- LCD, to most of us, means a type of television screen.

To a sewer, LCD, length, circumference, depth, are critical to understand if we're going to correctly fit patterns.

If we only use length and circumference, our garments are flat.

Adding depth to our clothing adds extra dimension that takes our garments from so-so to ooh la la.

Join us today as we discover the wonder of depth on Fit 2 Stitch.

(upbeat piano music) - [Narrator] Fit 2 Stitch is made possible by Britex Fabrics.

Vogue Fabrics, Evanston, Illinois.

Bennos Buttons.

Kai Scissors.

Sew Steady.

O.C.

Sewing, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, and Irvine, California.

Richland Sewing Center, Dallas, Texas and the Metroplex.

Cynthia's Fine Fabrics.

And Mike Gunther Industries.

- So we've learned all about grading.

Today what we're gonna learn about is something that's so important, and it's what's going to take our clothes from just okay to great.

But we have to understand the principles.

We're gonna introduce them, they're called length, circumference, and depth.

And so many times women have said to me well, why don't we just start at the top, we start dusting a house and we start with the lights and then we clean the countertops and then we go to the dust on the floor, okay.

However you remember it works for me, it doesn't matter, but we're gonna fit in a particular order, and that fit is going to be L, C, and D. And let me explain to you what they are and then we'll go through the process numerous times.

Length is when I take from the base of my neck to the bust, bust to waist, waist to hip.

Lengths can only go either up or down, they're like little elevators, you can't go sidewards in length, you have to go up or down.

Then we have circumference.

Circumference is actually the size we choose, and in this pillowcase what we see is we have enough circumference to go around our model, so that's good enough.

How little or how much is our preference, but at least we have to have enough to go around.

Circumference is sizing, and all it can do is go in or out.

Again, no angles, no dimension, any of that.

Depth, the last one, is gonna be our best friend, and yet it's the one that we know the least about.

So let me give you a little example.

We take this pillowcase and we start there at the top, and the first thing that we do, is we drape what we call shoulder seams.

And what the shoulder seams do, is they give this pillow, all of a sudden, a little bit of shaping.

Notice that we have, if we measure the body from base of the neck, over the bust, to the waist, and then if we measure from the side, or the shoulder seam to the waist, the center of that body is always going to have more length because of that bulge we call the bust.

So, I'm gonna have too much fabric if I don't drape it out.

So then what I'm going to do is put in what we call a bust dart.

And again, that is depth, that is darting, darting is depth, depth is darting.

We can kind of go either way we want with it.

You notice when I put that dart in, how much closer the pillowcase comes to the form.

In this particular case, these two darts, they affect length issues, so notice these are length issues but they're not length issues that go all the way across, they are in one place and then they stop in the middle of the garment.

Because then I come in with more depth, but now my depth is gonna be vertical, and what that depth does, is it takes into account my circumference differences.

So if you notice here, in my circumference, I can take vertical darts.

So vertical darts affect circumference, horizontal darts affect length.

And with every dart I put in, what you see is the mannequin gets closer and thinner as the garment comes into her body.

So any garment that hangs from the bust is kinda like Dolly Parton in a moo-moo.

It's just not a good thing.

So as we bring those darts in, she's gonna look better and better and better and thinner and thinner and thinner.

So that's what we want to keep in mind, pillowcases are not our best friend.

I don't care how beautifully they're decorated, they're just not gonna be on our side.

So then what we need to recognize is that there's many darts that take place that can not be changed after the garment is cut.

So that brings us to making a muslin, and a muslin is just a trial run, a sample garment, that we make up and we do it in order to make sure all the angles, all the darts, all of that is correct.

And I'm gonna show you a really easy way to do it because I've made up several here.

But in all cases, we're gonna use this little magic thing called a Sharpie, and this particular brand, when I draw onto the tissue, I've got the tissue on top, and I just draw right onto the tissue, it actually will go to the muslin fabric below.

So the easiest way is to simply line up whatever line I need to trace.

I can put it right on top of my muslin so that I don't have to ruin my pattern, and I take it off and there's the line that I'm going to use.

So I take each piece that I want, I kind of just guess in the first place where I want the size to use it.

In this particular case we're gonna make a jacket.

So what I did is I measured some of their favorite jackets.

I measured the fullest part of the bust, and then I chose the size that we wanted it to be.

So now comes the fun part.

We understand why we need those LCD, we've made a muslin because we know it's not gonna work the first time, if we need some darts in there, we can't change it after the fact that the fabric is cut, we're using a fabric that is $100 a yard, so we want to sure it works in the first place.

We're gonna bring on Bell.

We would like to know a little bit about Bell, such as is this fun or is not, being a fit model?

She's actually a real fit model, this is what they use in department stores to get it right.

- I actually enjoy it, I have a great time.

It's all fascinating to me and I have an interest in fashion and fashion design, so I enjoy seeing every process in production.

- And so, do you stay the standard for everybody out there, you're it?

Can you eat?

(laughs) - I think with each company it differs what their standard is, measurement wise, for their client.

But yeah, I do have to maintain my weight and I have to stay within a certain tolerance of what they call specs, or measurements.

- So ice creams are out?

- They're in (laughs) but you know, I'm just mindful of how much I eat and I like to work out, I enjoy it, so if I over indulge I just work it off.

- Alright, perfect, perfect.

So it's interesting to me that again, even though we have a fit model, what we're gonna do today is we're gonna fit her in a particular garment which I've made ahead of time.

This is a jacket, it's the same jacket I have on.

We're gonna put this on her, and when I do this, if you notice when I made the muslin, I've left a little extra seam allowance.

Now I did measure a jacket that she felt comfortable in so we knew ahead of time that she was going to be okay with it.

I'm always gonna put the shoulder pads in place because if a pattern calls for shoulder pads, you can't leave them out, that angle at the shoulder seam is important, and so we need to make sure that comes in.

So we're gonna put those shoulder pads in place.

Keep in mind that the seams are on the outside and I left a little bit of seam allowance just because I don't want to remake the muslin.

I don't mind making it in the first place, I'm gonna be patient with this process because it is important that it be accurate.

And again with this styling what we notice is that it's got just one closure right at center front and that's the best way to do.

So many of us when we drape, we go right to the problems, and I want you to go through L, C, and D, and by the time we fix L, C, and D, all the problems are gonna be taken care of.

So the first we start with is length, and we look at the princess seam, and what we know about the princess seam is that it is the bust start and the waist start combined.

It starts at the shoulder, and the placement of it has to just be within three inches of the bust circle.

It is, so we're not gonna make any changes in the length of this particular garment.

Then we're gonna look at the back.

And in the back again, I'm gonna pull that down just to make- and notice there's some wrinkles and those wrinkles start on the outside and they're angular.

And anytime I have angular wrinkles, red flashes should go off and say bup, bup, bup, bup, bup that's a depth issue.

So I know it's a sway back and when I take a sway back adjustment, I start a little bit above the waist, and it'll absolutely taper to nothing.

Technically, this is not a length issue, but you won't know that when you start with it.

So if you're doing a jacket, and if you're not exactly sure whether it's length or not, start with it and what you notice in this particular fitting is that it literally stops.

You can see that that fabric literally stops, it goes to nothing at that side seam.

So I don't have to take it all the way around, in fact that's how I actually know if it's length or depth, because if it were length, it would go all the way around, and because it's just stopping to nothing that's when I know it's called sway back and it actually is just right there at the garment.

And you notice I'm only gonna do one side, that side is completely fixed, taken care of, and there's no more issues there.

Then we go to circumference.

We already know she has the right size on, it fits beautifully around her, so I'm gonna turn her just slightly like this and look at depth.

And when I start with depth, again this is the one that we have the most struggles with, we have the most problems, I'm always gonna start at the top and go all the way to the bottom.

And when you follow this process what you will find is that you'll learn LCD and you won't always have to follow this process, but you'll teach yourself because you'll recognize which of these problems fixes which issue that's there.

So notice her shoulder is a little more sloped than the pattern.

She's our fit model, so she's perfect.

We're gonna change the pattern to fit her, but you all need to have that same philosophy about yourself.

You're the fit model, you're perfect, the pattern is the one that's wrong, so we're gonna change you, because I don't like this little extra, I'm just gonna pin that out and we continue on.

And really, considering the jacket, I think those are really the only changes that I think we need.

I look at the side, you see that's nice and tight.

So I think we're good to go there.

Alright, perfect.

I'm gonna take this off.

You can leave it with me.

And then what we did, is we actually made up a jacket for her to wear, and while I'm showing you the changes, she's actually going to go get that jacket and put it on.

So what I want to show you is the pattern changes.

So we're gonna go to the back, we're going to see that these are the two back pieces, and what we did is we took a little sway back.

I'll measure how far down it is, I'll measure how big it is, and I'll take that little adjustment and put it right there.

What we know is it went all the way to the side seam, so where these two pieces meet, I'll make it the same.

And you notice it'll taper to nothing right there at the side.

You'll want to measure the muslin, make it accordingly to where it is and do the same thing.

Then at the shoulder seam what we noticed is we changed the angle.

This particular case, I can just fold it down.

And you notice I can fold it down, fold this one the same way, they intersect, and again it'll taper to nothing there.

So those are the only two changes we did we're gonna do this, if you're not comfortable, make another muslin, it's no big deal to make another one.

This is really cheap in comparison, it does take a little bit of time, but keep in mind, once I have it done, I'm gonna repeat that process over and over and over.

So let's see Bell again, and this is the jacket that she wears after we've done it.

So you notice the shoulder angle is what we want it to be.

We'll turn her around, that sway back is gone, and that's exactly what we want.

Thank you Bell, perfect.

Do you love your jacket?

- I do.

- Great, that's what we want.

We want to love our clothing and love what we're wearing and we want the wrinkles to not be there.

And the wrinkles are all just telling us, especially that, that there's usually a length issue, a circumference issue, or a depth issue.

And the most important reason for separating these issues out, is we want to understand that if you notice, when I did, going back to the pillowcase here for a minute, do you notice this dart was a depth issue?

When I put that in it did not chance circumference.

So we have a tendency to think that darts influence circumference.

Darts do not.

Vertical darts do, but horizontal darts do not, and that's why it's really important to understand that there's two types of depth.

There's depth that affects the length, which are these two, and there's depth that affects the circumference, which is my vertical darts.

So all darts are not equal.

They can all help us in a little bit different way, and that's really important to understand.

And while we're at the pillowcase, one more thing, because here what I want to understand is that there is two types of darts.

Some darts are the type that will end in the middle of the garment, so notice my bust dart is ending here, my waist dart is ending in the middle, and when I have those, they have to be sewn on a sewing machine.

But if you notice my shoulder dart, it's gonna end at the neck edge.

That doesn't have to be sewn on the sewing machine, that's just part of the seam.

So we're gonna see different kind of darts, and it's important for us to understand the difference between those darts.

After we make the changes, for instance, the sway back that we made in Bell's jacket, it isn't going to be in the final garment because the pivot point, the end of that dart, is at the edge of a seam.

So we can actually take it out of the muslin.

We'll never see it in the final garment.

Yay, that's what we want.

And that's why we made a muslin.

Because if she had a sway back we could not have fixed that in the final garment.

We would have had to stay with it unless we decide to make some decorative seam.

And that's not the goal, the goal is to get it right, make it, and present it the best.

So, last episode we talked about grading.

So what we did with this, is we graded it to be a larger size.

Because we're gonna use a model that's not a fit model, a regular person, we'll call her Jeanie, and we're gonna drape on Jeanie.

Same jacket, same process, same thing again, and we're gonna see that even though the grading has been done, the sizing, the LCD will still have to be applied to Jeanie.

So we've put Jeanie's jacket on.

Jeanie that looks perfect on you.

And Jeanie has a preference for- - Half inch shoulder pads.

- Yeah she's just here to make my life tough.

But we want you to have your freedom to do whatever you want I think that's what sewing's all about.

But again, don't drape that jacket, or any pattern that you have before those shoulder pads are in place because it completely changes the drape and the look and everything else.

So put your shoulder pads in, whatever size you want, but you should have a heads up that the pattern was made for a specific size and if that size is not what you're using, then you're gonna find that they'll be some extra here and just keep an eye out for that.

Look for it, watch for it, et cetera, et cetera.

So in this particular case, again I'm gonna close up the front because in this particular jacket we only have that one closure in the front.

And Jeanie that just looks so pretty on you.

So this is an illustration that muslin doesn't always have to be muslin, literally muslin fabric.

It can be anything you have.

What was this, just an old sheet?

(laughs) - No it was just a woven fabric that I picked up at a local fabric store, it was inexpensive - Perfect, inexpensive.

But you want it to be strong and stable, you don't want to use something that's loosely woven because that's gonna not keep its course.

Now also when I draped Bell, I went back and changed the tissue, you don't have to do that.

You can actually sew the changes right into this garment, take it apart, and use this as your pattern.

It's whichever works easiest for you.

I will tell you that if you make the changes back to the tissue, you may make errors.

Just don't do it at midnight.

That's all I can tell you.

Just don't do it at midnight.

Okay, so we're gonna start again with L, C, and D. Notice again, generally with a princess seam, you won't have issue with L because I have a whole area that I can get into and as long as I'm in that area, there's no one right spot that that seam has to be.

It's within that bust circle, remember, that we referenced.

So then I'm gonna turn her to the back, I'm gonna look for a sway back, and does she have a little bit of sway back?

Again if you're not sure, go ahead and check it, try it.

Pin it here, see if it actually goes to the side or not.

And the fabric, if we listen to the fabric, I know a lot of us don't necessarily listen, but if we listen to the fabric, you'll see that it does, and it tapers to nothing.

So beautifully we can really take away that sway back.

A sway back is a very common thing in a jacket.

And you can see the difference there, where now that garment just hangs beautifully on her.

And that's completely taken away.

Now remember if we hadn't have made the muslin, we would have had to have lived with that wrinkling across the back.

I like this much better and think it's much prettier.

That back of a female is really curved, it's pretty, we don't want to lose it, it doesn't matter how much weight you've gained, don't lose that back.

When you lose the shape of the back I think you really, we look heavier, we really do.

Alright, so, let's go back, we've done L. We know it's the right C, the circumference is good.

I want you to look at the bottom of that jacket and notice it's pulling up to the front.

What that means is I did not take enough out of the back.

So I'm gonna take a little bit more, because what I'm looking for is to balance the hem.

And what's important to recognize is if the hem is crooked, it's never the fault of the hem, okay?

And also what we don't want to do, and you can see how that straightens that out now, to where the bottom is good all the way coming around.

And that's because if we wear a jacket that's a plaid, then we simply can't make, we can't cut it off at the bottom because the plaid will be crooked.

So we want to keep all the changes up through the body.

I'm gonna watch again the shoulder seam, make that adjustment, remember I start with my D. And when I start with my D I start at the top.

I'm gonna make that change.

And then with this notice there's a little gapping in here.

I'm gonna look to increase that dart.

We've used a D cup pattern on Miss Jeanie.

Miss Jeanie exceeds a D cup pattern, but that's okay.

She's proud of it, right?

And we're gonna go ahead and take that out and we'll taper to the other side as well.

Remember I talked about those two kinds of darts?

So in this particular case, you'll notice that this starts at the side seam, it tapers at the princess seam.

I do not have to have it in my final pattern, but look how much prettier that lays on her, and all that arm hole looks terrific.

I've got one more little gap in here, and again, most of these gaps are caused, because it's what we have, it's called a bust, okay?

And that's a good thing.

But we're just gonna take this out where it literally is and remember when I'm taking it out, it is a dart.

It's a horizontal dart, it won't affect circumference, it only affects length, which means I have too much length here and I have the right amount here.

And then I look to where I can get rid of it and where I can get rid of it is right there at that princess seam.

I want to pay attention to the fabric.

If the fabric is literally tapering to nothing at that point I can call it good.

But if you notice it's not, there's a little bit extra, so I'm gonna actually build that into this, make this a little bit larger, and then everybody will be happy because this one will go right into that change.

So whenever you start the, and look how pretty that looks.

Just beautiful.

Whenever you start that draping process, kind of take a step back, look at the big picture, and then go from there.

And I'm gonna steal this from you.

- Okay.

- Because Jeanie's made her final jacket.

And we want to show you have pretty it is.

But before we do that let's go to the table.

Let's make some changes, and in those changes, I want you to see them in the tissue, even though Jeanie's gonna leave them in her jacket.

Again we did the sway back, I think you're comfortable with that, but what I wanna show you is this dart.

I kind of call it a two ended dart.

It starts at the side seam, and I've put these two pieces next to one another.

I'm gonna turn this one over.

So what we can see is we can measure how big that is, how far down that is from the side seam.

I can translate it to my tissue.

I can make a fold.

It starts at the side seam and it literally tapers to nothing right there at the princess seam.

The tissue will still be flat, this is all called flat pattern making, and so the whole purpose is, is we need to stay flat.

So I'm gonna make that there as well.

Keep in mind that that's gonna go the other direction.

The most important thing here is that these two taken away are the same, and the reason we want them to be the same is so that our side seams will still match.

Then what we're gonna do is take that final tuck that we took right in the front and that is important that we get it in the right place.

Because the whole reason that's happening is where that garment goes over the breast, the fabric isn't the right angle, so it can't go over and come down without that gap, and what that dart is doing is it's correcting the angle of that center front.

So Jeanie, as I make this change, let's bring you back in.

I simply want to make it here, and it'll go right back into that other one.

And this is her finished jacket.

And that looks beautiful!

What a difference, yes?

What a difference it makes.

And I want to point out fabric because this is a shawl collar.

Shawl collars are what we call feminine patterns.

What we want to mix them with is feminine fabrics.

So this is a, it's not a stripe, it's a really soft little bubbling type effect of this fabric, and it's beautiful because it's soft.

It's not harsh lines.

Whenever we do a pin stripe or something of that nature, a check, a plaid, we'd want to put it in a notched lapel.

A notched lapel is a good example of a masculine pattern.

So when we're doing a shawl collar and we've got the soft curves and you notice we've got the curve down here at the bottom, we want to follow that up with this beautiful fabric and it just couldn't look better, it's perfect.

Thank you so much.

So, you know, so many women say to me, oh I don't want to make a muslin, I don't want to do that.

Yes we do, we do because that's where I can find all my little whatevers.

I can fix them, I know how, I can just use LCD.

And all I have to do is understand those concepts and I'm good to go.

Next, we'll take a base blouse, and do some really easy pattern making and we want you to follow along.

Be here next time on Fit 2 Stitch.

(soft piano music) - [Narrator] Fit 2 Stitch is made possible by Britex Fabrics.

Vogue Fabrics, Evanston, Illinois.

Bennos Buttons.

Kai Scissors.

Sew Steady.

O.C.

Sewing, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove and Irvine, California.

Richland Sewing Center, Dallas, Texas and the Metroplex.

Cynthia's Fine Fabrics.

And Mike Gunther Industries.

To order your four DVD set of Fit 2 Stitch Series Six, please visit our website.

(soft piano music)