My First SBA! Where's the Champagne, Mom?!

Those reading who are not familiar with this term, it stands for a Small Bust Adjustment on a pattern. This is not as commonly seen in the sewing world as an FBA, which of course is the opposite, for those on the bustier side. Most of the big pattern companies draft patterns for a standard B-cup size, besides Colette Patterns who use a C-cup as standard. This is a fine and dandy if you are an average type of lady, with all your full B cup-ness (or even C!), but I am no average lady. I couldn't even fill out an A-cup completely — wah wah wah :( But instead of wallowing in my small-bust-self-pity, I made a SBA. Yay!

When I made my first muslin of my shirtwaist dress, I decided that it needed to be tweaked in the bust area as it was a little too big. So, I pulled out my trusty new fitting book, Fit for Real People, and attempted my first SBA.  I'm not positive if I did it right, since I was using a vintage pattern with no markings and no side darts, but when I tried on the second muslin, it definitely seemed to fit better. The tricky part was where to replace the three(!) darts at the bottom of the bodice, which after the adjustment didn't match up correctly. I devised my own theory on how to reposition them. I took the amount that I adjusted in the sba and broke that down between the three darts (half the amount on each side), repositioning them inside the original marks. I assumed that if I was making the top smaller, the darts would therefore shrink as well. Does that make sense? Is that right? If not, someone better tell me before tonight when I cut my fabric ;) Although I am not making another muslin — regardless of whether or not I did it right, I am moving forward.

Want to hear about my mother's champagne celebrations? My mother popped open a bottle of bubbly when any daughter of hers (there are three of us) entered "puberty". I don't know who started the tradition, whether it was her or her mother, but she would open it front of the whole family. Not just a little mother/daughter bonding of a glass, nope: the whole family. Of course as a thirteen year old who is dealing with cramps for the first time and is super paranoid (already) about anyone knowing this information, this is mortifying. Especially when my older brother's sixteen year old friends are over. Beyond mortifying. It is funny to think of it now, and I admire why she did it, but is this odd behavior belong only to my mother or did other moms do this as well? Nevertheless, I think this is a much better reason for champagne, especially without all the teenage awkwardness.

Anyway, my fabric is prepped and I am ready to go. Wish me luck!