Sew Distracted

Pattern Adjustment for Broad Shoulders

[7/13/2006 After some thought on this post, I have made some changes and additions.  The first time this was I left out a few things, and a couple of my drawings were not as meticulous as they should have been  All new additions will be in color blue]

This post was prompted by a question posted over at Stitcher's Guild about how to alter patterns for broad shoulders.  I started to answer there, but realized pretty quickly that my post was going to get tediously long, and thought I would work out my response here instead.

In this post I am just addressing broad shoulders,  a fitting variance that I am well familiar with. I am not addressing broad backs, straight shoulders, or other variations on this theme.  My shoulders are wider than the average pattern, and are wider than average for my size.  This has always been a problem with patterns and purchased clothes.  Of course I am also tall, and my shoulders are not out of proportion to my height.

The goal is to increase the width of the shoulders without altering the shape of the armscye and its corresponding sleeve head, and without altering the shape or size of the chest.  If alterations are needed in these areas they are accomplished through a separate process.

First:  Trace your pattern (it is always good to keep an unaltered master pattern in case sizes change or you mess up):

Second, cut out your newly traced garment.

Third:  Draw in the actual stitching lines, if they are not already present on the pattern and/or you did not trace them.  I always do this on my patterns as I tend to make several alterations, and it is the stitching lines, not the cutting lines, that show you the actual change in shape of the garment.  On my permanent patterns I tend to save only the stitching lines, adding the size seam allowance I want for each piece of a garment. But this just works for me, there are many good arguments for keeping the seam allowance on the pattern as well. 

Now we get into the fun part!  There are several methods of actually altering the pattern at this point and I will describe the three methods I am familiar with.  I am not an expert on any of these,and hope I understand them adequately and do not leave anything out.

PIVOT METHOD

I have several books that use this method, and this is the method I have most often seen Sandra Betzina use in her sewing seminars.   

Remember the goal is to increase the shoulder without changing the armscye.  To do this you start with something called the Pivot Point, which is, as I understand it the point  around which the sleeve and shoulder will move with arm movement.  I don't think I am describing it well.  The pivot point is just above the notch and I have no idea how to determine it exactly, none of my books discuss this.  On the lower part of the armscye below the notch, your arm doesn't move much.  Try spinning your arm around.  See all the motion is above the area of the notch, in the area that is typically eased in garment construction.

Lay your newly traced pattern on top of the original pattern.

Hold the patterns together at the pivot point, or pin it there.  Now slide the new pattern piece out so that the shoulder seam gets longer, rotating the pattern so that the pivot point stays together but the armscye moves.  I am increasing my shoulder widths by 3/4 inch, assuming that this person is 1 1/2 inches wider through the shoulders than the pattern allows.  Carefully place another piece of paper on top of the two superimposed pattern pieces and trace the new armscye.  Do not trace the rest of the pattern yet.

Notice that the the armscye is the same length, so you will not have trouble putting in your sleeve, but the position has changed slightly.  I have traced over the original pattern in blue, very badly I might add, my photoshop drawing skills are minimal at best to show you the comparison.

You can now remove the first copy of the pattern piece you made, or align it back up with the original pattern piece.  Finish tracing the new pattern piece, the one with the new armscye curve and the wider shoulder.  You will have to extend the shoulder from the original piece and perhaps blend the shoulder and side seams a little bit to get them to line up right.

You have now altered your pattern piece for a broader shoulder.  Be sure to remember to use the same process and alter the corresponding back piece as well, making sure that the shoulder seams match when you are finished.

Added on 7/13/2006

You will notice that this method alters the width of the shoulder but also alters the bottom of the sleeve opening as well, making the garment a little smaller at the underarm.  This is the first way I was taught to make this alteration.  It actually does work for me because I often need to take up my garments in just that area, but this would not be true for every person.

Since learning this technique I have modified it.  I make no claims that this modification is original; I am sure it is in books, it is just not the way I originally learned this technique.   Angle the new pattern piece out from the original as shown above, anchoring the two pattern pieces together at the pivot point   Trace the new upper armscye seam from shoulder to pivot point  then trace the original pattern piece from the pivot point down to the  side seams.  If you want to check that this works try realigning your pattern pieces to see that they match.

Here is a picture of the new pattern piece, drawn by the alternative pivot method.

SLASH METHOD

I have really only used this method when I am altering a garment or muslin on the body, but I suppose it could be used for flat pattern adjustment as well. I am going to show the basic principle on a flat pattern as I don't happen to have a muslin to work with right now.

When you are fitting a garment on someone and the shoulder seam is to short, you proceed by cutting open the shoulder seam and then making an angled cut through the fabric down toward the pivot point of the arm.

You would cut the seam open, and then cut down the dotted line to the armscye.

If you were doing this on a person you would move upper portion of the armscye out until it was in the proper position and fill in the gap with extra fabric.

The end result would look something like this:

We are now going to do the same thing with our paper pattern:

Cut the pattern straight down from the shoulder.  I usually cut from near the notch.  You want a vertical cut that goes down to the level of the pivot point. 

Next cut crosswise, from the vertical cut you just made to the stitching line at the pivot point.

Now you are going to move the outer pattern piece out until you have a 3/4 inch wide gap between the pieces.  Carefully put pattern paper on top of your superimposed pattern pieces and trace a new pattern piece, blending in the angles of the shoulder seams to form a continuous line. 

I had trouble photographing these steps so there is only one picture of the completed new pattern piece superimposed over the first two.  I think you can see and understand the steps.

Remember to do the same thing to the back as well.

SEAM ALLOWANCE METHOD

This one is my favorite although I will use whatever method I need to at any given time to achieve the desired goals.  I learned this quite a few years ago at a seminar taught by Judith Rasband, and it is used in her book  Fabulous Fit .

Take your traced pattern piece and cut a diagonal line from the outer tip of the shoulder seam allowance down to the stitching line.  Cut along the stitching line down to the pivot point.  Cut the shoulder seam allowance off as well, leaving a bit attached along the neckline to provide a fixed point for reconfiguring the shoulder seam:

Your pattern will be in pieces.  Angle the armscye shoulder seam allowance out 3/4 on an inch.  Notice you will probably have to take a tuck in the seam allowance itself, but this will not alter the length of the actual stitching line.  Match the outer corner of the shoulder seam allowance to the armscye at the stitching line (the inner corner of the seam allowance piece).  Notice the shoulder piece is too short and might be angle up a bit.  That is OK. 

Your pattern pieces will look something like this:

Now, carefully place fresh pattern paper over this without disturbing the arrangement of the pieces and trace the new pattern piece. 

In the following photo I have traced both the old and the new stitching lines so you can see the difference.

I like this method because I usually cut the seam allowances off my patterns anyway once I am done with the alterations.  I like playing with them to make the alterations, and I find it easier to visualize what I am actually getting. 

I am not sure it really matters which technique is used for making the alterations.  Use the one that works best for you.  The results are very similar, although not exactly the same, for each method as you can see from my three superimposed new pattern pieces pictured below:

7/13/2006  My original sketches were not particularly meticulous as I was in too much of a hurry to post this.  Usually I spend a huge amount of time checking and rechecking my patterns when I am altering/redrafting them.

Since this has plagued me since the original post I have redone the drawings:  As you can see, it really does not matter much which method you use.  The three drawings line up almost perfectly on top of one another, as they should.

If you click on the picture you should be able to see a bigger view.  All patterns are stacked on top of each other.  The original blue is on the bottom.  Then the three new patterns,  slash in purple, seam allowance method in green, and pivot in pink.  You can see best by looking at the dashed stitching lines on the pattern.  Notice that the pink, (pivot method) does not exactly line up.  No matter how hard I try I never get this to match perfectly,  the armscye curve is always a little deeper into the shoulder, and I always lose a little bit at the side seam. But they are very similar.

The green and the pink are superimposed at the top, the pink and the orange at the bottom.  I am sure the differences might prove significant for some people.  We are all, after all, slightly different.

Alterations

I tend to be very reluctant to sew for other people.  This is not because I wouldn’t like to make them things, but more because I don’t want to deal with their expectations, and the pressure to make something they want on their schedule.  Selfish I know.   And yet, as life becomes more structured,  rushed and complex, my needs from my sewing become more relaxed and less structured.

I started sewing because I needed clothes and I realized that I could make exactly what I wanted for less money than I could buy it, if I could find it all.   Then I fell in love with the process.  I also fell in love with having the styles I wanted fit the way I wanted.  Along the way my standards got higher and I became less willing to accept what I find available.  I think I can just sew my own.

Still, it doesn’t always work out that way.  Most of the reasons I sew, and most of the things I make are not made for practical reasons, even though the resulting garments are indeed practical:  they fit me, they fit my lifestyle, they get worn.  I tend to sew what I feel like sewing at the moment.  Perhaps I fall in love with a piece of fabric.  I imagine a specific garment.  The garment I am dreaming of or working on may not be for the current season.  The garment I want to sew may not be practical in that it may not be what I could use the most at the time I am sewing it.  I an live with this.  It took me years to learn that I sew more when I allow myself the freedom to sew what inspires me and not chain myself to a schedule.  In the sewing room I chafe at schedules..

The world is too full of practicalities, of things that must be done.  There are too many demands and expectations, too much complexity, too many distractions.  Sewing time is dream time, play time, creative time.  This is a large part of why I don’t really sew much for others – I don’t want their expectations and schedules running my sewing time.  It is also why I have avoided doing a SWAP, even though I think a SWAP would be a good and useful thing and I would even like to do one.  I have pulled out fabrics, but then I pause.  It just seems to regimented, too practical, too much what I don’t want to do with my sewing time.  Still I admire people who actually sew SWAPS. 

But sewing is also a skill, a skill with very practical applications.   Although I am constantly amazed at people who are proud of their lack of sewing skills, “I couldn’t even sew on a button” they might say, and I am saddened by this, I also sometimes envy them that very lack of skill. If you can’t sew you don’t feel the need to mend things, and I hate mending.  I would rather make something new than mend something.   I find countless excuses to avoid mending, although I will admit that I mend family members clothing before I mend my own.  Whenever they complain at how long X has been put off, I can happily find some garment of my own that has been waiting on the mending pile far longer than anything they have offered up.

Another practical application of sewing skills is the ability to do alterations.  I do not alter anyone’s clothes but my own.  I am totally selfish about this.  I actually don’t object to alterations as much as to mending, don’t ask me why.  I do put it off – the worst part of alterations is the deconstruction portion, the part where you take things apart so you can fix them, make them bigger or smaller, shorter or longer.  Ripping is not inspiring.  You have to formulate a plan of attack: what needs to be accomplished, what needs to be ripped to achieve this ends, how long will the process take.  Once the seams are open and everything is ready for reassembly, the fun begins.  I have learned a lot from alterations, partially by learning how things are put together when I have to disassemble them, and also by figuring out how to get them to fit the way I want.  It is probably a backwards approach to fitting and construction, but it has worked for me.

A lot of the sewing time I have not been blogging about has been time spent on alterations.  There have been lots of alterations this year. 

First I lost some weight and had to take some things up so I would have spring clothes.  Yes, there was that mad euphoric period when I thought I would just sew a whole new wardrobe, but then weather and lack of time intervened and a few well placed alterations helped make the transition so much easier.

Then I gained volume (although not weight) and had to de-alter, or let out.  In fact it for a while it seemed like I was on an alteration see saw, as what I needed would vary on very short notice, in, out, in, out, periods where each day may be different than the day before.  One wonders why one even bothers.  A burlap sack would have done.  The architecturally unsound life can be an interesting one at times.

And then the volume disappeared.  Poof.  The jeans that were snug on Tuesday were falling off my hips on Saturday in Knoxville.  My carry-on bag did not have a wealth of alternatives.    A borrowed belt got me through the weekend.  Upon my return home I saw that another round of alterations awaited.  Loose is one thing, saggy and baggy must be corrected.

Luckily the volume issue has been one that has raised its ugly head occasionally the last few years and most of my clothes have been simple and easily altered.  Even that particular pair of jeans was easy to alter, at least as easy as jeans could be:   The waistband had side seams and a center back seam, simplifying the alteration process considerably. 

Perhaps I will even feel confident enough of issues of space and volume to make more complicated clothes again.  The new Vogues are out and there are some patterns calling my name, aside from the many things I have been saving up to make over the past year or two. 

I have one more pair of pants to alter – a once favorite pair of dark brown linen pants.  They are a bit more complicated in that they have lovely side seam pockets, shaped and beautifully top-stitched.  The pants are so loose through the hips and upper thighs as to resemble jodhpurs more than regular pants.  I am inclined to think that, in order to preserve the pocket, I will have to totally dismantle the pants and recut the tops. Luckily they have a front zipper so I don’t have to do anything with that.  Is it worth it?  Or should I just buy brown linen and recreate them?  Well, it can’t hurt to take them apart and give it a shot.

Baby Colors

One of the projects Miriam and I worked on last week in Knoxville was clearing out the nursery to be, and picking out paint colors and fabric for a crib set.   I did not think to get my own copies of the paint samples when we were at Lowe's so I had to do it once we got home.  I did remember to write down the color numbers though.   Since we went shopping Miriam has met with the painter and there has been a slight alteration in the color scheme, same colors, different arrangement, it was too dark and too monochromatic to begin with, and I agree.

Here are the colors, or at least as close as I seem to be able to get them with my camera and Photoshop on my computer:

The blue on top will be the ceilings.  The nursery is under the eaves and there is a lot of steeply sloping ceiling space.  The light lime green will be the walls, which I think will be wonderful (although I did not consult with the painter).  I think the parents are more anxious but they trust their painter.  The other blue and the purple are accents and will be used on painted furniture and trim, as well as picked up in the fabric colors.

These are the fabrics for dust ruffle, bumpers and other crib paraphernalia, as well as for cushions for Miriam's rocking chair.  I hadn't really planned on chair cushions, but truthfully I just didn't think about it.  Somehow when the subject came up I didn't say anything about it and so here I am, making cushions as well.  I got so flustered that I miscalculated the yardage, adding in the cushions but forgetting yardage for the bumpers, so Miriam had to go back to the store and get more of the green, which is on its way to me now.  The colors do actually blend better than they do in these photos.

I AM looking forward to making this, but I will, admittedly, grumble.  Home dec sewing does not thrill me -- all those big rectangles.  Shiver.  Well apparently the thought of a cute little grand baby does strange things to my brain waves.

We also bought this fabric:

(not the purple).  It is really a pre-quilted patchwork in blues and greens and purples and it just looks so cheerful and goes so well with our colors.  This kind of quilting I can easily handle.  The purple dotted fabric is from my stash; I am thinking of using it for the binding around the quilt -- the only part of this quilt that I actually have to sew.

Still Working...

It always amazes me how life rolls around at its normal pace, seemingly under control, and then one small thing goes awry and it is as if a house of cards has tumbled down.

I am almost caught up.

But I did find time to spend in the yard Friday morning; it desperately needed help.  Friday afternoon's thunderstorms and rain probably did more good than I.

After weeks of rain and cool temperatures -- in the 70s mostly.  It turned hot just before we left for Knoxville, that triple summer threat, Hazy, Hot, and Humid.  Not a drop of rain in the sky.  Thunderstorms scattered all around us, but none ventured near this piece of property, as if we were protected by a giant, invisible, umbrella.  I would have liked the rain.  I knew there was a reason we don't normally travel much in the summer, aside from enjoying being home this time of year.

The garden missed me.  Well, that is not exactly true; the vegetable garden missed me.  The new flower beds were fine.

The new stone bed under the kitchen window is blooming and looking wonderful.  Ignore the weeds outside the bed.  I have to dig up the entire expanse of packed clay that passes for the north end of my front yard. 

The planters also did fine:

This is the first planter you see coming down the driveway.

But in the vegetable garden things looked a little worse for wear.  The tomatoes were lying on the ground, limp and nearly lifeless -- not something I had expected.  I guess that they had not had enough time to get fully settled in yet.  I had planted them late, the first week of June.  It had just been too cold before that.  The eggplants did not look happy either, but they were better than the tomatoes.  The peppers were mostly OK and the kohlrabi seemed to have doubled in size in 4 days.

The little Thai eggplant and Turkish eggplants I had sown directly in the ground from seed died.  I knew I should have started them indoors first. I wonder if it is too late to try again.  I might as well plant more.  Even if they don't produce, I can watch them grow.

After watering and a day of heavy rain, about half the tomatoes resurrected themselves,  I lost one pepper and 3 eggplants.  It still surprises me, as these are plants I think of as hot weather plants -- but I suppose a sudden change is a shock to newly planted seedlings.

Oddly enough the fuchsias, which had been doing badly in the location I had kept them in for years, looked much better after the hot dry spell.  Throughout May they had been lush and gorgeous and then in early June they started dying back, dropping branches and looking very sad.  When I returned they were sending up new leaves and growth, whereas I had expected them to finish the dying process in my absence.  I suppose this means the front yard has gotten too shady for the fuchsias, and too damp.  Time to rearrange things a little bit. They will probably do well on the north side of the house, once the deck is finished; but where to put them in the meantime?

Meanwhile the ferns, which have seeded themselves from a very small patch, have taken over the southwest corner of the front yard by the front door:

You can hardly see the small stone flowerbed I rebuilt last year.  You certainly can't see the impatiens that are planted therein.  I am going to have to come up with something taller, but still tolerant of fairly dense shade for that spot.

Back Tack 3 Completed

Pointy Kitty was received by my partner and can finally be revealed.

Tomorrow I go into NYC to meet my friend and sewing buddy Mary.  Usually we meet at Mood but we both admitted that we need no more fabric.  The meeting place is yet to be determined.  Will we fall into familiar habits and shop for fabric anyway?

Everything is gathered for the day and clothes have been selected.  Tomorrow I catch an early (for me anyway) train at 8:05.

Wardrobe: yellow linen pants from last summer, white shirt from the summer before that(pre-blog), pink and orange scarf purchased somewhere sometime, coral cameo,  and pink shoes. 

Do you think I will be colorful enough?

Garden Catch Up

When I was a child my grandmother grew Moon-flower vines along the wall of her garage.  One year she gave me some seeds which I planted in a pot in my bedroom.  It grew vigorously.  It grew so fast that sometimes I would dream that I would wake up and find it strangling me.

There are times living in the wet Northeast that I feel the same way about my yard.  Everything is tall and lush and green here.  I love it.  The trees were my first love when I moved up here.  But sometimes I miss the open space of Texas and the ability to see for miles without vines and trees choking off the view. 

This week I feel like the greenery and the vines and the woods around our house are taking over the property, stealthily gaining ground each night, soon to surround us and overgrow the house.  Weeks of rain followed by a few days of heat have produced excessive growth.  I am behind on everything simply because there has been inadequate opportunity to get outside.

I have been able to spend some time in the former vegetable garden getting it cleared out.  It too is wildly overgrown and I regret that I did not get more of it torn up earlier in the season.  The whole thing still has to be rebuilt; the raised beds are falling apart and there are areas I want to expand.  A good bit of digging and carpentry work awaits.  But there are areas I can plant in the meantime.  After two days of labor I got about a 5 foot by 15 foot area cleared, including digging out what seemed like miles of wild raspberry roots and I have managed to get the peppers and kohlrabi out as well as 6 rather large heirloom dahlias I got from the gardens at the Morse estate.   The Dahlias are destined to go in the new sunny flower bed next to the new deck, sadly still on hold while the town figures out where we stand in reference to new zoning laws that were passed this past winter and spring.  The vegetable garden will be a perfect holding place from them, visible from our bedroom window.

By the time I have come inside the past two days I have been having trouble standing up straight and my hands have been protesting mightily.  My thumb and index finger joints are swollen and sore.  But generally the aches and pains feel good, like I have accomplished something significant.  I feel a certain pride at having beaten back the teeming hordes of invasive plants, and a sense of accomplishment at having imposed a bit of order on even a small piece of the world.

Needless to say my state of mind at the end of the day has been more vegetative than productive.  I did manage to enlarge the pattern for the ribbon organza coat, but I have not cut the fabric for the next muslin yet.  This is probably a good thing as I just decided that I should cut it about 2 inches longer.  The first muslin was the perfect length unhemmed, which of course means that I need to add a hem allowance.

Having finished one successful summer skirt, I also have visions of skirts dancing in my head.  They shall have to dance a little longer however, as the brain has been too numb to do the math and we leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Knoxville. 

Quick and Simple Skirt

When I was in JoAnn Fabrics the other day I saw this piece of pleated silk.  It immediately said "cool summer skirt" and found its way into my cart.

To me these skirts always look best if one does not scrimp and allows for plenty of extra fabric, allowing the skirt to hang in pleats without too much stretching over the curves and bumps of the body.  It still hugs the curves, but billows in an attractive way.

The whole thing took about an hour.  I cut three skirt lengths and sewed them together.  Notice I did not try to match the stripes on the fabric; that was much more effort than I wanted to put in this skirt, and, since I had bought the last piece on the bolt, I was not sure there was enough fabric warrant that kind of perfectionistic attentions.  I  then finished the whole thing off with a shirred elastic waistband. 

Today I felt cool and collected in the summer heat.  I felt refreshing, almost minty fresh,   as if I carried around my own burst of icy cold air.

BackTack Bunny

A package arrived yesterday, a package all the way from Hawaii! I was very excited as I knew it must be my back tack softie from BabyBug!

It is very cute and soft and cuddly,  it cries out to be held in a small hand.  I am sure that bunny misses  its first home.   Pointy kitty is happy to have a companion however, and I believe they are becoming fast friends.

Bunny came with a companion package of wonderful Hawaiian goodies which were totally unexpected, and wonderfully yummy (I confess I ripped into the caramel popcorn faster than you can say "back-tack".)

Not only yummy, but I love the riot of colors.  So bright and cheerful!  Exactly what I need following the continued saga of gray rainy days.  A little bit of summer in pretty wrappers.

Bye Bye, bunny...

First Muslin

The soil separator paper works well for muslins and is nice to work with, at least for a basic first fitting muslin.  The fabric sticks to itself so it is easy to position seams together, and also easy to see where the garment is too tight, or there is not enough ease, as the fabric certainly has none. 

The pattern, Vogue 7833, went together well and hangs nicely. I think I will like this coat very much.  The coat tapers in at the bottom, which is nice, but I had altered the shape a little when I lengthened the coat.  It is not quite right, I eliminated a little width right where I needed it at the hips and I will have to add that back in, plus probably another inch or so.

The only other fitting problem for me is that it is a little snug across the shoulders:  It feels snug when I stand still, and the tightness is quite noticeable when I move my arms.  Although I do need a little width across the shoulders, I am wondering if part of the problem is the raglan shaping.  I think I will fix the shoulder width first and see how that feels.  I will have to be careful as I don't need extra width through the bust, just through the shoulders, and I have to think a little bit about how to go about this on a raglan coat.

Here a snip, there a snip....

In a fit of inspiration, partially due to this site  I had a bit of fun this morning cutting up old t-shirts. 

Tees seem to be such short-lived garments.  Truthfully, I have had some for years, but others seem to lead a short life, from store to shelf to garbage can.  Usually, when an impossible to remove spot appears, which seems to happen frequently, the shirt goes into the trash without a second thought.   

However, as I was inspecting last-years tees, looking to see what needed replacing this summer, it occurred to me that I much of the fabric is still good.  The shirts are either too small, or have one small spot, usually in an embarrassingly noticeable location, but are otherwise in good shape. 

This morning a took my trusty sheers and cut them up, salvaging as many good size pieces of fabric as possible.  I did not rip out the seams by hand, just snipped along the seams, but now I have a nice stack of t-shirt fabrics to play with. 

I might do some color blocking, or some cut out embroidery.  I really don't know yet.  It will provide some fun play time and who knows, I might get my next favorite summer top out of the process.

Even if I don't, I have nothign to lose.