The garage still is not finished, and this time it was not for lack of trying. When we pulled the furniture away from the walls we found the whole floor-to-wall border damp and green, despite the insulation. It needs insulating from the outside too, and between that and our builder’s own family emergencies we are still waiting.

So no fabric again. What saved this session is that several of you had sent questions, so I worked through them on paper instead, which turned out to be genuinely useful.

If this happens again I will plan it this way deliberately: take a design and explain how it is made on the pattern. Drawing it works better than I expected.

What We Covered:

• Redrew the Freya dress pattern from memory to explain where its volume comes from: everything is gathered at the top while the hem narrows, and that combination is what produces the bulb shape.
• Gave a method for reducing that volume without unpicking the dress. Unravel the gathering at the side only, not the whole skirt, and decide how much to remove. Around 20 cm total is a sensible thing to try first.
• Redistribute the remaining gathers evenly rather than leaving a gap, and taper the reduction to zero rather than ending it abruptly, so you do not create a tight spot.
• Baste by hand with two strong threads and pull them like a curtain heading, so you can adjust the volume with the dress on and see it before committing. A machine gathers too tightly for this.
• Safety pin from the inside, try it on, and only then hand stitch. If you do decide to cut, leave about an inch of seam allowance on each side. What you are doing is removing a slice from the circle.
• Noted the same method works in reverse. In a thinner fabric such as silk jersey or a fine georgette the dress reads quite differently, less puffy but still lovely, and there you might want to add gathering rather than remove it.
• Answered the follow up about the front twist. Removing skirt volume does not affect the front at all: you still twist it and carry it round to the back exactly as before.
• Explained how to make the twist itself smaller if it sits too thick over the stomach. The width of the section being twisted is what sets its bulk, so slash that area narrower and you keep the twist while losing the volume.
• Added that if the bodice is also too full you can take that in at the side, which narrows it and leaves less to gather.
• Insisted on doing all of this on paper first. Transfer what I have drawn onto your own pattern, then unravel one side of the dress. A pile of sewn fabric is intimidating; the same change on paper is obvious.
• Looked at the trouser block question: the back piece measuring 1 cm longer than the front from body rise to knee. That difference is not a problem and needs no correction.
• Spotted the real issue in that pattern instead: the knee line is not parallel with the hip line, one side sits lower than the other. Also not serious, but worth knowing. What would matter is a discrepancy in the rise or the inner leg length.
• Recommended fabric weights while we were on the subject: a ponte or a thicker jersey holds this kind of shape well and flatters a curvier figure, where a very thin jersey needs more help to create volume.

Questions & Answers:

• Q: I want to take some volume out of the Freya skirt.
• A: Unravel the gathering at the side, baste it by hand with two strong threads, and adjust it on your body before cutting anything. Taper the reduction to zero rather than stopping it dead.
• Q: How do I connect the front, since I have removed the twist?
• A: Nothing changes at the front. You twist and connect it to the back exactly as before. If the twist itself is too thick, narrow the section being twisted rather than removing it.
• Q: On my semi fitted trouser block, the back is 1 cm longer than the front from body rise to knee. Which piece do I adjust?
• A: Neither. One centimetre there will not cause you a problem. Your knee line is slightly out of parallel with the hip line, which is what I would look at, and even that is minor.

I am glad the questions came in, because they made this a better session than me talking alone would have been.

Watch this back with your pattern on the table and do the steps on paper as I describe them. That is where it will click.

Wish me luck with the atelier. As soon as it is running we are back to fabric and dress forms.