Tag: fitting

A Tale of Two Masks

Posted on by Felix

(Why Felix loves the face mask Kitty hates)

By Kitty

UPDATE (Nov 2020): A lot of changes and new knowledge have come to light since this blog was written.  Some of this content is still accurate, but some of it may have become obsolete.  Please read the more recent mask-related blogs for up-to-date information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and mask-related issues.

In my previous blog, I talked about several types of fabric face masks and their pros and cons.  It was weirdly timely; only a few days afterwards, we were officially informed that masks will be mandatory in some situations to slow community spread, which means we had best get on with finding the best one for us (or at least one we can tolerate!).

For me, the classic pleated rectangle mask is the facial equivalent of an awful underwire bra — it squeezes, pinches, and gaps in all the wrong places.  It looked like this, which is not the kind of glove-like fit you want from a mask: 

Unacceptable Gapping

Personally, I thought the contoured mask style (made with the pattern I tweaked within an inch of its life) is the way to go.  Note the way it lovingly cups my face all the way around. 

Proper Contoured Fit

It’s comfy, at least as comfy as a mask can be.  It doesn’t move around on my face, meaning I don’t need to adjust it with my possibly contaminated hands.  It’s a great mask, for me.

But then there’s Felix, the other half of Felix & Kitty, my partner, CEO, event planner, logistics expert, tech guy, light of my life and golden were-lab by the full moon.  He has declared that:

  1. The contoured mask made him feel like he was inhaling its free-floating lining whenever he exerted himself, and,
  2. The stubble on his chinny-chin-chin dragged  the mask down his face every time he moved his jaws to talk.

Blergh.

On reflection, it makes total sense that Felix and Kitty wouldn’t necessarily share a mask style.  After all, our faces are about as opposite in structure as it’s possible for two human faces to be.  Mine is wide and round with super-broad and high cheekbones, pug nose, and very flat mid-face.  His is narrow and long with a seriously aquiline nose, forward mid-face, and swept-back cheekbones.  Then there’s that stubble issue, which I thankfully don’t have just yet.

Then I had a moment of inspiration, which went something along the lines of “If Felix’s face is the opposite shape from mine, maybe he’ll love the mask style I loathed.”

My reasoning: those pleats (which really bugged me!) would be able to open and close vertically when his beard stubble snagged on the fabric, therefore preventing the mask from riding up or down when he talks.  Since he wouldn’t give up talking, it was the best I could manage.

Also, because his cheekbones were not so up front and wide, the straight top edge might not dig into his face the way it did into mine.  Finally, the pleating, if done correctly, somewhat locks the lining against the outer fabric (think of folding two sheets of paper together to keep them together), keeping the lining from being sucked up against his nostrils when he inhales.  I don’t know why this is never a problem for me.  Perhaps it’s just because of the different angle or orientation of our nostrils.  Or for all I know, it’s because my sluggish metabolism barely needs any oxygen to run, whereas Felix burns calories like they’re rocket fuel and therefore needs a lot more air. 

Whatever the reasons, I got busy, and made him a version of my hated rectangular mask with the accordion pleats.  I only adjusted the pattern slightly, mainly because he, like every other human on Earth, needs a narrower mask than I do.  If I hadn’t narrowed it, the sides would probably have met at the back of his head.  Other than that, it’s pretty much the same shape.

Immediately, it was obvious that on Felix’s narrow, elongated face, NONE of that huge side gap showed up.  It conformed pretty darn well to his face around the sides and chin area, and importantly, the pleats performed exactly as I’d hoped; they opened and closed with his jaw movements, stubble and all, instead of being pulled downward. 

Better fit for me, but…

The only issue I could see was that the top edge, being cut on the straight grain of the fabric, lacked the ability to mould  around the (very sharp and tall) bridge of his nose, leaving an unacceptable gap.

This will *not* do!

I really felt that if he had one of his explosive sneezes, droplets would erupt into the world through that space. This might not be a problem for someone with a wider, lower nose bridge, but on him, it was.

Now, the other thing I’ve been doing (when I’m not sewing masks, I mean) is discovering a passion for gardening.  Or planting a smallish subsistence farmstead.  Anyhow, this gave me an idea. 

I trotted out to the shed and cut some of that soft bendy covered wire you’re supposed to use for tying tomato vines to your trellis, then sewed that into the top edge of the next mask. 

Voila!  A concealed, flexible nose-piece, which can be moulded around even the most impressive nose bridge.  It was a bit fiddly to sew and added a good deal of construction time, but to my mind, totally worth it.  Look how much better the top hugs his nose. 

<PHOTOS (#5s) of gold mask with shaped nose-piece — show one full face view with the least visible puffing of the sides, plus a couple of close-ups of the nose wire>

Much Better Fit

In Summary

If you have a narrower or longer face, are sensitive to the feeling that you’re inhaling fabric when you breathe in, and/or find that talking makes masks ride down over your chin, it might be worth your while to switch to a pleated style mask.  If you’re a man with a beard, the pleats might provide it with better coverage.  Remember, the best face mask for you is the one you need to touch least often. 

On the other hand, if you have a flatter plane to your face and noticeably wide or high cheekbones, you’ll likely find the contoured mask more comfortable.  Especially if you don’t own any stubble.

But hey, if you’re not sure, why not try out one of each?  In the interests of people who are more Felix-shaped than Kitty-shaped in the face department, we will be adding the Accordion mask to our mask website.  As with the original contoured style, we’ll match every mask purchase with a mask donated to someone in need.

A thought:  the authorities have FINALLY come around to the idea that we should really wear masks for the sake of slowing the community spread of COVID-19.   As of time of writing, they’re even telling us we MUST wear them in situations where we can’t maintain social distancing, such as in some airport scenarios (or, I imagine, in overcrowded shelters, though I haven’t heard anyone mention this specifically).  So if you find you love one mask style and hate the other, you too can sterilize the one you don’t like and donate it to someone in need.  Someone with a different face shape from you….

Important Note

If you’re not absolutely sure of the safe way to wear, remove, sanitize, and adjust the fit of a mask, please familiarize yourself with all of these before you try mask wearing (we have face mask FAQs, wearing and sanitizing instructions, a guide for choosing masks for different face shapes, and a tutorial for fit adjustments, if you need them).

That Perfect Shirt

Posted on by Felix

(…for a given value of perfect)

This is the story of Kitty yanking out all her fur while trying to design the perfect shirt for as many women’s bodies as possible, preferably without having to personally fit them all one at a time. 

If you read my last blog on what makes a shirt fit properly, you already know how challenging it is just to get reasonably good fit.  But I wanted this new design to have all of the following assets too:

  1. A simple enough line so you could wear it often, but also stylish enough that it doesn’t look like you bought it at Fast-Fashions-‘R’-Us.  Basically, you should be able to wear it under a business blazer AND a Victorian corset equally appropriately.
  • Some adjustability.  Much as I would love to have a separate pattern for each common figure variation (bust size, hip size, waist length, sleeve girth, etc), we’re not a mega-corporation with a sweatshop.  One Kitty can only sew so many things in a day, and we don’t have room to carry (or store) thousands of shirts.  Which means that there would need to be built-in features made for flexing around your diverse shapes.
  • Affordability, within reason.  Everybody needs a shirt that fits.  On the other hand, a truly custom-fitted, hand-made blouse, constructed with decent materials with all the fine details I’d like it to have, tends to cost about as much as a small car.  So, compromise is going to be a thing.

So this is the design so far:

We’re going with a standing collar because it gives a finished look without being generic.  I started with a front that closed all the way up the neck, but nixed that idea in favour of this neckline with a narrow V-shaped notch.  Seriously, no one can handle something buttoned under the chin unless you have a swan-like neck and chiselled jawline.  I actually really love the way this neckline turned out — oddly elegant and elongating.  Totally worth the dozens of attempts that it took.

The sleeves are three-quarter length, lightly gathered into a narrow cuff.  The cuff echoes the collar and pulls the look together, and the gathering adds a definite but not over-the-top softness.  Also, it accommodates more kinds of arms, softening the skinny and making room for the billowy.  I can’t be the only one with massive biceps compared to the rest of me, right?  And three-quarter is a universally flattering length, which also happens to look great even if your arms are an inch or three longer or shorter than average.

There is no way to adjust the bust fit on a fitted shirt that I know of.  I suppose I’ll just have to make these in multiple cup sizes.  Oh well.  But it’s worth it!  See how marvellous a shirt can look when it correctly cups your bosom and actually nips in at the waist?

The upper back actually has a built-in adjustment for a forward shoulder.  This is the one alteration you really need that you didn’t know you needed; almost EVERYONE needs it in this age of computers.  Your shoulders and neck curve forward more than they used to back when everyone was out chasing antelope or show-jumping on horseback.  This is why store-bought shirts sometimes fall back off the shoulder and, in extreme cases, crawl up and try to choke you (lots of people avoid high necklines just for this reason, and this is why you often have to pull your shirt down in the front).  See how the shoulder seam is shifted ever so slightly forward?

The blue ribbon in the previous photo is where a conventional shoulder seam sits.  It’s a very small change, but it ensures that the shirt will stay put on your shoulders.

There are adjustable lacings in the back.  Firstly, no one has the same waist length, and secondly, you may have no bum, an average bum, or a really fabulous bum with the full swayback deal.  A little manipulation of these lacings will help most of us skirt the issue, just enough to achieve decent fit.  I detest sewing loops, and I tried many ways to get around it, but I had to admit defeat — the lacing system really works well, and adds a nice detail besides.

It’s so much simpler to make the hem straight all the way around, but stark horizontal line right at the hip doesn’t do us any favours, especially in a crisp fitted item like this.  Ergo, we have a gently curved hem, which is a headache to sew correctly, but makes your legs look longer and enhances your curvature.  It’s subtle and you wouldn’t consciously notice it, but believe me, it makes a difference.

I’m satisfied (for now) that this us the best off-the-rack shirt I can make.  I realize that everything looks good on Amelia, my trusty and completely inhuman-looking dress form, but honestly, this looks halfway decent on me too (linebacker shoulders, Hanoverian bosom, no waist, hip-deficient, bum-less, truly epic biceps), which is rather a feat for any blouse.  There is a reason you’ve never, ever seen me in a button-down-style shirt before.

I may have ripped out all my hair while stitching the million or so sample shirts to get to this point, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.  The plan is to debut these (yes, with different cup sizes) in April at Calgary, so come help me test out the prototypes. Then as usual, I’ll probably end up making a host of changes based on your suggestions.

Next up: Steampunk goes to Hogwarts.

Kitty’s Guide to Finding Your Perfect Corset

Posted on by Felix

…being an excruciatingly detailed treatise on fit and construction

A properly made corset is a thing of beauty – your breasts lovingly upped and cupped, your waist looking tiny next to deliciously flaring hips, your spine held in perfect posture, your proportions magically transformed into the perfect hourglass.

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s supposed to be perfectly, utterly comfortable.

So why do so many people think corsets hurt?  And why do so many people look frankly unfortunate in their corsets?  You’ve seen it: bustlines spilling sideways over the neckline, the tummy pushed down to bulge under the bottom instead of neatly tucked inside, strange rolling bumps where there should only be smooth curves.

And the complaints.  “My corset digs in under the arms.”  “I can’t sit down.”  “I think my breasts are making a break for freedom.”  “The boning broke through and poked me in the chin.”  “My corset bent and pushed into my ribs and now I have bruises!”

You’re about to find out why these things happen — and how you can keep them from happening to you.  Learn the following lessons well, and you’ll be spectacularly sexy and comfy in your corset.

Flimsy Cheap Boning is the Evil Work of Satan

“Boning” is that rigid stuff inside your corsets, without which a corset is no different from any old top.  Boning is what does all the heavy lifting in a corset.  To keep it simple, the sturdier and higher-quality the boning, the better the corset.   Though it might seem counter-intuitive at first, heavier boning = more comfortable corset (provided that it’s the right shape for you, of course – more on that in a minute).

If the boning is too weak to support your soft bits, it will gradually bend and start forming kinks that are like hard fingers jabbing into your body.  It will hurt.  It can leave bruises.  It can do permanent damage to your body if you let it go far enough.

Always test the boning in a corset before you let anyone put it on your body.  If you can grab a four-inch length of it between your hands and bend it in half, run for your life!  Really good boning should be as wide as your finger, and you should not be able to fold it in half.

“Steel boning” doesn’t necessarily mean good boning – not if it fails the bend test.  Learn what the good stuff feels like and trust your common sense.  If it bends in your hands it can bend on your body.

One more thing: inexpensively made corsets often have decent stiffening at the front but flimsier boning at the sides and other panels.  Check ALL the bones.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with inexpensive plastic-boned corsets, if all you’re looking to do is prance around in the bedroom for 10 minutes before throwing them off.  Just don’t wear them out to the three-hour concert (ow ow ow!).

The “One Size Fits None” Phenomenon

Have you ever noticed that the fashion industry thinks that all women are 5’7’’ and a B cup, no matter what the size?

That’s annoying enough when you’re shopping for a shirt, but when you’re shopping for a corset, it can actually really hurt you.

Remember this critical lesson: shape is more important than size!

Let’s say we go forth into the street and grab ten women who wear the same “size” (to most corset makers, this means the waist size).  You could have women of every height from 4’9’’ to 6’2’’.  You could have B cups or HHH cups.  You could have long-waisted and short-waisted women, women with narrow hips or bountiful hips, swaybacks or ramrod-straight backs, wide rib cages or narrow.

Now imagine all these women being put into the same “size” corset.

This is why ordering a corset online is a bit like playing darts blindfolded.

This Could be You….

Let’s take an example.   You’re a woman of “average” height, maybe 5’5’’, and an “average” bra size (let’s say 40C), so you order an average corset.

But say you have a super-short waist for your height, so your rib cage ends a lot higher than the numbers would indicate.  An “average” corset would be too long in the torso and dig horribly into your hip bones.

You wear a 40C bra, but that’s really misleading, because you happen to have a very broad back, which means you need a larger band size, which brings down your cup size on paper (adjusted for your band size, your actual cup size is probably DD).  So an “average” corset would mean you would spill up, over, and sideways.  But wait, you can’t get a “Tall” corset, because then it would just stick into your armpits!

You notice that after half an hour or so into wearing your new corset, your lower back aches.  That’s because you have a spine that curves out into a swayback, and your corset doesn’t.  Take it off now, or you could throw out your back.

Now your corset is chafing you under the arms.  Blisters are becoming an option.  Why? You happen to have a very narrow upper rib cage, so the corset’s too wide for you there.

So what are you supposed to do about it?

There’s only one way to avoid this sort of thing.  First, get to know your corset makers, if you possibly can.  Ask them how many SHAPES PER STYLE they make.

Careful – this is not the same thing as “How many sizes” or “how many styles.”  You want to know that they have separate patterns to accommodate different heights, proportions, rib cage shapes, hip flares, spinal curves, bust height (important if you don’t want nipples making an unscheduled appearance), cup sizes, and any special issues or special features you might have.

Be suspicious of anyone who’s willing to sell you a corset without giving you a good grope (to get to know your bone structure, of course!).   True, a long-distance consultation is sometimes unavoidable.  But if that’s the only option, your corset maker should be asking you a gazillion questions and demanding photos of you from several angles, at the very least.

Corsets are not created alike

(or, if anyone tries to sell you an uncomfortable corset, smack ‘em one)

Some corsets are made in the tradition of the bad old days, when corsets could be torture devices for ladies who didn’t need to move or breathe much.

Other corsets feel so ridiculously comfortable that they’re sort of dangerous – you have no idea how tightly you’re laced, and might go too far without knowing it.

Kitty regularly has to deal with novices who believe a corset isn’t tight unless it hurts and restricts breathing, and will keep begging to go tighter: “Oh, please go tighter, I can still breathe.  Really, it doesn’t hurt.  Go tighter, tighter, tighter, ti…” (falls down in dead faint).

A well-made corset should be utterly, uncompromisingly, perfectly comfortable.  You feel supported and your posture is perfect.  Your bustline is lifted, but never so it hits your chin.  If you suffer from back pain, you might feel immediate relief.  Nothing digs in, standing or sitting.  Ten minutes after you put it on, you should forget it’s there.

You should lose about three to six inches off your waist to begin, but you shouldn’t feel any discomfort or difficulty breathing.  When you take it off, you should feel sad, and sincerely be able to say “I felt so much better with it on.”

The difference between a perfectly comfy corset and a painful one is often the cut or shape of the panels that make up the corset.  You want to find someone who shapes the panels so they never compress your diaphragm, scoop too deeply into the side of your torso, or force your spine into an unnatural (if Victorian) S-curve.

If anyone ever tells you “It’s supposed to hurt!  Beauty knows no pain!”, you go ahead and kick them in the shins.

A Few Other Considerations

Do you have a maid?  Are your arms long and freakishly flexible?  If not, you might want to look into getting a style where you don’t need someone else to tighten or loosen the back for you every time you put on or take off the corset.  Busks may be a problem, for example, unless you have a perpetually helpful and present roommate or boyfriend.

Are you going to be able to afford more than one good, proper corset?  Real corsets aren’t cheap, folks (sorry to break it to you, but that $79.99 special really isn’t one).  If you’ve decided to invest in one well-made corset rather than three dodgy ones that will explode the second time you wear them (about the same price), consider choosing a subtler and more neutral colour and texture.  Yes, it can be hard to pass by all those glowing prints and shiny trims, but you’ll get a lot more use out of a corset you can pair with everything you own.

How are you going to clean the beastie?  Make sure you find out how to deal if you get something nasty on your corset (marinara sauce, cat pee, chocolate body paint….).  You do not want boning that will rust if you wash it…or melt in the dry-cleaning fluid.

What are you going to wear with it?  While the bedroom and the fetish club are fine and noble venues for your corset, you should try it with a plain dress shirt and dark slacks.  Pretend it’s a vest and that you naturally have that perfect figure and pert bustline – who’s going to know it you don’t tell (this is easier to do with a lace-front corset, as the traditional busk does rather scream “I’m a corset!”).  Throw on a blazer and you could take it to the office.  Try it with a tank top, leather pants, and cowboy boots.  Or a low-necked T-shirt and jeans.

And that just about covers it.  If you have burning questions that remain unaddressed, please feel free to contact Kitty and she will do her best to provide you with answers.