Making of the FCBD choli

Cholis are great classwear, and absolutely *vital* for performance if you do ATS. They are relatively easy to find, but mostly what is sold is on the smaller sizes. Some vendors, like Flying Skirts, do bigger sizes, but while these are ok, the arms can be a bit too small around the top. Or maybe, what you’re after is not what is on offer.

I’ve reviewed the Folkwear-FCBD pattern in the past. Make no mistake, my issues with the pattern are still there, although I have found that the pattern works half-decently if using stretch materials, with some caveats. I’ve used the pattern already in the past to do all the cholis I’ve posted in this blog so far, and a couple more. This time, I was using 2-way stretch and 4-way stretch velvet in black and purple to make two cholis.

First things first: the fabric choices. I am testing some fabrics, and went for a cheaper 2-way stretch (at £3.99 a metre) and a more expensive 4 way stretch (at £5.99 a metre). One metre of the 1.5m fabric was enough to make one choli with long sleeves. I found that while the cheaper velvet does give better support, it does feel rather stuffy, very thick and it doesn’t breath well. I would wear it if I’m going to be dancing outside in cold conditions, but it does feel a *touch* restrictive. The more expensive velvet has more stretch, feels a bit less supportive, but moves with you better, and is shinnier and softer to the touch. I also used 2.5cm (1″) black cotton twill tape, enough to go the full length of the underbust band, and for the top back laces.

I worked with the pattern extracted from the original Folkwear. I used Swedish paper to trace the pieces, making sure I also copied all the marks. This allows me to keep the pattern intact, and as the Swedish paper wears out, I can replace it easily.

I started by cutting the pieces. Since stretch velvet is very tricky, and it doesn’t really mark well with chalk, I folded the fabric in half, making sure that the pile of the fabric laid properly (stroking downwards) and that the maximum (or only) stretch happened sidewways. I pinned the pieces onto the fabric, making sure I was pinning both layers of fabric. This saved me the drawing time, and also ensures both sides of the velvet stay put without sliding.

If you look at the pieces, you will notice two things: one are the arrows; these help you figure out how to lay the pieces over the fabric to avoid cutting them on the bias; the other is that one of the pieces seemed modified from the original. I’ve wanted to do cholis that allow me to wear them on their own, with an underwear bra underneath; I know they are supposed to be supportive by themselves but that has never been the case for me, and with my bust, I need a bra. The back piece, if you follow the traditional style, opens in a sort of triangle, so I thought of widening the bottom of the back piece to cover bra straps. That’s what you are seeing there. I made the base of the piece twice the size of the original, to the centre, and tapered it to the top.

For the sleeves, I measured the top of my own arm, the length I wanted the sleeves to be (halfway up my forearm), and note these down. I measured the diagonal between dots and marks on the underarm gusset, deducted that from the arm circumference, and used that to trace a rectangle, using the length plus a couple of cm for seam allowances. Very important: don’t do what I did with the black one, and make sure that the sleeves are both cut on the pile, and with the stretch sideways, as this will give you more freedom of movement. For the underbust band, take your twill tape, wrap it around your ribcage and tie it up with a bow; cut the length necessary for this, fold in half, and mark 2 1/2 to 3 times the width of the tape, and the length of this half over the fabric. When cutting, make sure you transfer all the marks and alignments to both sides, you can see how I did this on the image above.

To assemble, start by joining the two triangles for the front top. Then add the bottom one, use the marks to align it further. I’ve found that I actually need to cut the inner one by about 3cm to get a better fit, but this changes with the fabric I use, so cut as expected. Then join the front with the back pieces; if you’ve modified the back as I did, make sure that the longer part of the trapezoid that is your new piece is at the bottom, and that the slanted part is towards the inside; use the marks on the front piece to remind you which side is which.

Once you’ve done the front, assemble the sleeves. Start by adding the gusset, it’s rather tricky and not quite clear how to do it, so check the photos below. Basically, you are adding two consecutive sides of the square piece to each of the edges, at the TOP (remember to check the pile if you’re using velvet!). Pin the rest of the sleeve; you will have to put it on after that and adapt the shape to your arm so it follows your shape as closely as you want it to. I like mine quite close, as I think it gives a very stylised look. Mark this, open up the sleeve, and finish up the bottom: it will be far easier to do before sewing the sleeve along!. To finish mine, I do a rolled hem with the overlocker, then I fold this rolled hem up up and do a straight stitch with the standard machine. Once you’ve done this, sew the gusset and seam in place.

To attach the sleeves to each of the front parts, fold the sleeve in half, and mark the centre top. Attach the bottom side of the torso section with a pin, and mark the centre point (this might or might not coincide with the actual seam). Join both centre points, and pin all along each side. Depending on the size of your arms, you should have the sleeves attached and then a section where front and back pieces join. Sew it all; then finish off the internal edge in a manner similar to the sleeves: do a rolled hem with the overlocker, then fold it and sew, or do a full rolled hem wrapping the raw edge inside; your choice will depend on your fabric and machine. You will end with two mirrored pieces.

For the underbust band: sew the two pieces together along one of the shorter sides; wrap the fabric around the twill tape and fold the raw edge inwards along the top so you have a nice even edge. Pin. The twill tape will add stabilisation to the choli, and will also prevent the fabric from stretching, which would quickly wear out the garment. You will use the centre seam to mark the centre of your choli. Also important, if you are using stretch fabric, make sure you stretch the fabric while wrapping! It will stretch further when sewing, and if you don’t take this into consideration, you might end with the fabric bunching in a nasty manner.

Now add first one, and then the other half pieces to this band, making sure that the raw bottom goes *inside* the opening of this band, like a sort of sandwich. For my body shape, I need to get the inner corner of each front piece about 3cm further than the centre. This makes the pieces overlap in the centre and gives more coverage. Now, starting at the centre point and going outwards, sew along the top of the band, making sure that you’re sewing through both of the fabric layers of the band, the twill tape and the choli body. This will ensure that if the band fabric starts stretching, it will do so outwards, and you will have a good chance to catch it. Also, if you’ve modified the back piece to be wider, you might need to fold the bottom edge on the inner area to compensate for the angle the piece sits at. Again, whether you have to do this, or how much to adjust, will depend a lot on your body shape.

Knot, finish and trim off all the bits of thread hanging out. Pin two pieces of twill tape on the back; I prefer mine around 8cm from the top, but the location might change depending on your body shape. Have a friend tie both laces and verify that everything fits as necessary; you might have to adjust the location of the ties. Once you are happy with the ties, sew them in place and finish off the ends. You might want to gather the inside piece right above the breast to create more of a sweetheart line, or, depending on your bust shape, you might need to soften up the cup shape created by the three pieces. Again, these are modifications that you will only figure out by yourself once you’ve put it together, and will also depend on your choice of material.

Bonus: If you followed the indications above to make the choli that covered your bra straps, you will have a suitable garment, but the bra band will still be visible. There’s a very simple way of solving this. Use leftover fabric from your project, and cut a band a bit longer than the back opening, and about double the width of your bra band plus a bit more. Finish off the short edges, then sew the fabric into a tube. Unhook your bra, slide this tube over your bra band, re-hook, and move the band into place to cover the whole area. Now put your choli on. The underbust band should cover pretty much everything, and the actual bra band will be hidden further by this tube.