I have a problem that keeps cropping up. when i sew for others the arm holes end up being too tight. i may have altered the pattern to fit the clients body, but this problem keeps arising after I have completed the garment. Is it because I have lined the bodice. The sloper I made was fine tuned to fit my client and a mock up fit perfectly.
Any ideas as to what may be going wrong?
NG
2010/06/15
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Replies
Fitting Arm holes/armscye
While lining a garment can take up near zero space on something silky, it can gobble up space on a knit or wool suit for example. My first thought on the subject is that your muslin may be a radically different weight than your fashion fabric and be lulling you into a false sense of security as to the "perfect fit" of the garment. Be sure to compensate for the "bend of the cloth" issue (ie: weight and thickness). Beyond that, since I don't know your level of training, I will assume you are a talented self-taught seamstress and may not have formal draping training. In which case, I would caution that when you are fitting an armhole, remember to leave about a finger's depth of ease between the client's skin and the fabric in both front and back. The curve or underarm seamline should be at least 1" to 1 1/2" below the actual armpit. If you are doing all that right, and you have actually made a mockup of the sleeve to be sure it fits properly, and you have adjusted the tilt or position of the sleeve within the armscye so that it hangs at an appropriate angle without pulling on the bodice, then I can only think the issue is the allowance for the fashion fabric. Normally, what is done is that the lining is cut the same as the fit muslin and the fashion fabric is cut slightly larger, adding about 1/8 to 1/4" to the seam allowances so that the lining doesn't bind up inside the outer sleeve.
Hope this helps...Food for thought anyway!
Armhole too tight
In my sewing and reading...and jacket making...I know there is an allowance of 1 3/8 inches for a large upper arm in the armsyce make same allowance in armhole.....but also..in the lining...joining front to back at the armhole seam you should add about 1/2 inch at the top..joining the2 pieces together to compensate for movement.
Hope this helps,
fredjan
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