1. Home
  2. Sewing Discussions
  3. fitting question

fitting question

I am making La Fred's Thia Tee (you can see it at

formatting link
Despite thepictures, this is not a drop sleeve pattern - I am not overlybroad shouldered, and the shoulder seam hits me right where itshould for a set-in sleeve. I have made bust cup adjustments,and moved the darts up about an inch. The shirt now fits nicely(not too fitted). However, when I raise my arms there is a lotof fabric under the arm and the entire shirt rides up. The fitting books that I have do not cover this particular problem. What I think I need to do (on the next mock up) is raise the bottom of the armscye to fit closer to the armpit. I am not sure what adjustments will need to be made to the sleeve cap. Am I on the right track? Can you point me at a book or other resource that covers these adjustments?

Thanks for any help,

-- gail

Reply to
Gail M.
Loading thread data ...

This sounds like the right track, yes. I have _Fitting and Pattern Alteration: a Multimethod Approach_ (Liechty, Pottberg, Rasband), and it covers this issue. It calls the problem "small shoulder joint", and instructions for handling it are on pp316-317. Basically, you move the armscye up, and then take an equal amount of height out of the sleeve cap.

This book is kind of expensive (even used) and can be somewhat difficult to find, but I can't tell you how happy I am to have it- especailly after discovering that this sort of problem *doesn't* seem to the covered in _Fitting Finesse_, which I also own on the recommendation of this newsgroup.

Good luck! Courtney

Reply to
Courtney M Eckhardt

Thanks for your response! I took a trip to Denver Fabrics the other day (a 40 minute drive, had to pick up the lawnmower at the repair place on the way :-) and looked at every fitting book they had, and none of them covered the "baggy armpit". So I especially appreciate the book recommendation. I was thinking about getting Rasband's book "Fabulous Fit" after reading an article she wrote for Threads magazine

formatting link
-found while searching for info on my current fitting issue).I may have to have both books, now... Regards,

-- gail

Courtney M Eckhardt wrote:

Reply to
Gail M.

Glad I could help! It does seem to be hard to find information on altering the shape/size of the armscye and sleeve cap.

The thing to remember when using _Fitting and Pattern Alteration_ is that each procedure is treated as if it is compensating for the *figure*, and not for the *pattern*. What this means is that while it may be obvious to you that the pattern designer got the proportions all wrong and the armscye is much too big for the size of pattern you have, when you're looking through the book you need to look at it from the opposite direction- as if your shoulder joint were too *small* for the pattern. Which is why the procedure you need is called "small shoulder joint". This took me a little while to understand, but it's really just a question of interpretation.

And what a lovely article- I love that method of alteration. Rasband explained it in the book I recommended, and it's become my favorite of the three alteration techniques included. It's easy, and it makes a lot of sense to me. I may have to check out Rasband's book too, now- thanks for the pointer. :)

Courtney

Reply to
Courtney M Eckhardt

fitting question

Reply to
sewingbythecea

Thanks, Cea. I had planned to see if I could skim out some of the bagginess. I took about 1.75" off each underarm seam. The resulting shirt is wearable, but I think I can improve on it next time around. More could have come off the body of the shirt, but the tapering would have taken too much out of the sleeve.

I'm thinking of converting the front vertical darts to s-shaped darts (from a Threads article), but one thing at a time!

Reply to
Gail M.

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.