advice altering shoulder/contour darts

Dear Rob,

It sounds as though this will be a temporary fix, just for the wedding, and the dress must be returned to its former self after? If that's so, the alteration will be done differently than if it is a permanent change. Also, make sure your wife wears the undergarment she intends to wear under the dress, so that the alteration will be done perfectly.

If this is a temporary fix, sew through both outside and lining, following the original darts, and tapering to nothing at the ends. If it is to be a permanent fix, undo the original darts in both lining and outside, repair each separately, and sew the layers back together. Make sure the outside is really silk before pressing; poly or acetate both will be permanently creased if pressed.

I'm glad I don't have to do it--I hate alterations!!

Teri

Sounds like a good plan.

Yep. If you don't, the lining won't lay right under the fashion fabric layer.

Are they cut open now? A lot of times they aren't cut and pressed open. They are left solid and pressed toward the center of the garment. Whatever they are now is what you want to do with the new ones. I will tell you if you sew completely over the old darts, you will want to remove them totally. They won't press out well otherwise (you'll have a hump in there. not attractive.) If you blend the new dart into the old one, you can sometimes leave the old ones there. Pressing will tell you what you need to do. Hump = remove old. Flat & even = don't mess with it.

You can use whatever thread matches. It'll be fine. You do want to use a fairly fine machine needle. A #70 sharp ought to work.

Should be. Just remember to be gentle pulling any stitches out that you need to. Don't just grab the bobbin thread and yank the whole thing out. ;) Unpick stitches one at a time and you'll be fine. Needle holes will usually steam closed easily on silk. Steam from the wrong side and scratch lightly with your fingernail. That almost always closes up needle holes on natural fiber fabrics. Needle holes might be permanent in the lining fabric though. (but then, who will see???) Never could figure out why they line silk with acetate or polyester, but it's done all the time.

Don't be scared of it just because it's silk. Silk does take a little extra care that some fabrics don't need, but not that much. Main thing to remember about alterations is you don't want anyone to look at the dress and know it was altered. The only change you should see is an improvement in fit. The rest of the dress should stay the same. That's always my goal when I alter either for myself or for a client. No one should ever see immediately that I did anything to the garment. (kind of makes one feel like Batman or something huh?? lol)

Good luck, and holler if you need more help.

Sharon

hello, thanks for the encouraging advice. originally we thought permanent but since DW shape is changing (nursing) then i will probably go temporary route.

do you think a chainstitch is ok for this type of alteration or should i jst use a straight stitch thanks again. robb

hello, thanks, the alt.sewing-ers are great group. and thanks for all the extra advice sharon , it seemed like i was not considering some issues.

I thought it was a shoulder to waist dart but it is actually a full length seam i suppose what i am doing is adding a dart on top of the seam around the waist or maybe techniclly the seam is a dart.

anyways my plan is the same i will taper my addition into the existing seam to just above waist and to the top of shoulder.

these dart/seams are cut, edge finished and pressed flat.

thanks aga>

Princess seams! :) Easiest sort to alter: put your new stitch line in, unpick the old, press flat! :)

Dear Robb,

The seams you describe are princess seams. Is she going to keep the dress after the wedding? If so, Sharon's instructions are appropriate. Nursing may require another change down the road, but if the dress is now hers, both changes should be considered permanent.

I did costuming for a university, and many times we had to make temporary changes that could be reversed. They looked OK on stage, but would have made Kate's eyes roll if she saw them up close. A one- time wear to a wedding might get by with a temporary fix, but I prefer taking apart the seam and re-doing it. The best way to do this is to put the dress on RIGHT SIDE OUT, and pin the alteration in place along the seam. Remove the dress, then chalk on the wrong side on top of the creases made by the pins. Then follow Sharon's directions for taking apart and re-doing the seams. The chalk with give you exact lines to follow when you sew.

Teri

Well, speaking from my experience of nursing a baby, the only way your bust size goes is downwards - until you stop feeding the baby.

Straight stitch. And if you cut your fabric, don't forget to finish the edges with a zig zag or overlock stitch.

HTH

Sarah

You're very welcome, Robb.

I agree with Kate and Teri. Sounds like princess seams to me. Lucky lucky you! So easy to alter.

Start your new seam on the existing one where it fits. Then taper in as much as you need. Then, and here's the sneaky part, since this may need to be altered again in the future, Do Not Cut anything out. Remove the original stitches. Press the seam open gently. Repeat on lining. Call it a day. ;) As long as you don't remove that seam allowance, you can go back out with the dress if you need to later on. And you don't have to worry about finishing the edges. Just be careful Not to unpick the serged stitches (the stitches that wrap around the cut edges.)

Just to be sure we are all telling you the right thing, look at this pattern:

(that should be Vogue V8107) Scroll down to the line drawings of the dress. Look at the seam lines on the bodice. Is that close to what you have towork with on your wife's dress? Those are princess seams. Princess seamscan be a little curvier than that pattern, but that's a pretty good exampleof a simple dress with princess seams. Are we on the right track? We're always happy to help, so don't be shy at all about asking more questions. It sounds to me like you're on the right track with your plan. She will look marvelous when you get everything fitted for her. ;)

Sharon

> (that should be Vogue V8107) Scroll down to the line> drawings of the dress.> Look at the seam lines on the bodice. Is that close to> what you have to

Sharon, you may be right, but I had the distinct impression that the princess seams in this case were the kind which continued straight-up-to-the-shoulder-seam rather then the curve-over-to-the-armseye kind. More like:

?s.item.V2938=x&TI=20005&page=2Which are a jackets, but it shows the "other" kind of princess seam. And IMHO that would be much easier to alter. And, here's one which has both kinds in the same garment:

if a bit of overkill. ;-) Beverly

yes, that is close to the idea.... only the seam starts midway along the top of shoulder seam

i am glad this will be an easier than you thought project as my deadline quickly approaches and DW is not fond of my slow fittings , to be fair though it seems like we only have time to fit when she is ready to go to sleep.

i just re-pinned the seams tonight... the original were hastily placed and to low and accenting things DW did not want accented. the needed pinning was obvious once i removed the suggested alterations.

the back of dress was baggy, floppy and saggy around shoulder blades, and waist. and this seemed to cause the front to buckle and scoop ???

anyways some 1/4 " - 1/2" pinches around shoulder blades and tapered along the princess seams (about a 10" section) made a noticeable difference

thanks again for the help robb

>>

yes your correct, it is a shoulder seam and this dress link above has very similar look as the dress i am working on (less the extra seams)

the bad thing about looking at these patterns (for me) is i start thinking/wishing that we just made DW a dress maybe next time she needs/wants a dress.

thanks for all your time and help, robb

What a good idea! My father in law made loads of stuff for my darling (but sadly departed) mother in law, and they always fitted and she looked so smart! Making from scratch is often a lot easier than altering...

Always an excellent choice and, as you are suspecting, generally easier than altering something that is already made.

thank you Teri for your time and helpful advice.

I have pinned the dress and chalked as you advised, chalking the wrong side after pinning the right side and using the chalk as guide was much easier (for amateur me) than trying to re-pin the wrong side while trying to follow the right side pinning , as my seam kept going un-even

anyways the line was a good guide

thanks, robb

Teri, I have done many years of school costuming, and I may surprise you on the temporary fixes I have used...

Not just duct tape, but also boob tape, staples, nappy pins, sewing folk into their costumes (a time-honoured one this!), and bulldog clips, followed by the strategic placing of brooches and use of jackets and cloaks to cover gaps in the costuming (literally rather than figuratively!). Then there are the painting and gluing the decor on the costume tricks, using trims to cover holes and replace straps, and using table cloths for aprons, tubans, angel wings (lace table cloths, naturally!), and net curtains for wedding veils...

Any tricks you have that I haven't already used I may simply squirrel away until needed! :D

I may prefer to start from scratch and make a proper garment (including a gents suit with Hong Kong finish seams - I had the time and it was good practice!), but needs must when the costume budget for a school play is under £200!

Oh no, not the dreaded boob tape! (lol)

Honestly, I do avoid adhesive on the skin whenever possible.. ( I also avoid getting too involved in amateur theatricals/plays when possible (I learned that the hard way some years ago)..... "Oh, you can SEW?"

..... eek...

me

Hehehe! Boob tape is VERY sticky, and great for sticking all sorts of things together, not just fabric to skin...

Dear Kate,

I confess that I've used some of the same fixes, especially when the play is in progress, and there is a very short interval between scenes. Staples work nicely.

We did Nunsence and used the old-fashioned sailor hats for the base of the habit veil, covered with a veil. Very effective. I did all of my cartridge pleated skirts with extra pleats and a very long waistband so that they would fit a variety of sizes. I put a bunch of trouser bars on the waistbands to make themadjustable.

Teri

And did you cartridge pleat with curtain tape? Quick and dirty, but it works... ;)