Vintage Pattern: Butterick 5238, The Final Toile

In my last update with this blouse I was pretty happy with the fit overall, but wanted to make one last version to adjust the fit to me. I have along torso and small bust, which often means that I need to lengthen a pattern’s bodice. In this case adding the length through the waist left me feeling like the yoke set higher on my chest and neck than in the illustration. To fix this problem, I added an inch to the yoke, lengthening the facing and collar so they matched.

To do this, I taped down all three pieces matching notches and dots. I drew two lines through the pattern pieces where I wanted to add a half inch each. I then traced the pieces onto a new piece of tracing paper, moving the pattern straight up a half inch when I hit a line. Then all you have to do is draw in the new eased neck line and collar lines.

This method works well because it alters all of the necessary pieces at once, ensuring that they all have the same lines. It does mean tracing each individual pattern piece again to have it separate, but I find that this gives me the most accurate pattern.

After the pattern hacking, I sewed up a final toile, and the effort was well worth it. The bottom of the yoke now sits over my bust line instead of above it, making the fit much more comfortable and looking more like the illustration.

The final installment on this vintage blouse will be the finished piece, but I am waiting on some nice lightweight shirting cottons to come in.