The weather is perfect around this time of year. Not searingly hot, and nowhere near too cold. Summer has been kind and mild this September, and the onset of autumn is creeping up gently, giving me a chance to adjust to the change of seasons at a relaxed pace.
I’ve been sewing some three quarter sleeve tops in order to be prepared for the cooler weather. One of them is McCall’s 6400, which I bought about a month ago, and now just discovered is out of print. Got it just in time! It’s an easy to sew stretch knit shirt pattern. I made it out of very stretchy rayon knit, the kind of knit that’s very thin and floppy and has a lot of drape. As far as construction goes, it couldn’t be easier: a two piece batwing asymetrical design – just sew the front and back together, and you’re done. All that’s left are the hems. Simple, huh? Well yes, until the neckline turned out to be too large. I cut the shirt in a medium and when I tried it on before hemming it seemed ok. However, after it was hemmed it lost its “cling” that this kind of fabric has in its un-hemmed state, and became floppier, to the point of almost falling off my shoulders, which means bra straps were also showing. No good. I was disappointed and annoyed, but I was also determined to fix it!
Here’s what I did:
I tried on the shirt again, and with a piece of chalk in hand, marked the points where the neckline should meet above my shoulders in order to fit right and stay put.
Then, I pinned the shirt at the chalked alter points.
Next, I drew a new seam line from the shoulder to my alter point. I did this for both sides.
Then, I carefully stitched over the chalk line to my pin.
Then the final step. Cutting away the old seam line.
It worked, and it fit a lot better! All problems of fit should be this easy!
Here’s some more pics of how it looks:
Alteration photography by me.
Fashion photography by Photo0pal
Sewcoordinated 