Do you feel like you need to do a bust adjustment on our Linnéa pattern? (Or other dartless knit bodice). Maybe you lack the time and patience to do a real Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) or Small Bust Adjustment (SBA), so here we'll show you a way to cheat and do a quick version of a bust adjustment.
(And follow this link if you want an introduction to bust adjustments).
First, in steps 1-2 we'll do some ground work :)
1. Which size to work on?
First, let's determine which size to do our adjustments on. Take your high bust measurement and add 5 cm (2"). Choose the size that has that body measurement for full bust (not finished garment measurement). In our example we're using size 38.
Are you unsure about how to take upper bust and full bust measurements? Read our guide here.
Trace your chosen size onto a tracing paper or other paper.
2. Find your bust apex
There are several ways you can do this. Some advocate holding up the pattern piece on your body and marking your bust apex directly on the paper. This might work for woven bodices, but here we've got a knit bodice and we need to account for stretch.
Therefore I recommend to put on a fitted jersey top and mark your bust apex with masking tape.
Then take the top off and transfer the marking to the pattern piece.
3. Adjust the pattern
Here's our pattern piece with the bust apex marked on it. Add a second piece of paper underneath it (the pink paper in our example) and tape it stuck. Now let's just redraw the side seams, starting at the top of the side seam and smoothly back to the original side seam at the waist.
You will just add as much as you feel is needed. Here we added 1 cm at the bust, which will result in a 4 cm larger bust width in the finished garment.
Since we're working with stretchy fabrics on this pattern (Linnéa) it's difficult to calculate how much to add, you need to take the stretch into account (and add less than you would on a woven garment) so be prepared to make a toile (test garment).
Good luck!
