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sew_hip, but someone was asking how to decrease the width of a shirt's shoulders so the sleeve seams didn't hang all the way down by her elbows. I mentioned I'd taken in an XL sweatshirt and decreased the shoulders, exactly as she desired, and now I finally have the pics uploaded. So even though this isn't something I would normally feel inclined to display, I thought I'd share it here to demonstrate the possibilities in sleeve-shortening, without touching the armscyes and wrist hems.
Guess what! Verbosity filter is DISENGAGED! :-D
And cross-posted tosew_hip
, of course.
sew_hip, but someone was asking how to decrease the width of a shirt's shoulders so the sleeve seams didn't hang all the way down by her elbows. I mentioned I'd taken in an XL sweatshirt and decreased the shoulders, exactly as she desired, and now I finally have the pics uploaded. So even though this isn't something I would normally feel inclined to display, I thought I'd share it here to demonstrate the possibilities in sleeve-shortening, without touching the armscyes and wrist hems.Sorry, I don't have a "before" picture. But we've all seen big, shapeless T-shirts and sweatshirts, right?
Finished product first: front and back views. Please excuse the very bad hair day. High humidity, and all that. The reason I went to the trouble of fitting a casual sweatshirt? It was ordered as a set for my parents and us adult children, for my dad's 55th birthday (just a few years ago): we were supposed to go up in a hot air balloon. Inclement weather cancelled the ride, however. At that time, I was almost 200lbs heavy. I've since lost 50lbs, and have rediscovered my waist. I wished for everyone to know I have a waist again. :-) But I have nothing to dress up in, and nowhere to go if I did... so this sweatshirt, or "Mom Standard Issue" as it's known in my house, is my proclamation.
Click the picture on the right for the series of larger views, which show the details better.
The first thing I did to the sweatshirt, and the only thing I removed from it, was the cuff at the waist hem. You know: the ribknits that hold the bottom closer against your body, but always ride up your hips to make your top look like a sack of candy floss? By cutting off the bottom cuff, I actually shortened the shirt. However, since the fabric now HANGS off my hips, instead of sitting on them, I have visually lengthened the shirt. You can hardly see the darts on the shirt, and that's how I like it. There are two darts slashing across the each shoulder seam, however, to reduce each shoulder's width by 2". You can see how big the shirt was (and how small I am) by the fact that the shirt is still a "drop-shoulder". The darts taper toward the bust, and the centre darts run down the back almost to the hem.
Here's the inverted look, so you can see the seams:
VERY bad hair day. :-) To do the modifications, I wore the shirt inside-out as I worked. Lotta topless sewing that night, and pin-pricks on my boobs. Ladies: point your pins DOWN when you do this kind of work, OK?
The first consideration was to preserve the embroidered crest on the breast, and before I could make any other modifications to the sides, front and back, I had to take care of the shoulders -- the points from which the garment would hang on my body. After the shoulders were changed, I could make the other adjustments and not have them distort with each subsequent modification.
I measured 2.5" in from the neck seam, and used chalk (Chacoliner wheel-tracing chalk) to mark the centre of the neck-side dart. I measured 2.5" in from the sleeve seam, and marked the centre of the sleeve-side dart. I knew I wanted to take the shoulders in by 2" EACH, so each dart was 1" wide. The neck-side dart could not run down the front of the garment any more than 6" or 7", because that's where the crest is. I tapered my stitching lines down to that point just above the crest. The sleeve-seam dart extends only 4" down the front because the shirt body actually curves outward to meet the seam. And with my careful measurements, I was able to replicate the darts on the other side.
That's only half the dart slashing across the shoulder seams, though. On the back, I at first ran the neck-side dart down only 7", same as the front. (More on why I changed it later.) I stitched these darts along their length front-to-back. It doesn't matter whether you go front-to-back or the other way -- but keep it consistent. Always go in one direction, so if the fabric creeps a little, it will always creep in the same direction. The sleeve-side seam had to stop at 4" on the back, too, for the same reason as on the front: the body of the shirt curved outward under the arm to meet the sleeve seam. My sleeves, actually, have a STRAIGHT edge where they're sewn into the armscyes. Most shirt patterns have you curving the sleeves like a kindly English teacher curves your grades. I didn't want to fool around with those changes.
With the shoulders slashed and taken in, and the sleeves effectively shortened by 2" because the shoulders were narrower, I could change the side seams, and add "essence of waist" to the shirt. And make straight sleeves out of the voluminous and baggy XL men's sleeves. I tapered the sides in toward the armpit, starting at 3.5" above the raw edge of my hem, and bringing in the sides by almost 1" from the original seam at my waist (admittedly higher than it once was), and then taking in the massive amounts of excess fabric between the darts and side seams created by my shoulder mods. I removed a good 5" of fabric under the arm (brought the under-arm seam in 2.5" when the garment was flat), and ran a straight line down from my new underarm to just above the wrist cuff. The straight sleeve looks a lot better on a semi-fitted garment, I think. I didn't have to touch the cuff seams or the armscye seams to give me a proper sleeve length. Before I made the shoulder and underarm modifications, I could hide my entire hand just by shaking the sleeve off my wrist.
With the side seams tapered for a slight A-line look, I wanted to show people that yes, my bust is once again bigger than my waist. Which meant underbust darts. They're most visible in the inverted shirt picture on the left: I picked my favourite boob, and pinned my front fitting under that. I measured where in relation to the underarm seam the dart began and ended, how far toward the centre it was situated, and how long and wide it was, AFTER I stitched it. Using those measurements, I replicated the dart on the other side.
Now the back hung like cardboard off my shoulders, and I decided it required some fitting, too. I extended the neck-side dart to 6" above the raw hem, but not as a straight line. I made this one a very slight "princess" dart, based loosely on a box-pleated frock coat I'd purchased in the 80s from le chateau. I wowed the extended dart toward the centre back ever so slightly, and drew my stitching lines slightly askew from that line. I wanted to take in more fabric toward the side seams than the back, for a straight-hang look in the middle (with slight sway in back now that my "spare tire" was gone), with more emphatic flare at the sides. So at its widest, where the waist narrows, the dart's stitching line was only 1/2" off my "reference line" toward the centre of the garment, while it was a full 1" off toward the side of the garment. (This sounds less fiddly than it was, believe it or not. I did a lot of restitching of that back dart before I got it close to what I liked.)
With all the reductions and darts done, I cut the hem even, turned it up 1/2", and stitched it down with the decorative scallop stitch on my Janome. I didn't bother serging any of the raw edges because I couldn't be bothered to change the threads from black to grey for this one project, and the fabric doesn't fray at all. AND... it's not for sale. :-) I just cut some of the dangling threads that turned up after the first wash, and it's been solid ever since.
And if you ever wanted to whip up a quick future-fashion, or Star Trek-like alien's uniform from your existing T-shirt wardrobe, just dart your shoulders from the right side, and don't trim away the excess fabric -- so you can get your regular T-shirt back on November 1. Ever noticed how "future fashions" (e.g. Jetsons) and alien races ALWAYS wore triangular shoulder motifs, with ridges and piping?
Finished product first: front and back views. Please excuse the very bad hair day. High humidity, and all that. The reason I went to the trouble of fitting a casual sweatshirt? It was ordered as a set for my parents and us adult children, for my dad's 55th birthday (just a few years ago): we were supposed to go up in a hot air balloon. Inclement weather cancelled the ride, however. At that time, I was almost 200lbs heavy. I've since lost 50lbs, and have rediscovered my waist. I wished for everyone to know I have a waist again. :-) But I have nothing to dress up in, and nowhere to go if I did... so this sweatshirt, or "Mom Standard Issue" as it's known in my house, is my proclamation.
Click the picture on the right for the series of larger views, which show the details better.
The first thing I did to the sweatshirt, and the only thing I removed from it, was the cuff at the waist hem. You know: the ribknits that hold the bottom closer against your body, but always ride up your hips to make your top look like a sack of candy floss? By cutting off the bottom cuff, I actually shortened the shirt. However, since the fabric now HANGS off my hips, instead of sitting on them, I have visually lengthened the shirt. You can hardly see the darts on the shirt, and that's how I like it. There are two darts slashing across the each shoulder seam, however, to reduce each shoulder's width by 2". You can see how big the shirt was (and how small I am) by the fact that the shirt is still a "drop-shoulder". The darts taper toward the bust, and the centre darts run down the back almost to the hem.
Here's the inverted look, so you can see the seams:
VERY bad hair day. :-) To do the modifications, I wore the shirt inside-out as I worked. Lotta topless sewing that night, and pin-pricks on my boobs. Ladies: point your pins DOWN when you do this kind of work, OK?
The first consideration was to preserve the embroidered crest on the breast, and before I could make any other modifications to the sides, front and back, I had to take care of the shoulders -- the points from which the garment would hang on my body. After the shoulders were changed, I could make the other adjustments and not have them distort with each subsequent modification.
I measured 2.5" in from the neck seam, and used chalk (Chacoliner wheel-tracing chalk) to mark the centre of the neck-side dart. I measured 2.5" in from the sleeve seam, and marked the centre of the sleeve-side dart. I knew I wanted to take the shoulders in by 2" EACH, so each dart was 1" wide. The neck-side dart could not run down the front of the garment any more than 6" or 7", because that's where the crest is. I tapered my stitching lines down to that point just above the crest. The sleeve-seam dart extends only 4" down the front because the shirt body actually curves outward to meet the seam. And with my careful measurements, I was able to replicate the darts on the other side.
That's only half the dart slashing across the shoulder seams, though. On the back, I at first ran the neck-side dart down only 7", same as the front. (More on why I changed it later.) I stitched these darts along their length front-to-back. It doesn't matter whether you go front-to-back or the other way -- but keep it consistent. Always go in one direction, so if the fabric creeps a little, it will always creep in the same direction. The sleeve-side seam had to stop at 4" on the back, too, for the same reason as on the front: the body of the shirt curved outward under the arm to meet the sleeve seam. My sleeves, actually, have a STRAIGHT edge where they're sewn into the armscyes. Most shirt patterns have you curving the sleeves like a kindly English teacher curves your grades. I didn't want to fool around with those changes.
With the shoulders slashed and taken in, and the sleeves effectively shortened by 2" because the shoulders were narrower, I could change the side seams, and add "essence of waist" to the shirt. And make straight sleeves out of the voluminous and baggy XL men's sleeves. I tapered the sides in toward the armpit, starting at 3.5" above the raw edge of my hem, and bringing in the sides by almost 1" from the original seam at my waist (admittedly higher than it once was), and then taking in the massive amounts of excess fabric between the darts and side seams created by my shoulder mods. I removed a good 5" of fabric under the arm (brought the under-arm seam in 2.5" when the garment was flat), and ran a straight line down from my new underarm to just above the wrist cuff. The straight sleeve looks a lot better on a semi-fitted garment, I think. I didn't have to touch the cuff seams or the armscye seams to give me a proper sleeve length. Before I made the shoulder and underarm modifications, I could hide my entire hand just by shaking the sleeve off my wrist.
With the side seams tapered for a slight A-line look, I wanted to show people that yes, my bust is once again bigger than my waist. Which meant underbust darts. They're most visible in the inverted shirt picture on the left: I picked my favourite boob, and pinned my front fitting under that. I measured where in relation to the underarm seam the dart began and ended, how far toward the centre it was situated, and how long and wide it was, AFTER I stitched it. Using those measurements, I replicated the dart on the other side.
Now the back hung like cardboard off my shoulders, and I decided it required some fitting, too. I extended the neck-side dart to 6" above the raw hem, but not as a straight line. I made this one a very slight "princess" dart, based loosely on a box-pleated frock coat I'd purchased in the 80s from le chateau. I wowed the extended dart toward the centre back ever so slightly, and drew my stitching lines slightly askew from that line. I wanted to take in more fabric toward the side seams than the back, for a straight-hang look in the middle (with slight sway in back now that my "spare tire" was gone), with more emphatic flare at the sides. So at its widest, where the waist narrows, the dart's stitching line was only 1/2" off my "reference line" toward the centre of the garment, while it was a full 1" off toward the side of the garment. (This sounds less fiddly than it was, believe it or not. I did a lot of restitching of that back dart before I got it close to what I liked.)
With all the reductions and darts done, I cut the hem even, turned it up 1/2", and stitched it down with the decorative scallop stitch on my Janome. I didn't bother serging any of the raw edges because I couldn't be bothered to change the threads from black to grey for this one project, and the fabric doesn't fray at all. AND... it's not for sale. :-) I just cut some of the dangling threads that turned up after the first wash, and it's been solid ever since.
And if you ever wanted to whip up a quick future-fashion, or Star Trek-like alien's uniform from your existing T-shirt wardrobe, just dart your shoulders from the right side, and don't trim away the excess fabric -- so you can get your regular T-shirt back on November 1. Ever noticed how "future fashions" (e.g. Jetsons) and alien races ALWAYS wore triangular shoulder motifs, with ridges and piping?
Guess what! Verbosity filter is DISENGAGED! :-D
And cross-posted to
sew_hip, of course.
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