Pattern adjusting is the new trend, and tomorrow will be no different! If you’re tired of seeing the shoulders on your garment fit too tight or too loose, perhaps altering the pattern to adjust the shoulders is right for you. You may have newly broad shoulders from strength training, or delicate sloping shoulders where silk crepe and organza, and everything else in between seems to slip right off. Everyone has a vastly different body type, so it’s time for you to get on with the “pattern adjustment train”, and get your garments to fit just right. Use Mood’s quality muslin to test out your adjustments before any final alterations! No one truly fits into anything off of the rack, and making your clothes tailor to fit you can be one of the most satisfying feats to master. So let’s get started!
Shoulders are a tricky party to get right on any garment. A well fitted shoulder lies flat on your form, and does not wrinkle or pucker. If it seems too loose, your shoulder will appear slouched. If you notice that most of your garments regularly fall off of you, you may find that you have a natural sloping shoulders! Take a look in the mirror and try to find a common line on your shoulders. Do they slope downward, or are they perfectly square and straight across? Finding the answer to this can help determine whether you may need to adjust your shoulders for square or sloping shoulders. Once determined, measure yourself between the neck, and tip of your shoulder. Take these measurements and compare them to the pattern at hand, and see where you will need improvement, with either one of these solutions below!
Fixing a tight shoulder is vital to the life of your garment. If the shoulder is too tight, it will wrinkle, and possibly rip at the seams! If you have square shoulders, you may find some of your patterns to be restrictive. To fix this, you can adjust your pattern to be more square, and pin like so. You can take in some of the pattern to make the shoulder lie more horizontally, freeing your shoulder! Pin underneath the armhole if needed.
To fix the sloping shoulder problem, you’ll need to adjust your pattern like so! Starting at the center front and center back neckline, split the torso of the pattern you’re adjusting to the armscye at the shoulder. This ensures some ease in the neck, so it won’t be too tight. Also, be sure to take in the pattern beneath the armholes, and pin the adjustment accordingly. We don’t want gaping armholes either! Once you get the top of the shoulder lie flat, add more pattern drafting paper to your torso and redraft your pattern!
Of course, try on your patterns first before making your changes. As always, it’s recommended to use a muslin fabric when creating adjustments, to avoid misusing your precious fabrics from Mood! Was this guide helpful? Do you think you’ll overcome the dreaded droopy shoulder? Let me know in the comments below!
1 comment
Thank you this is very helpful.