...worth it if you alter clothing.
I hope someone finds this useful for altering ready-made garments. The latest solutions to get a fit across the large tummy, when the rest of the figure is in proportion: luckily, some of the tops and jackets which I am working on have princess/modified princess lines. They are all short jackets. I have stolen fabric from the self-fabric covered shoulder pads to insert into the bottom of the princess seams. For the initial fitting, I opened both the side seams, and the center side-front seams. Since I needed to add more than 5 inches of fabric (more like 8 inches, plus ease, I sould be such a miracle worker!) fairly high across the tummy, this was not sufficient. I had to open the seams much higher into the body of the jacket, which leaves too much of the skin/under garment exposed. The only matching fabric available for one lightweight print jacket is fabric from the shoulder pads. I made four small but wide triangular gussets, or godets, from the shoulder pad fabric, and inserted them into the openings I have made on the seams. (Each godet used 1/2 of one side of the shoulder pad fabric.) I sewed the godets into the top of these seams; since they are relatively short inserts, the seam is open below them, but they allow more movement, as well as coverage. I pressed each godet into an inverted pleat after sewing them into the seams. When the top is on the hangar, the godet is hidden, but on the figure, the godet will swing open, and the alteration looks like a design feature. I then sewed a plain black satin-covered shoulder pad into the jacket, to replace the one I had pillaged. For my next trick: the short-sleeved black jacket has a very long co-ordinated print skirt, so I shortened the skirt, and railroaded the trimmed bit of length, inserting gores under the arms, tapering from nothing at underarm seam, to over 5 inches wide into the hem, each side. This insert coordinates well with a dickey-type neck treatment made of the same print fabric as the skirt. The client (Mom) is delighted with the results. You'll notice one repair necessitates another: I either have to hem, or replace shoulder pads, or, as in the next case, go shopping for a complimentary fabric. The victim: a two-piece outfit, sueded hot pink skirt and jacket, cotton with a tiny bit of lycra blended for give. I considered cutting the front jacket facing fabric loose on both sides underneath, and swinging it to the center front, making it a center front extension, but the alteration was too complicated and hinky. ( It would have made the front too low, which would have made another cure necessary. There was a hidden placket, and buttonholes under it. Messy.) We discussed making a couple of dressy print tops, ( I found two beautiful print fabrics), and she could wear the jacket open. Didn't look too good, though, as the jacket was designed to be worn closed. (Very pretty decorative button at the top of a hidden placket extension. Cheap clear buttons for placket closing, which would have to be replaced.) Jacket just did not look or hang properly when open. The extension throws the balance off. I've decided to use one of the prints for triangular godets, as I did above, but I will run the godets all the way from hem to about seven inches up, which brings them to just under the bust. I'll split the needed amount and insert godets under the arms, in the side seams, also. The matching skirt had four very deep pleats, two each side of center front, Fortunately, they had not been snipped, so I was able to release the pleats to give room across the tummy. I removed the faced inner waistband first. The band is shaped, so I then cut through it, and have been looking for a fabric with some give, which I will shape to the skirt curve for an extension. Then the band is replaced. Whew! I am not even trying to match the color for the inner band. Color matching is, most often, a fool's errand, utterly impossible; texture matching is the same foolish wish. I'll be lucky to find a cream, white or grey with similar give. The last jacket is a fancy cream colored knit with gloss highlighted embroidery around the hemline. Again, we debated wearing the same options as with the pink jacket, with the same results. I have decided to add underarm panels only. Cutting the under bust seams is not an option, Due to the heavily embroidered overlay, so the inserts will be underarm only. I bought 2/3 yard of expensive, lovely, heavy cream-colored satin poly which mimics the sheen of the rayon lace. I could have bought less fabric, and railroaded it, but decided to go with an on-grain length because the gores will be fairly wide, and I wanted the sheen of the satin placed properly. It's a stretch to think 'll find a similar lace to add to the hem of the gores, but I will look for some. Picking seams out of knits ranks as one of my most-hated tasks. The stitches are so buried that it takes forever to open one seam. I quit at
11:30 last night, after getting said seams open. All in all, it has taken much longer to decide on a cure, and to deconstruct these the garments, then completing the actual alteration. Must get back to making window treatments. Cea