Small Bust Adjustment
Excess fabric at the bust, or the pattern gaps away from your chest? If your full bust is less than 2 inches larger than your high bust (A cup or smaller), you need a Small Bust Adjustment. Enter your measurements and we'll calculate the overlap.
How the SBA works
Commercial patterns are drafted for a B cup (roughly 2 inches difference between high bust and full bust). If your difference is less than 2 inches — an AA or A cup — there is more fabric at the front bust than your body needs. The result: excess fabric that pools at the bust, a hemline that dips in front, or a dart that sits too high.
A Small Bust Adjustment removes this extra fabric using a slash-and-overlap technique — the inverse of an FBA. The same two cut lines are used, but instead of spreading the pattern open, you overlap the edges inward. The existing dart gets smaller to match. Pattern size is still determined by your high bust measurement.
How to take these measurements
High Bust
Wrap the tape directly under your armpits, above the bust. Parallel to the floor, snug but not tight. This sets your pattern size.
Full Bust
Wrap at the fullest part of your bust, parallel to the floor. For a small bust, the difference between these two measurements will be small — often less than 1 inch.