Hi
all,
In a
recent post, I mentioned that
I was planning to sew McCalls 5495.
The
pattern is easy to follow and comes together quickly. I was really
pleased with the overall style of the top and how it came out.
Having
said that, there were a few things I changed after making the toile. It’s not a multi-sized pattern so
I knew I would have to alter it slightly. Besides being too small, I
wanted to use a Ponte knit and the pattern wasn’t designed for that
fabric.
A
top sewing tip – if you are thinking about using a stretch knit
like Ponte for a pattern designed for woven fabrics, always do a test
run first.
The
first alteration I made was increasing the length by 3 inches as I
felt it was a bit short in the body for me.
Lengthening
a Pattern
All
sewing patterns have lengthen and shorten lines printed horizontally
across the front and back pieces.
To
add 3 inches, I cut along the line and added an extra piece of tissue
paper measuring 3 inches, taping it securely to the top and bottom of
the pattern piece. With an alteration like this, you need to remember
to do the same for both front and back pieces.
The
second was an alteration for a narrow shoulder.
Adjusting
Shoulder Length
To
adjust the shoulder, measure from the neckline to the edge of your
shoulder. Compare this to the pattern piece. Remember to allow for
seam allowance and any shoulder darts. Both of those will add extra
fabric length to the shoulder that gets used up in the sewing
process.
In
this case, my shoulder was 5.5 inches and the pattern was 6 inches
before adding seam allowance. I wanted to use a knit fabric so didn’t
need the dart. I folded that out of the way before measuring the
shoulder length. Even then,
I still had to lose half an
inch.
It’s
not a lot but, that half inch really impacts on the ability to move.
With the shoulder out by just that little bit, I couldn’t raise my
arm properly in the toile. It meant my armhole was too low.
Top
sewing tip – to fit nicely, the shoulder seam of your garment needs
to sit on the edge of your shoulder. If the seam drops over the edge
onto your arm, it will cause the armhole to get in the way of lifting
your arm.
Just
like the lengthening alteration above, both front and back pieces
have to be altered. Only
this time, instead of splitting the amount, you take off the half
inch or whatever from both pieces.
Mark
a point on the shoulder line and draw a dotted line down towards the
armhole. When you are level with a straight section of the armhole,
draw a line from your dotted line to the edge of the armhole. Avoid
the curves of the armhole as it’s tricky to blend alterations back
in if you’re on a curve.
Measure
half
inch above your new dotted line and mark. This is the mark to move your
newly cut pattern section up to.
Cut
on your dotted lines.
Now, the neck point and edge of the shoulder
need to be kept in line. This is one part of the pattern you do not
want to change.
Push
the cut section in towards your mark but keep that neck and shoulder
line level.
Your
armhole will be out of line. This is fine. We can fix that by
blending or rounding out the armhole.
Pushing
the section inwards creates a little step. Draw a small line through
the middle of the step and then blend the curve gradually upwards to
meet the top of the armhole, and down to the underarm. Both the top
and bottom of the armhole must remain intact and in the same place.
Both alterations were made to the traced copy of the pattern. Tracing
helps keep the original pattern in one piece. As this particular
pattern is from 1960, it’s going to be hard to replace if it gets
damaged.
I really like this shirt and will be making it again. Probably in a
summer weight woven like cotton. Something I wouldn’t be able to do
if the original pattern had been altered to suit a stretch knit.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to
share with your friends, or comment below if you liked it and would
like to see more.
Bye for now
Olly
Facebook.com/olwenwhite/
instagram.com/olwenwhitewrites/
Twitter @OlwenWhite
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