This is not a "just me" message but a call for correction for many of us. My side seams for the bodice to below the hip are incorrect and NOT from my measurements. The waist indention is dropped to the ab measurement. It is happening both in back and in front. I've tried to correct the problem in various ways as have many other people. It just does not correct. From what I have learned back and front drop approximately the width of the bust dart, side. We need a correction please since it seems to be in the program rather than being attached to any other part of the program.

I have also learned that I still have extra waist ease left after using the correction patch for which I am quite grateful. I readded the seam allowances and the extra fabric at the waist vanished.

Fold out your side dart, clip
now measure from neck shoulder intersection to waist line
is the "full measurement" the same AS ON THE CHART Or LONGER. if longer how much longer.

Please send me your results.
Kaaren

quote:

This is not a "just me" message but a call for correction for many of us. My side seams for the bodice to below the hip are incorrect and NOT from my measurements. The waist indention is dropped to the ab measurement. It is happening both in back and in front. I've tried to correct the problem in various ways as have many other people. It just does not correct. From what I have learned back and front drop approximately the width of the bust dart, side. We need a correction please since it seems to be in the program rather than being attached to any other part of the program.

There are many ways to get help with your Dress Shop problems or questions. Here is a brief list of which ones you can use for which purpose:

1. There is the old Dress Shop discussion list that Annette maintains. No current Livingsoft staff or personnel read that board, so one should not expect posts there to lead to changes in the program.

2. The current Livingsoft forums, provided for users to chat with other users. This board is useful for getting advice about using the program, but it is not Livingsoft customer support nor is it likely to ever produce a design change or bug fix. It is for users to advise users.

3. Livingsoft customer support. Write email to support@LivingsoftNW.com and PeggySue will work with you to answer questions and provide advice. She can offer little help with measurment issues long distance and she can do little about bug reports that do not show up using standard measurement sets. But, she can provide instruction and answer questions about setup, installation, uninstalling, compatibility issues, and anything that the user manual does not make clear enough about procedures.

4. Dress Shop problem reports. These can be useful to allow Livingsoft to see the pattern you are looking at with the measurement set you are using. Program bugs can be fixed if you send in a report that demonstrates the bug. Unfortunately for Colleen, though, the issue that she describes above is most likely not a bug. The program is drafting to design specifications and Colleen disagrees with or does not understand the design rules being used. The waist indent in the side seam is lowered by the width of the side bust dart. So, when the dart is sewn closed, the waist indent location is pulled upwards to the actual waist level. Ab Depth has nothing to do with this displacement. It is side bust dart width. The indent in the back is aligned at the same distance below the armhole as the front indent. Max indent in front should match the back since it is the same seam, after all. It often does not match up with the back waist line drawn on the pattern. That line is not placed accurately as it does not account for the added depth of the back armhole - the extra fabric in the back provided for the 3-D body shaping that a flat pattern cannot easily make apparent. The positioning of the waist indent in the side seam is accurately drafting to the design spec that Annette provided years ago, so this is not a bug and a problem report is unlikely to lead to any change. Sending a problem report will not reveal why the garment is tight at the ab nor what should be done about it.

5. Kaaren's online user club. Here, detailed discussion of fit and measurement issues can occur using white boards and shared pictures and the advice of measuring and fit experts (of which I am not one).

6. Educators and user groups. In many cases, the best advice you can get because it involves someone in your presense that can look at your body and your fit issue and see how you are measuring and advise you what to do differently.

That kind of help cannot be provided by phone, email, or problem report. And, posting here or lobbying users to complain as a group will not help either.