Sewing Nuggets - Alterations And Fitting

Sewing Nuggets - Alterations And Fitting – Fitting The Shoulders

Penn Foster Career School – Online

Dressmaking And Design

25 September, 2009

Topic: Alterations And Fitting – Fitting The Shoulders

Fitting the Shoulders

The Shoulder Seam

The position and fit of the shoulder greatly affect both the comfort and the appearance of a garment. It’s important, therefore, that you check carefully whether or not the shoulder seam conforms to the lines of the figure. Most set-in-sleeve garments have the shoulder seam located at the normal shoulder line; that is, a line that extends from the highest point at the neck straight to a point in back of the highest point of the shoulder, as shown in Figure 1. When the shoulder seam is located properly, you won’t be able to see it easily while you are standing directly in front or directly in back of the figure. From the side, the shoulder seam appears to come at the center of the body, and the underarm seam is usually in line with it. An exception to the usual placing of this line is made in the case of a round-shouldered figure. Both the shoulder and underarm seam lines are-moved back slightly to make the round-shouldered figure appear more erect.

A neat line at the tip of the shoulder, neither too narrow nor to wide, is often the feature that gives a dress the desired professional touch. Also, a variation in figure from the average is very noticeable here because the armhole line is so important in the general silhouette. Corrections made at this point should therefore be very carefully thought out, so that the armhole seam will be in position exactly suited to the figure. Fashion constantly influences this line; sometimes the narrow shoulder is in vogue, at other times the normal, and at other times the wide. You should study current styles carefully for this feature, so that the shoulder line of the garments you create will be both attractive and modern. The normal line is shown in Figure 1.

Correcting The Slant Of The Shoulder Seam

If the shoulder seam slants to front or back either at the tip of the shoulder or at the neckline, or if the figure is round-shouldered, the seam must be opened and adjusted because, unless it takes its correct position, the finished effect of the garment will never be right. This alteration requires special care in order that the grain of the material, front and back, crosswise and length-wise, won’t be disturbed. For such an alteration, the person being fitted should stand directly in front of a mirror, and the fitter should be behind her so that she can watch both back and front of the garment.

Figure 2 A shows a shoulder seam that slants too much toward the back at the tip of the shoulder. It’s out of line with the underarm seam, too. To correct its position, follow these steps.

Step 1:

Rip the sleeve from the armhole across the top.

Step 2:

Rip open half of the shoulder seam, starting at the armhole end.

Step 3:

Turn in the seam allowance of the front the needed amount and pin the front over the back on a new line that will give the desirable straight effect to the shoulder seam, as shown in Figure 2B. This narrows the seam allowance of the back, while the front may remain the same or may be deepened somewhat as it approaches the shoulder tip.

Step 4:

Check the grain of the fabric at the level of the bustline front and back. Make sure that the grain of the fabric, both front and back, isn’t drawn out of line.

Step 5:

Examine the effect carefully with one-half of the shoulder seam adjusted; then, if it seems necessary, open the other half of the shoulder seam to the neckline and repin this for a new line.

If the shoulder seam looks correct at the tip of the shoulder but slants to the back as it approaches the neck edge, then start alteration on the half of shoulder seam nearest the neckline. Rip the shoulder seam from the center to the neck edge and follow the same steps; that is, lessen the back seam allowance and deepen that of the front, as necessary, where the adjustment is needed.

Another problem you may encounter is that the shoulder seam slants to the front at the tip of the shoulder. If this happens, follow these steps to correct it.

Step 1:

Rip out the sleeve across the top.

Step 2:

Open the shoulder seam as far as necessary.

Step 3:

Lap the back seam line over the front shoulder the required amount to straighten the seam and pin it in place. In this change, the back shoulder seam remains the same, while the front becomes more shallow as the depth of the alteration increases.

The shoulder seam alterations you’ve just learned can be made on the finished garment under two conditions:

· If the shoulder seam isn’t too much out of line.

· If the seam allowances on back and front are adequate

When the change you have to make in the shoulder seam is very great and when you’re working with muslin, follow these steps to prepare to cut new front and back pieces.

Step 1:

Leave the shoulder seam as tacked, and with a pencil or pins, mark the new line, as shown in Figure 2C, placing it properly in direction and location.

Step 2:

Remove the garment.

Step 3:

Form a new shoulder line by cutting through the marked line.

Step 4:

Now you can cut out new pieces using this altered cloth as your pattern. When cutting the new front and back, remember to add the right amount of seam allowance along both these cut edges.

Figure 3A illustrates the change made when the shoulder seam slants to the back, as in Figure 2A. Figure 3B shows the change made when it slants to the front; and Figure 3B shows that when required an entirely new shoulder line is formed, as in Figure 2C. The additional material in Figure 3C represents the new seam allowances.

Wrinkles From The Neckline To The Underarm

When the shoulders of the figure are more sloping than those of the garment, they neither hold the garment up nor keep the grain of the material straight across the figure as it’s intended to be. Instead, there seems to be an excess of material at the shoulder tip, and the material sags down, producing diagonal wrinkles from the neck end of the shoulder seam to the armhole, as shown in Figure 4A. There are two possible alterations for this defect, both based on removing the wrinkles by straightening the crosswise grain of the material.

For the first method, rip out the sleeve. Then pin in the new shoulder line, as shown in Figure 4B. Leave the original line at the neck end and have the shoulder end as deep as needed to straighten the grain of the fabric and to remove the wrinkles. The second method is to rip the shoulder seam from its center to the neckline, so that the seam at the neckline may be made more shallow, while at the outside edge it may be deepened, if necessary. Such a plan is good when the shoulders are very sloping, because the slant of the seam may be greatly increased in this way.

If no wrinkles appear in the back, the back seam line is left undisturbed and the alterations are made on the front seam line only. The front seam line can be deepened at the shoulder tip, or let out at the neck edge, or altered in both places.

Any change in the depth of the shoulder seam affects the armhole size. If, for instance, the shoulder seam has been taken in ¼ in., let out the underarm seam, or deepen the armhole at the underarm curve the same amount when retacking the sleeve in place, graduating the alteration to nothing toward the upwards curve. An altered front bodice pattern section is shown in Figure 4C, which illustrates the deepening of the shoulder seam at the armhole only, and in Figure 4D, which shows the greater change affecting the entire shoulder line. In each case, the deepening of the underarm curve is also shown.

Wrinkles From The Shoulder To the Center Front or Back

When there’s strain at the shoulder tip, caused by the wearer’s shoulder being more square than those of the dress, wrinkles occur from the tip of the shoulder to the center front or back, as shown in Figure 5A. If the shoulders are only slightly more square than those of the garment, the method illustrated in Figure 5B may be followed. Follow these steps.

Step 1:

Rip the sleeve from the bodice.

Step 2:

Rip the shoulder seam from the armhole edge halfway to the neckline.

Step 3:

Make this portion of the seam shallower and pin as shown in Figure 5B.

Step 4:

Check the fit for remaining wrinkles. If the wrinkles are gone, you’re finished with the shoulder and may go on to alter the armhole to match this alteration (Figure 5C). But if there are still wrinkles, go on to step 5.

Step 5:

If the wrinkles aren’t altogether removed, also rip open and deepen the shoulder seam as it approaches the neck end. Start at about the center of the shoulder and deepen the seam very gradually.

Step 6:

If this makes the neckline too tight and high, slash it in several places and then trim out later.

When the shoulder seam is let out at the armhole end, the size of the armhole is increased because the underarm curve is deepened by dropping down. You must therefore make alterations in the sleeve so that it fits properly into the armhole.

This may be done in one of three ways. Choose which method to use by the figure’s bust size.

1. If the bust size warrants it, deepen the underarm seam at the armhole an amount corresponding to the amount the shoulder seam was let out, graduating the alteration own-ward to the regulation seam depth. See Figure 5C. This alteration can even be made in dress fabric.

2. If the bust size doesn’t require changing, the seam of the sleeve may be let out slightly with good results, Like the first alternative, this alteration can even be made in dress fabric.

3. If neither of these changes seems practical, build up the underarm curve of the bodice the amount needed. This can only be done with you’re working in muslin. See Figure 5D.

Figure 5C shows the pattern with the shoulder seam made shallower at the armhole (through Step 4) and the underarm seam deepened (the first alternative). Figure 5D shows the shoulder seam made shallow toward the armhole and deepened toward the neckline, the underarm curve built up the required amount, and the neckline slashed for ease (through step 6 and the third alternative for armhole alteration).

Wrinkles From The Shoulder Blades to the Underarm

This fullness of the figure across the back that often accompanies round shoulders causes wrinkles to form from the shoulder blades to the underarm line and also makes the garment stand away from the figure at the waistline, as shown in Figure 6A.

To make a successful alteration to eliminate wrinkles in the back bodice caused by round shoulders, follow these steps.

Step 1:

Rip out the sleeves.

Step 2:

Open the shoulder seam carefully.

Step 3:

Repin as shown in Figure 6B, making the front seam allowance as shallow as needed and leaving the back seam the same in order to bring the shoulder seam farther back on the figure. Figure 6D shows the shallow front shoulder seam in flat pattern.

Step 4:

Make sure, after the change, that the grain of the material runs straight back and front.

Step 5:

This change increases the neck size, which is an advantage, because by pinning in vertical tucks or darts at the back neckline, as indicated in Figure 6C, more ease is given across the back. If tucks at this place are part of the design, deepen them, or add an extra tuck on each side of the original ones.

Step 6:

Rip the underarm seam and allow the back to extend above the front as indicated in Figure 6B.

Step 7:

Pin in place, deepening the seam slightly (if possible) at the armhole to overcome, at least partially, the enlargement resulting from the change in depth of the shoulder seam.

Step 8:

Trim out the back armhole.

Step 9:

If permissible, trim the extra length from the front waistline. Otherwise, add length to the back at the waistline, as shown in Figure 6E. This alteration is possible only in calico.

In extreme cases, even after the back has been brought up as suggested, some wrinkles will remain. When this happens, follow these steps to correct it.

Step 1:

Open the shoulder seam again.

Step 2:

Shift the back toward the center back as much as is needed to give a smooth, unwrinkled effect.

Step 3:

Repin with the front shoulder line extending beyond the back at the shoulder tip, and the back extending beyond the front at the neck end, as in Figure 6C. Be sure to keep the location of the shoulder seam the same – somewhat back of its normal position.

Step 4:

Take up the excess fullness found across the back neckline in vertical darts. As many as five small dart-like tucks aren’t too many at this place.

Step 5:

Trim away the back shoulder seam at the neck edge.

Step 6:

If the shoulder line is long enough, trim away the front to match the back. If it’s not long enough, fill in the space at the armhole end of the back shoulder seam. This correction is suitable only in calico.

Naturally, the change in the size of the armhole will also necessitate one in the sleeve. However, if the dress alterations have been so slight as to have been make in the garment itself, deepening the underarm seam, as suggested, and letting out the sleeve seam as much as is practical, will usually be sufficient.

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Pictures – Figures 1 – 4

Pictures – Figures 5 – 6

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The above topic of “Alterations And Fitting – Fitting The Shoulders” is an excerpt from “Penn Foster Career School” – “Dressmaking And Design”

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