Today I'm going to talk about the adjustments I made to my True Bias Ogden Cami that I've been wearing constantly in this lovely warm weather. It's been a mad month since I last posted because in my other guise I am a GCSE Chemistry exam marker and I've been doing that all hours of the day and night rather than sewing (boo!). Thankfully that's over now and I'm going to be making up for that with a few more summer items before I crack on with updating my autumn wardrobe with some layering items. If you have any recommendations, message me!
So, after quite a few conversations over on Instagram with the lovely Miranda, aka Mirry_Maker, I embarked on an FBA for the Ogden. Now if you're one of the few people out there that haven't tackled an Ogden Cami yet, its a lovely simple v-necked cami top with spaghetti straps and a partial lining. My problem was that its not a darted pattern but I've got an ample chest and the pattern is designed for a 5'5" person so it was ridiculously short on me. Miranda helpfully was a step ahead of me and tried a few adjustments over her bust to get it to fit her so I had a good idea what would work and what wouldn't!
I followed this tutorial over on the Curvy Sewing Collective blog which added a dart to the pattern. I sized down and then did an FBA on it as that seems to fit me better. It had the added advantage of moving the armscye up slightly which meant it gaped a lot less than the toile I made. I then added 4" to the length to compensate for my extra height.
A few people have commented that the straps were a bit too long on them but I didn't adjust these at all, and if anything I could do with an extra inch so that it drapes better over my cleavage. Ogden is a loose fit by design and although that means its nice and breezy, I find it makes me look a bit too wide over my stomach, so I'm going to size down another size at the waist on the next one. I'm also wondering whether it would work as a jersey version without the darts. I'll post that when I've tried it! One thing I will say is that if you have a larger bust or you're using sheer fabrics, it's worth lengthening the lining unless you want people to be able to see your bra or the shadow of your lining across the middle of your boobs.
All in all, a great pattern to sew up. It's nice and quick to make once you've faffed with the fit and will work in bold viscose and lawn prints with shorts for summer as well as neutral colours and nicer fabrics like silks for workwear. I have a feeling it's quickly going to become one of my TNTs.