Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Grading up Bra sizes Merckwaerdigh BHS10



 Merck BHS210 PATTERN DRAWING


The Merckwaerdigh BHS10 don't let the illustrations discourage you, it's what's inside that counts.  Now I know that there are other patterns out there that would have had the size I needed but this is what to do when the one in front of you is not your size.  

This pattern comes in sizing as follows.

MERCK PATTERN SIZE CHART

 OR

30A to 42A
28B to 40B
28C to 38C
28D to 36D

I liked the variety that this pattern offers, because sometimes, you want a racer back, or a non underwire, or underwire, 3 piece cup or 2.  I started with the first view, 2 piece cup, no underwire.  This was a test to make sure that the grading worked.  The pattern was bumped up 2 sizes. 

mERCK LINE DRAWINGS


When the pattern is nested sizing, it's easier to grade up,  since the nesting gives you the information on the grade. It's easy to see where the next size would be.

Place a piece of tracing paper over the pattern.  Draw a line through the corners of the pattern piece.  
dIRECTION LINES PIECE 3a

Measure the distance between the last two sizes
dIRECTION LINES PIECE 3a STEP 2

Use that distance and draw parallel lines along the straight edges
dIRECTION LINES PIECE 3a STEP 3

Extend the curve at the bottom to meet the new grade.

dIRECTION LINES PIECE 3a STEP 4

Remember to mark notches.
dIRECTION LINES PIECE 3a STEP 5

The green outline would be your new pattern piece.
There are some curved areas and these are a bit trickier but if you follow the previous curves to the best of your ability you will come very close to your new size.

After you've done this on all of your pieces, lay the pattern pieces out and check to make sure that the pieces will fit together.

This is what view A looks like, I know it's a little prison matron chic because of the fabric selection but it is a muslin after all.

IMG_8500


One last thing about grading, it's much easier to grade one or two sizes, vs, 4 or 5 sizes, so try and get as close to your size as possible to minimize the work done at the muslin stage.



7 comments:

chesneykat said...

Useful info. Thanks. If you think that bra looks matronly, you should see one on mine!

Corinne said...

Never made a bra, let alone resize the pattern. You are a pro!

Anonymous said...

I just purchase this one tonight and will need to grade it up larger. I hope I don't forget to add the seam allowances, since the European patterns don't have them. Love the look of these and wish she made it in larger sizes.

ELMO said...

Hello Ana,
If you didn't see the post that followed, the grading didn't work for me. This style bra is very shallow in the under cup.

Anonymous said...

I have made one of her larger sized underwire styles. Hate how it feels, although it technically fits. I'm going to compare that with the underwire on this pattern and see where the differences are. I'm also just going to make one of the wireless styles in as larger of size on the pattern and then see where I need to make the changes. I've found with grading patterns, just enlarging does not make the change where needed. You could try again with just splitting the cups horizontally and lifting a half inch and joining those lines. Just like if you were increasing a blouse? I'll try to remember to come back and let you know how it works. I'm made lots of bras, but haven't gotten an underwire which works for me yet.

ELMO said...

Thanks ananchorage, I'd love to see it. I might try this bra pattern again but laying it over the self drafted cup to see where I need to add depth.

Unknown said...

Fantastic! I have this pattern but haven't made this bra yet. From what I could tell, it followed Beverly Johnson's method in her first Bra Manual. I'm assuming you'd do the same to go down a size?