Hi everyone! Like some other people on this forum I would just like to introduce myself. I'm Isaac, 19 years old (will turn 20 this year) and I'm from/living in Sweden. I'm currently taking a general sewing education as well as having a part-time internship/apprenticeship at one of the few tailoring shops remaining in Sweden. I'm excited to be part of this community to learn and share experience with all of you.
I also had a question about shoulders. I'm planning to make a coat to a close friend of mine this summer. However he requested a coat with softer, more natural shoulders. I assume I should remove the shoulder pads but should I also alter the pattern from the beginning? How should I deal with sloping shoulders with regards to the balance of the coat?
Thanks!
/Isaac
Welcome. In regard to the shoulders, wait for Rory, but you might be able to use a thinner shoulder pad. If you can't find some, you can unstitch the pads you bought, remove some of the wadding, and stitch the pad back together.
It's also possible to make custom shoulder pads with muslin and the wadding from commercial pads or some other filler material. You make a pattern for the shoulder pads by taking the shape from the coat armscye. Some people trim and re-stitch their commercial pads so they match the coat. I can't remember if Rory did that.
In addition, I was once talking to a tailor who described a method of handling the seam allowances at the cap of the sleeve so they lie flatter and create less bulk. I believe he split them open instead of folding both in the same direction.
I assume you can also use thinner sleeve heads.
I agree with everything Kunsthandwerk has said. Good advice there.
I personally wouldn't go with NO shoulder pad, although I've heard of some people doing it. I'd always put something in there, even if it's a very thin pad.
I'd suggest that the required alteration to the pattern would be as follows:
Plain lines show the original pattern, dashed lines show the alteration. This is from 'The Art of Fitting' by Sytner. Most likely Diagram 23 would be the required alteration. However, this would also depend on the shape of your client's shoulders. If the client already has very strong, straight shoulders, then little - if any - alteration to the pattern would be required for a minimal pad. However, if the client has sloping shoulders, then you will probably have to drop the shoulder tips down quite far.
Note that if you alter the shoulder slope as shown above, it will reduce the overall circumference of the armscye, which will require an alteration to the sleeve. Probably, you would need to also drop the height of the sleeve crown to match the reduction in height of the armscye, as shown below.
Thank you all for the advice! My friend has a more southern Italian style than I have so he draws inspiration from there. Like you said Benjamin, I'm leaning towards using a thin shoulder pad to give some structure rather than going all out neapolitan. But I will of course also ask my mentor for advice since she will most likely guide me through some of the more difficult parts.
/Isaac
Sounds like you've got plenty of insight and guidance.
Personally, I tend to think that the 'soft unstructured shoulder' theme is a bit of a fad... It can look great on someone with a naturally athletic physique, with broad shoulders. In that case, fine. But on some physiques it's terrible and just makes the person look slump-shouldered and unflattering.
Whereas on the same physique, a moderately structured shoulder looks infinitely more flattering.
Anyway, that's my 10c worth. ;)
Keep us posted regarding your progress.
No offense to your mentor, but if you're going to follow Rory's method I suggest you follow it consistently, even if it's not how your mentor usually does things. If you depart from the draft too much you can't expect to get the same results and you may not understand what went wrong.
Rory's coat doesn't have big 1980s-style power suit shoulders, but neither is it a super relaxed Italian style. If your mentor can give you a draft that produces the kind of coat your friend wants I would follow that and use Rory's draft and instructions for other coats. While some of us may have some tailoring experience, I suspect most of us haven't completely internalized a method so we clearly understand how it differs from other approaches. Once we know one method well, then we can experiment with variations.
Thanks for your input! The tailoring shop where I work is the oldest in Sweden (founded 1730) so I prioritise carrying on their tradition but I see Rory’s series as a nice complement to get a better understanding of the entire process.