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[ Fit FOr ou: SfioulCler savvy I

Good shoulder fit

improves the overall
finished garment
appearance, as well
as your wearing comfort.

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Fit For You:

Shoulder
Savvy
By Barbara Weiland

at's Yo ur Problem?

It typically spans a distance of only 4 3/4"

(m isses' sizes 6 to 8) 10 5 114" (misses' sizes 18 to
20) in a filted garment--an insig nificant
measurement you might think. Ho wever, the
shou lder seam plays a key ro le in the fit of
garments tha! cove r the LIpper body. Because
couts, jac kets, blouses and dresses all hang fTom
the shoulder. we ll -fi nin g shoulder seams arc
imperative for a garment to look and wear well.

• .If the garme nt shoulder is too narrow for

YOUf shoulder w idth, the armhol c may
bind a nd the sleeve may ride up over the
shoulder. Comfortahle arm movcment also
will be reSlriclcd. If the g3.lments you sew
Shoulders too broad typically do this. your shou lders arc broad
in ~omparison to your pi:ltLern size. In
conlraSl, if th e garment sho ulder is too
wide, the sleeve ",'i II hang over your
shoulder's edge. Your shoulde rs arc
narrow relati ve lo yo ur pattc1'l1 size
(Figure I ) .

Sho ulders too narrow • S hou lder width is partic ularly im portant in

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fit led garments with set-in sleeves. It may

F;;turc' not be as importa nt in the overall fit of
loose-litt ing garmen ts with drop-shou lder
seams or loose kimono-sleeve sty ling.
Filted rag lans and kimo no sleeves, as we ll
as extended-shoulder sty les, wi ll requi re
you r standard shoulder adjustme nt for a
comfortable fit and to maintain the look
intended by the designer. S leeveless
styl es. lao. wi ll fi t more co mfortabl y and
look more gracefu l on your figure when
yo u take the li mc to adjust the shoul der fit.

etermlnlns Adlustments I

Because should er width is related to you r bone

structure, it's one measurement that doesn't
change much ovcr thc years. If you're broad-
shouldered for your build, you'll always be broad-
shouldercd--a nd vice versa.

• Pin the pattern tissue together and try it on

to determine the required shoulder
adjustment. An alternative method is to
compare your actua l shoulder
measuremcn t to the shoulder measurement
on the pattern for a lilted ganl1 ent- -
prefcmbly a basic fit pattern offered by
commercial pattern compani es. To do this,
havc a sewing buddy take your should er
measureme nt.

• Wear a chain necklace around your neck.

It will si t at the base of yo ur nec k. Find the
pivot point at your shoulder's edge. When
you sw ing your ann back and forth , find
the sma ll indentation between the two
bOlles at the shoulder edge. Mark it with
pe nci l or washab le marker.

• Measure from the necklace at your nec k

base to the pivot point (Figure 2).
Compare this measuremen t to the shoulder
length on a bask lit puncrn. l1lC
differe nce bctwee n your measureme nt and
the pattern is the amou nt of adjustmen t
yo u' ll need in most' paucrns.

Aalustins Patterns
To wld«n pall«rn shoulder,
front and bade
• Adjust a paltcrn with a
Wieler
standard set-in sleeve by
\ narrowing the pauern or
adding on pattern ti ssue
at th e shoulder edge.
tapering the adjustme nt to

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 -.- - - --·c------- - -- - -- - ---. --------- --. J

nothing at the armhole

notches. Use a French
curve to help you
maintain the appropriate
curve. Make this change
To narrow pattem shoulder on both the front and
ft'ont and bade: back pattern pieces
(Figure 3). Note: As long
as this alteration isn't too
dramatic, the sleeve ease
should be able to
accommodate this
adjustment without
making additional
alterations to the pattern.

f'igrcre J
• Refer to "Shoulder Seam
Adjustments" for pattern
alterations on other
garment styles. Trim tissue at princess seam
for narrow shoulder.
• As an alternative to
making an armhole
adjustment on a garment
with a princess seam that
begins at the shoulder. let
the shoulder seam out or
take it in at the princess
seam (Figure 4)_ If the
garment is already
finished, this can be an
easier fix than removing
the sleeves, recutting the
armholes, and resetting
the sleeves. Figure./

• If you have extremely

narrow shoulders--
requiring an adjustment
Extend sleeve cap of an inch or more--you
to fit adjusted annhofe. may need to extend the
/ sleeve cap by an equal
amount so it fits into the
adjusted armhole (Figure
5). To do so, cut the
adjusted sleeve from
muslin and test-fit it into
the adjusted armhole to
Figllrf!5 fine-tune the fit.

• Compensate for narrow shoulders by

creating the illusion of a more balanced
shoulder line ..Many sewers with narrow
shoulders prefer to add a raglan shoulder
pad to the garment to visua11y extend their
shoulders and create a better visual
balance between shoulders and hips.

• Narrow shoulders tend to

nv~..,.""nhQ~i,,~ hin wi.dth If vOll'rp

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Sew News Magazi ne-Fit For You: Shouldcr Savvy Page 4 of 4

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a lready fu ll-hipped, narrow shoulders will

make you r hips appear even larger. If
you're ex tremely narrow-s houldered. so me
fit experts reco mmend purchasing il
pattern size o nc or two sizes sma ller than
the size dic tated by your bust
measurement. Th is may ensure a be ller
shoulder and slee ve fit, bU I remember it
also will require additi onal fitt ing
adjustments to make th e pattern larger in
the bustlinc a nd/or through the torso and
wa istline.

• Achicvi ng good fit is a learning process,

requi rin g the desire and th e commitment
to ex perime ll t lI llli l you find the solutio ns
that best fit your sewing needs.

Barbara Weiland is {/ Project

Manager £111(1 Edilor for Storey
Commun ications in
Williamstown, Ma ss. Her most
recem book is "Secrets for
S/lcte"jid Sewillg." p/lblished by
Nodale Press, Inc. She a/so
ediled "Fil loT Real People" by
Pari Palm er and M arfa Alto.

Resource

" Fit for ReaJ People "

by Pati Palme r and -M ana Alto is ava ilable
at local fa bric stores or from Palmer/ Pietsch
Associates, (800) 728-3784 . Web site
www.palmcrpletsch.com.

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PRIMEDI A Inc.
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