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Garment alteration
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Fri, 08/17/2012 - 14:37
I bought this garment from the internet. The bust fits well. It looks okay from the front view. The back is very loose. I like to make the back A LITTLE more fitted but not too much.
What is the best way to do this? Can I just simply take in fabric from the sides?
Mon, 08/20/2012 - 17:15
#2
Thanks a lot Nehzat. I'm
Thanks a lot Nehzat. I'm working on trying your idea. I have never sewn double pointed darts before. Can you give me some tips because I couldn't find any information on this site. I need to practice on scrap fabric first.
Another related question I have is that why sometimes you make the front pattern larger than the back pattern or maybe it's vice versa!
Wed, 08/22/2012 - 14:20
#3
Re: sewing double Pointed Darts
Dear enasokab,
You are welcome. You can watch the T-Shirt Remodelling Video Lesson, to get some idea of how to draw and sew double pointed darts.
Especially these chapters:
5 - Finding the Center Front and Center Back Lines
7 - Drawing the Front and Back Darts
12 - Sewing the Seams and Darts by Machine
14 - Pressing the Seams and Darts
The reason we draw the front patterns a bit larger on Skirts, and Bodice is to keep the side seams a bit towards the back, so that they are less noticeable when viewed from the front. On pants we do it differently because of the buttocks, to make the pants more comfortable when worn.
Thu, 08/23/2012 - 19:08
#4
I learned so much from this
I learned so much from this video lesson! In chapter 7: Drawing the front and back darts, I noticed that the widest part of the front darts, the side seams, and the back darts didn't seem to fall on the same horizontal line or waist line! It seemed to me the widest part of the back darts was higher than the widest part of the front darts. And when you did the first fitting, you didn't use a ribbon to mark the waist line to make sure the widest part of the darts and side seam fall on the same horizntal line???
Tue, 08/28/2012 - 16:21
#5
Re: Drawing the front and back darts
Dear enasokab,
Yes the widest part of the darts may fall on a different line from front, side and back depending on the body shape. For beginners it is a good idea to mark the waistline using a ribbon.
However even with a ribbon the widest part of the darts, or the deepest part of the side seam may fall at different levels.
Happy sewing,
Nehzat
Wed, 08/29/2012 - 10:52
#6
Done!
This makes sense now! I was getting frustrated because my waistline looked curved at the back and I kept trying to force the ribbon to get straight!!! But now I know :)
So I did add two 2cm darts and the gown now looks so much better. I'm very proud of myself thanks to your instructions. I wanted to attach a picture for you to see but the system doesn't give me the option to upload a photo in this reply! There is an "Image Picker" at the bottom but the box is empty with no functions!
Thu, 08/30/2012 - 19:17
#7
Another garment
Hello Again,
I applied the same method on another dress which has thicker denim like fabric. I basted two-2cm darts on the front, and two-2cm darts on the back. The back darts have the same measurements you mentioned. The front darts end 3-4 cm below bust points and run 10cm bellow waistline. However, the final shape doesn't look nice from the back. There is bulk in the middle of the back darts. I want a smooth crurve on the back but still loose fitted because this garment is supposed to be modest and not too close and shaping of the body. It has no center back seam. I drew the back darts 20 cm apart. Please see pictures and advise! 
Tue, 09/04/2012 - 15:06
#8
Re: Another Garment
Dear enasokab,
You don't allways need to have 2 cm intakes for the back darts, this varies according to the fit of the garment. In this case you can decrease the intake of the back darts if you want it to be less fitted or a bit more loose.
You can improve the back of the dress by moving the widest part of the back darts a little higher and as I mentioned above, decreasing the intake as well.
Usually women's garments that do not have side bust darts have excess fabric above the waistline on the back, which hangs down similar to the back of your garment.
It looks like that your garment does not have side bust darts, or any cuts where a bust dart can be transferred to.
If you are willing to spend more time adjusting your garment to make it fit better, I have posted a video lesson that has a chapter on how to create side bust darts Sweater Remodelling Video Lesson.
Happy sewing,
Nehzat
Quick Links:
Dear enasokab,
The best way to make the back of the dress look better is to take in only from the back, since taking in from the sides will affect the front as well.
The shape of the dress from the front looks nice at the sides as well. You can take in from the center back if you have a center back seam, such as a center back dart and/or you can create two waist darts on the back. The intakes can be about 2 cm each. Since the dress does not look like it has a zipper, it needs to be a bit loose so you can put it on.
To create your waist darts in the right spots, wear the dress inside out (to make it easier to mark the waistline). Tie a ribbon around your waist. The bottom side of the ribbon will be your waistline. You can draw a line along the bottom of the ribbon, along the back with tailor's chalk, so you will know where the deepest part of the darts should be located.
Take of the dress. Working from the wrong side, fold the garment in half to have the center line of the garment at the fold line. Pin the area where you will be creating the waist darts to keep the layers together. Now measure half of your bust distance from the center back fold line, along your waistline. Next mark about 18 cm above the waistline, again with half of your bust distance from the fold line, for the top dart point. Now mark 12 cm below the waistline, with half of the bust distance from the fold line, for the bottom dart point. Connect these three marks, This is the center line of your waist dart, which is parallel to the center back fold line.
To mark the intake of the dart, measure 1 cm on either side of the center line of your dart along the waistline. Connect the dart point to these marks. If you have a center back seam, make sure to do the above steps measuring from the center back seam line. Copy your waist dart to the other side of the center back fold line using loose basting or tailor tacks. Now you can baste the two waist darts and try on the dress. If you like the dress a bit tighter you can increase the intake of the darts and do another fitting.
If your garment has a center back seam line and you want to take in from it. Measure about 25 cm above the waistline and mark, then about 14 cm below and mark on the seam line for the center back dart points. Then measure 1 cm from the center back seam line and mark on the waistline. Connect the waistline mark to the top and bottom dart points, and baste.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Happy sewing,
Nehzat