, these are custom-made to measure. The bodice pattern is free. You can run it as many times as you like, and compare different measurements.

Follow these screens to go from designer selection to a printable bodice pattern. Pair this with the "how it works" checklist on the home page for measurements and fitting.

Step 1

Open Designers

Start on the home page and click the Designers icon to browse available makers.

Step 2

Select a designer

Pick Leena to load that catalog.

Step 3

Select a collection

Choose Bodice Set.

Step 4

Choose a pattern

The collection has many patterns. Choose "Fitting bodice (sloper)". There's also a link to instructions for creating a Measurement Table--skip it for now.

Step 5

Run the draft

This is the pattern page, but the pattern isn't created yet. Click "Make the pattern!" to start generating your bodice.

Step 6

Dialog: Bodice Style

You can use either the princess line or standard front as a fitting shell.

Step 7

Dialog: Enter measurements

Enter your measurements. Notice that you can click on each measurement name to see a diagram for taking that measurement.

Step 8

Dialog: Custom Measurements

This dialog asks for seam width. Use the default width.

Step 9

Preview the output

Now the pattern is complete. Check the generated draft preview before exporting.

Step 10

Download or print

Select the page size your printer will print, then save the PDF and print.

Step 11

Sew it and try it on

Try on the fitting bodice. It should fit like a second skin, without any ease. If you need to change any measurements, write down the new measurements and make another bodice.