Fixing common fit issues: gaping, pulling and wrong lengths

Most fit problems show up as wrinkles, and the wrinkles point to the cause. Tight drag lines that pull toward a part of the body mean the garment needs more room there; loose folds, pooling fabric and gaping edges mean it has too much. Fix the problem on the pattern rather than on the finished garment: add or remove width or length at that spot, test the change in a toile, then cut your fabric.

How to read wrinkles

Before you change anything, check the ease. Compare the pattern's finished bust with your bust measurement: the difference is the wearing ease. As a reference, these are the amounts Sewly adds at the bust for each fit:

If a fitted woven top has less than about 5 cm (2 in) of ease at the bust, no wrinkle fix will make it comfortable: start again from a larger size or from the right measurements.

Gaping necklines and armholes

A front neckline that gapes is longer than the chest under it, which happens most with a full bust or a hollow upper chest.

1. On the toile, pinch the excess at the neckline into a small dart pointing to the bust point and pin it. Measure the pinch; it is usually 0.5 to 1.5 cm (3/16 to 5/8 in).
2. On the pattern, draw a line from the neckline to the bust point, and extend the center line of the bust dart to the bust point.
3. Cut along both lines up to the bust point, leaving a tiny paper hinge. Close the neckline wedge by the amount you pinched; the bust dart opens wider.
4. Redraw the dart legs so the dart ends 2 to 2.5 cm (3/4 to 1 in) from the bust point again, and smooth the neckline.

This moves the extra length into the bust dart instead of removing it, so the side seam keeps its length. A gaping front armhole is fixed the same way, pinching the excess toward the bust point. When both gape on a full bust, a full bust adjustment, which adds width and length over the bust, is the real fix.

Pulling across the bust, back and hips

• Drag lines across the bust, buttons straining: not enough width at the bust. Make a full bust adjustment, or use a larger bust size and blend to your waist size at the side seam.
• Bust darts pointing too high or too low: the dart should end 2 to 2.5 cm (3/4 to 1 in) from the bust point. Redraw it higher or lower, keeping the same width at the seam.
• Tight across the upper back when you reach forward: add width at the back armhole by cutting the pattern from the shoulder down to the hem and spreading it 1 cm (3/8 in).
• Diagonal lines from the hips toward the center: add width at the side seams at hip level, tapering to nothing at the waist and the hem.
• Fabric pooling above the seat at the back: this is a swayback. Fold out a wedge of 1 to 2.5 cm (3/8 to 1 in) at the center back waist, tapering to nothing at the side seam, then straighten the center back line. See swayback adjustment.

Trousers: smiles, wedges and the crotch curve

• Smile-shaped lines at the front crotch: too tight or too short at the front. Extend the front crotch point by 0.5 to 1 cm (3/16 to 3/8 in) and redraw the inseam.
• Fabric pulling into the seat at the back: the back crotch is too short. Extend the back crotch point by 1 to 2 cm (3/8 to 3/4 in).
• Loose folds under the seat: too much fabric for a flatter seat. Shorten the back crotch point by 0.5 to 1 cm (3/16 to 3/8 in) and take in the back inseam by the same amount at the top of the thigh, tapering down.
• The waistband dips at the back: add 1 to 2 cm (3/8 to 3/4 in) of height at the center back waist, tapering to nothing at the side seam.

Wrong lengths: bodice, sleeves, skirts and trousers

Change length on the lengthen and shorten line, never only at the hem, so darts, flare and the knee stay where your body needs them.

1. Find the line on the pattern, or draw one at right angles to the grainline: between the underarm and the waist on a bodice, between the underarm and the elbow on a sleeve, above and below the knee on trousers.
2. To lengthen, cut along the line, spread the pieces by the amount you need, keep the grainline straight and tape paper behind.
3. To shorten, fold out a tuck half as deep as the amount: a 1 cm (3/8 in) tuck removes 2 cm (3/4 in).
4. Redraw the side seams smoothly across the change, and make the same change on every piece that joins it.

Shoulders and sleeves

• Shoulder seams drooping past the shoulder bone: shorten the shoulder line by 1 cm (3/8 in) or more at the armhole end, then redraw the armhole to its original shape.
• Sleeves tight at the biceps: cut the sleeve down the middle, spread it 1 to 2 cm (3/8 to 3/4 in) and redraw the cap.
• Diagonal folds across the sleeve: the sleeve hangs twisted. Move the shoulder notch on the cap 0.5 to 1 cm (3/16 to 3/8 in) forward or back.

A fitting routine that works

1. Sew a toile in a fabric close to your final fabric.
2. Mark the center front, center back, bust, waist and hip lines on it.
3. Try it on right side out, with the opening pinned closed on the seam line, wearing the underwear and shoes you will wear.
4. Fix from the top down: shoulders first, then bust, waist, hips and length. Correcting the shoulders often removes wrinkles further down.
5. Pin out what is loose; slash and spread where it pulls. Measure each change.
6. Copy the changes to the pattern, true the seams so pieces sewn together are still the same length, and redraw curves smoothly.
7. Sew a second toile if you changed anything by more than about 2 cm (3/4 in).

Starting from your measurements

Standard sizes assume one set of proportions, which is why so many of these fixes exist. A pattern drafted to your own measurements avoids many of them before you cut. Sewly drafts from your shoulder width, back waist length, bust height and span, upper arm, crotch depth and more, so a narrow shoulder or a long back becomes a measurement to update (see how to take your body measurements), and the pattern redraws instantly. Posture adjustments such as a swayback, and your taste in ease, are still yours to fine-tune on the toile. There is more on this approach in custom-fit sewing patterns.