Good morning, happy hump day!
Last night I made a bunch of adjustments to Anna muslin number three (muslin number 2 was a complete fail, I stuffed up the shoulder adjustment - inadvertently added 3cm to CB when I was adjusting the shoulder, lets not talk about it).
Reading through all the tweets and comments on my last two posts (part 1, part two), everyone pointed out that I had erect shoulders/posture, a short back, forward shoulders.
CheekyChaCha kindly emailed me info on forward shoulder fitting problems - THANK YOU, THANK YOU THANK YOU, I need to get a copy of that fitting book that you own!!
I've ticked the problems I am definitely experiencing, the rest of them I am unsure...
- shoulders seams lie behind the shoulder tip ✓
- loose wrinkles form along front armhole
- tighter stress wrinkles form between the back armhole and shoulder blade
- sleeve cap is tight around front of shoulder ✓
- sleeve cap is loose, puffy, over the back of shoulder
- shoulder seam needs to be moved forward ✓
- bodice front needs less fabric width at armhole
- bodice back needs more width at armhole
- front sleeve cap needs to be more rounded
- back sleeve cap needs to be flatter
It was evident from the photos I posted online that my shoulder seams were sitting about 3cms back from centre of my shoulder. Yet to determine if the forward shoulders is causing the waist seam to dip backwards.
My first adjustment was redistributing 3cm from the front shoulder to the back shoulder so the shoulder seam will sit on the centre of my shoulder.
- I drew a line at the seam allowance (SA) of FRONT shoulder, slashed it and removed 3cms.
- I drew a line at the seam allowance (SA) of BACK shoulder, slashed it and added 3cms.
 |
| Removed 3cms from front bodice shoulder. |
 |
| Before and after. |
 |
| Redistributed the 3cms taken from front bodice to back bodice shoulder. |
It worked! The should seam now sits centered on my shoulder (blade??). Looks and feels way better than before!
Forward shoulder problem fixed *pops champagne* shoulder seam sitting comfortably, woo hoo!!
Now for my erect back/posture/short back issue.
I'm not sure if erect shoulders, erect posture, short back are three difference issues; or if they are the same issue with different descriptions.
CheekyChaCha also sent info on erect back fitting problems, again I've ticked the problems I am experiencing, the rest of them I am unsure...
- excess fabric sags into loose horizontal wrinkles across upper back
- flatter contour of the back needs less dart shaping
- bodice back needs less length ✓
- bodice back needs narrower darts
My next adjustment was to take a wedge out of the centre back (CB) following this tutorial for erect back adjustment.
The waist seam was dipping about 3cm towards the back, so I took a wedge of 3cms out of the centre back.
I'm not really sure if this was the right fix for me, as I didn't notice much of the fabric riding up my neck to begin with (as per tutorial, fabric riding up is one of the fitting problems). I gave the adjustment a shot anyway.
- I drew a line perpendicular to the grainline, in the upper back
- I cut into the back bodice piece from centre back, stopping before the seam allowance (cut along the line I drew)
- I pivoted the top piece of pattern down to "remove" 3cms from the centre back
- I straightened up the CB and grainline
 |
| Before and after shoulder seam and erect back adjustment. |
 |
| Front and back waist seam still not level. Waist is dipping back/front rising up. |
I will do the 'elastic test' tonight as suggested by some ladies on Twitter, however I do prefer my waist seam sitting just above my natural waist.
Should I need to take another wedge out of the lower back at the waist, and then lengthen the front bodice so that the seam will be level?
 |
| Bust/neck looks a little gapey in this photo taken last night... but in the photo below taken this morning, it looks fine. |
 |
| No more gaping...? I will do the 'bending over test' tonight. |
 |
| Photo taken last night: I noticed wrinkles in the back, but this morning they disappeared! |
 |
| Photo taken this morning, no wrinkles..? Is the back meant to be this low? Should I make the back neckline higher? |
This dress has been on my mind 24/7 since last Thursday, I'm exhausted but I really want to get the fit perfect. Even though I'm super frustrated that I haven't cut into my beautiful fabric yet, I'm enjoying the challenge.
Thank you guys soooooooo sooooo much for helping me with the shoulder seams. I'm so happy that I've at least knocked out one fitting problem.
Now I need your helpful suggestions on the next lot of fitting problems:
- how do level the waist seam?
- should be concerned about those wrinkles on the back bodice that come and go?
- shoulder I make the back neckline higher?
Please comment below, tweet me @sewmelove or email me :)
Thanking you in advance!!
PS. After posting this, I found this document on the internet which I found helpful.
It describes my problem - "Too much fabric at the back waist causing a puff at the centre back,
wrinkles under the waistband, pants seat is stretched, side seams swing forward and hemlines are longer in the back" - their diagnosis is "swayback or down sloping waistline".
My side seams definitely swing forward! Down sloping waistline, that's a new one! Thoughts?
PS. After posting this, I found this document on the internet which I found helpful.
It describes my problem - "Too much fabric at the back waist causing a puff at the centre back,
wrinkles under the waistband, pants seat is stretched, side seams swing forward and hemlines are longer in the back" - their diagnosis is "swayback or down sloping waistline".
My side seams definitely swing forward! Down sloping waistline, that's a new one! Thoughts?