Today I started my Sure Fit Pants journey. In case you have dropped off the sewing universe, Sure Fit design is discussed with great depth, happiness and critique both on the
Stitcher's Guild Forum as well as
Pattern Review. It is well worth taking a look. Sure Fit, owned and proliferated by Glenda Sparling, maven of fit, is a very easy and very simple way to get a great fitting garment. You will see proof of that in those two links. I chose to start with just the pants pattern. Who doesn't need improvement there?
The Kit came with all I needed as that was one of the many ordering options. I got a v. generous roll of vellum tracing paper, really nice stuff, a patented stylus, the "patterns", and lots of great info both in print and on DVD. The "Mix and Multiply" part came with its own DVD as well to help you stylize your sloper in many ways.
Last night I watched the DVD and must say Glenda knows how to do a very crisp easy to comprehend presentation. I watched it once and went over to the table and made my pattern when she told me to. Prior to this I took some simple measurements, some of which I found surprising. My full hip was 2 1/2 inches smaller than I thought and my waist one inch larger, (sigh). I guess that's a fair enough trade off. It's also the result of stripping down to my barest clothed minimum to get my results. When I measured my hips after, over some pants, it was a full inch larger. So take those clothes off when measuring!
It took not much time at all to get my sloper drawn with her method. Less than an hour and a half maybe and that included a bit of back and forth with the DVD. So this is ready to go now. I just need to dig up some fabric for my muslin and we will see how it goes. I am not sure that will come soon as another project is looming but I am looking forward to hopefully getting as great results as I have seen on many of the ladies who have tried this out. They sold me!!! Let me know if you have any and/or what your experience is. I think we would all love to hear about it....Bunny
Can't wait to see what you think. I recently purchased the pant kit, but as my sewing room is currently in "disarray", I haven't had a chance to start on the pants. If they work, I plan on getting the other kits as well. Keep us posted. I'll be interested to hear you opinion, as you an expert seamstress.
ReplyDeleteBunny, I have read so much about Glenda's line, and thought about purchasing but never pulled the trigger. I think I even watched a video of hers. So I look forward to reading about your experience and seeing pictures. I value your opinion.
ReplyDeleteWishing you much success Bunny!
ReplyDeletePants fitting for me is "finding the holy grail" and I still haven't found the perfect pattern/fit, so I'm very interested in what your results will be with this.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think you are a lot taller than I am you and I have the same type of hip/waist ratios and bone spread. I always watch your pants posts closely because of this. You do a great job. I hope mine are as good.
DeleteAfter purchasing the full kit about two years ago and never "getting around to it", I drew up my pants pattern last week and very sceptically sewed up a muslin. It fitted perfectly, the best fitting pants I have ever put on! Now I can't wait to sew up a pants I can wear out. Well and truly worth the money spent. Once I have sewn the pants I need, I will be trying out the other parts of the kit.
ReplyDeleteGreat news and encouragement!
DeleteHopefully you'll share the results of your experimenting with this method. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!
DeleteWatching for your results. :) I may "need" this as well.
ReplyDeleteI love SFD and have the pants, Dress and Shirt kits plus all of the leaflets, etc. I had good results for the pants, although I had to do some fiddling with the crotch length because my waist is lower in the front than back. That happens with every pant pattern though. I got a super fitted blouse sloper with the Dress kit. I can't wait for my sewing room to be done so I can get back to it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy front waist tilts down a bit, too. We will see how my efforts come out. I also have one hip lower so I know that will need a tweak. I am going to sew this straight off the pattern on the first muslin and go from there.
DeleteI just went on her site last night - thinking of ordering the pant kit. Haven't ordered yet, so I'm anxiously watching for your review/results!
ReplyDeleteI guess I've been living under a rock! Can't wait to see your results. Pants are the holy grail!
ReplyDeleteI hope you can go into more detail about the pattern although I realize there are copyright issues. Some years ago, Threads magazine had a long article on measuring and then drawing the pattern. I had some fairly good results. I guess I am wondering if these methods differ. Pants fitting is a real b****. Enjoy your blog so much.
ReplyDeleteI am so interested to see how these turn out. i bought 2 of these kits (pants version and dress version) at a garage sale. They are the 70"s version, called "Designing with Dusan" using the "Magic-Fit" method. but the template and tools look just like yours. I am off to look at her website now.
ReplyDeleteI believe that's a different manufacturer, maybe the same as Lutterloh. Not sure, but it's definitely different than Glenda's.
DeleteNot different by much than measurements. A friend of mine recently bought the SFD set, and I have had the MF set for years (thanks mom) - we compared them and the only difference we can find so far is that the MF measurements do not go up as far. (then again, mom bought it in 1984, and there was much denial about sizes). I do think Glenda's instructions are much easier to follow however.
DeletePatiently waiting, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have heard good reports of Sure Fit, so I look forward to reading about your journey and experiences. I ALWAYS measure without my clothes! (Except for my bra, that is.)
ReplyDeleteHow interesting, Bunny - I look forward to seeing the next steps in this process.
ReplyDeleteYou always have such informative insights.
Bunny and everybody,
ReplyDeleteMaking pants that fit has been the biggest nemesis of my sewing life. For years, no, decades. I bought the Sure-Fit Designs kit almost two years ago, and I started with my bodice blueprint in preparation for the classes I signed up for with Glenda in early April. (I had signed up a couple of months before.) The bodice muslin I made -- from taking my own measurements, not even being particularly careful -- was the best fitting bodice. Ever. What? I only did it to get some practice with the design stylus, as part of preparing for the classes. Okay, so I went out to Oregon. There were several of us in the pants and bodice classes. We represented all kind of fit issues, in every body part. Everybody, and I mean everybody, left with very nicely fitting pants and bodice muslins. No kidding. Well, I will say that having Glenda involved, with her expert eye and skills, helped. But remember, I had made a great bodice before I went! Well, I came home, and you know how it is, busy busy busy. I made the yoga pants but had difficulty because I didn't have the right width of elastic, and I tried a few things that didn't work, all my own fault. I still have them, and now I have the right elastic, so I will be able to finish them. The other day, now this is two months after the class, I got out my pants blueprint and started making a pair of pants from a woven tencel fabric. This afternoon was the moment of truth, the decades-long dreaded moment of truth. I tried them on. I heard angels sing!!! I just have to put on the finishing touches and will post over on Stitcher's Guild. Oh, I wrote a thorough post about my experience soon after I came home from the classes. I am planning to sell my library of fitting books!!! Suggestion: When making up the pants muslin, if you can, use a medium-weight, solid-color fabric with no give (stretch), not just with no Lycra, really with no stretch. That way, you will be able to identify alone or with Glenda's help, the fine tuning that I expect most people need to do. Then get ready to have FUN! (So ends my longest-ever blog comment.)
May I ask those who have been using this system how you obtain your measurements? It seems that so many of these systems require you to have a sewing buddy who can slap sticky dots on your lumps, curves, and bony projections, or trace your silhouette projected on a ream of printer paper while you stand still. I'm encouraged from Sandra's post that it's okay to get DIY measurements. I'd love to get some suggestions for how to compensate when it's just you, the tape measure, and the dreaded mirror.
ReplyDeleteWatershed Online Media, Glenda has some great short videos at her companion website http://www.sfdlearningcenter.com/Video_Library.html . <- That page has titles of the videos, some of which are about taking measurements. You really can do this yourself, that is what surprised, no, shocked me. No sticky dots, no tracing your silhouette on paper, no sewing buddy necessary. Of course a sewing buddy can be helpful but is not essential. If anything, I would say take each measurement a couple of times, jotting them down, and using an average (if there's much of a difference). The free videos help A LOT. HTH.
ReplyDeleteOh, I meant to include this in my first (and really long) reply. There is something about the Sure-Fit master patterns that Glenda created some years ago; they are not like any others. Example: You know how in pattern grading, they often increase the shoulder length too much as they go up in size? Sure-Fit doesn't do this. Yes, they are graded, but not out of tune with reality. Don't know how else to explain it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandra. I'm so glad to hear this and will also let my sister in WV know, because we're both trying to get back into garment sewing after a long break. By the way, just wanted to mention that I finally got around to updating my Google identity so that it doesn't use by biz name. So if you see me listed as KateLoom, it's just the same old me without the Watershed identity :-)
ReplyDeleteJust want to add, Kate, that I did my own measurements. No dots required!
DeleteHi! I am a bit behind with the SFD pattern/fit. I stumbled across the sight, don't even remember how, BUT it gas been a game changer in my sewing world! I have used the fits on my own, but am headed to a Eugene in a couple weeks for the spring bodice and pants fit classes. I am so glad to hear it is fun and beneficial! I am tall, big bust, etc, all that makes fitting never simple. I hope to hear more about SFD! Carol
ReplyDeleteHi! I am a bit behind with the SFD pattern/fit. I stumbled across the sight, don't even remember how, BUT it gas been a game changer in my sewing world! I have used the fits on my own, but am headed to a Eugene in a couple weeks for the spring bodice and pants fit classes. I am so glad to hear it is fun and beneficial! I am tall, big bust, etc, all that makes fitting never simple. I hope to hear more about SFD! Carol
ReplyDelete