Tissue Fitting

It's not always necessary to make a muslin, or a mock-up, of your garment to be. Sometimes a process called tissue fitting will suffice. The trick, naturally, is to know when. I rely on tissue fitting when most of the following conditions apply:

• The garment is for me or mine
• I'm reasonably sure of the fitting changes that will need to be made
• The person, if not me, is relatively easy to fit
• The garment is fairly loosely fitted
• The fabric is not terribly precious (i.e., I can afford to replace it)
• I'm feeling lucky

I will also often use a tissue fitting before making a muslin to get an instant, visual idea of what pattern alterations will need to be made.

To assemble a pattern for tissue fitting, pin the pieces together just as you would sew the pieces together were they fabric. keep in mind the 5/8" seam allowances (on American patterns) and be sure you are pinning pieces together along the unmarked, imaginary, seam lines. In other words, pins will be 5/8" in from the cut edges of the pieces. Just as your stitched seams will be 5/8" in from the cut edges of your fabric later.

There are some exceptions to assembling the entire piece in tissue. For example, I have not pinned the sleeve into this coat. The pins around the set in sleeve will be too awkward. When my daughter tries on the tissue, I will slide the sleeve up her arm and secure it with just a couple pins at the shoulder and near the notches.

Note that you will only have half a tissue garment since you are only given one side of the entire garment in tissue.

This is crucial:

When you try on the half garment, make sure that the center front and center back line up with your center front and center back. Do not mistake the cut edge of the tissue pattern piece with the center front and center back. Unless the piece is cut on the fold, the center front and back will be at least 5/8" inside the cut edge of the piece. Note the marked centers....they are what must line up with your sternum/navel and spine. If the tissue garment's CF and CB do not reach from your CF around to your CB then the pattern must be widened. Be extra careful that the half garment is wide enough from the bust, all the way down past the hips. Often, it may be plenty wide enough around the top, but not nearly wide enough around the hips, or visa versa.

In the photo above, the center front line is the long vertical line. It's a good 1 1/2" in from the cut edge of the pattern piece. It is this marked CF line, not the edge, that must line up with the center of the body (the sternum and navel.)
In the photo below, there is 5/8" between the actual center back and the cut edge of the pattern, so I've extended the piece 5/8" past the form's center:
For best results, have someone actually pin the center backs and fronts to your clothing. Once you are in the tissue half garment, then, and have by necessity evaluated the width at bust, waist and hips, proceed to evaluate the following:

• Are the shoulders wide enough or too wide?
• Is the armhole high enough? (When in doubt, raise the base of the armhole and sleeve, you can remove it later, but to raise it you would have to add a gusset.)
  
• Is the length appropriate?
• Is the waist in the right place?
• Are darts in the right places?
  
• Are the details in the right places? For example, is the pocket in an attractive, accessible place for me?

Again, remember, whenever evaluating an edge, that 5/8" will not be there in the final garment. (Beginners find this a difficult concept, which is why I stress it.) So if the edge of the tissue's shoulder just makes it to your shoulder joint, then the shoulders need to be widened. The cut edge of the tissue should extend at least 5/8" past your shoulder crest. (By shoulder crest, I mean the the end of the clavicle bone...the uppermost tip of the shoulder....not the lateral most part of the deltoid.)

When you have evaluated the main body of the garment, slip the sleeve on over your arm and secure it up at the shoulder, overlapping the seam line of the cap with the seam line of the armhole. Now look at the sleeve and evaluate:

• Sleeve length
• Sleeve width

When I evaluate a tissue fitting, if I find that I am going to need to make any involved pattern alterations, then I will probably go on to make a muslin. For example, if I find, during tissue fitting, that the shoulder, bust, or armscye areas need attention, I will make pattern corrections, then make a muslin. ***In other words, I will not rely on a tissue fitting for anything more complicated than the most basic width (add or take away in the side seams) or length (move waist or hems up or down). Yet, it can be a valuable tool either alone, or preceding a muslin.