Balance is ultimately relative, insofar as it is purely defined by the ratio of front length vs. back length (ie. neckpoint to chest line in both cases). If you add to one, you change the ratio in the same way as if you removed from the other. So, it doesn't matter if you add & subtract, or just add, or just subtract, so long as the net balance alteration is the same.
Obviously, this is ignoring the change to armscye depth, pocket heights, etc. which occur when you move one balance instead of the other. But these are simply adjusted to compensate. For example, if you shorten back balance by 1cm, it is generally expected that you would also lower back armscye by 1cm too.
To further illustrate this point - balance can also be altered by 'passing up' the side seam so that the relationship between the chest & waist balance marks is used to assess the total change in balance. For example, to lengthen back balance, you sew the side seam together so that the back waist mark is higher than the side panel waist mark. This has an identical effect to changing the balance at the shoulder seams. It is in fact the preferred method of altering balance in circumstances where you do not have enough inlay at the shoulder seam to implement the required alteration.
@Jeroen Keerl If you've got inlay at the shoulder seam, it's probably easier to adjust the balance like that, rather than changing the side seams. The inlays that Rory includes with the coat are 'optimised' for certain alterations, which make it harder to move some seams, and easier to move others.
For example, to reduce the back balance, move the shoulder line down, but keep everything below the half back the same. As Benjamin notes, you could equivalently move everything below the half back up, but that seems rather more complicated to me! There's no inlay on the back to allow freedom with this manoeuvre, either.
On the front you'e obviously got pocket positions to worry about, though on the other hand you've attached the canvas in a way that, to me at least, makes more sense adjusting from the shoulder. That is, if there's a front-balance issue, it's typically something to do with how the canvas is sitting over the chest, i.e. the distance from shoulder to chest line. Of course, you could adjust everything else to account for this, but I'd say it's easier if you don't worry about this for fitting and just use the shoulder.
Hope that makes sense!
[PS Reading this over it sounds a little like I'm disagreeing with Benjamin – but I agree with everything he says and in any case he's much more experienced than me so if he disagrees with anything I say you should listen to him!]
@Jeroen Keerl I'm not surprised to hear that your shoulder pads won't fit in any more. I was thinking that the ripples behind your neck might be caused by a too-steep shoulder slope. This is an easy fix: just leave the front & back neck points where they are, and rotate the seams up at the armscye by however much you require.
@Benjamin@RobbieThanks guys!I'm having one of these "not too bright" moments here... (They seem to be increasing at the moment 🙄😂)Let me recap:1) I can (and probably should!) change front balance by ONLY adjusting the shoulders - I will not touch the side seams (Well, not in a vertical direction, that is)
2) I have not yet adapted my shoulders to the slope I am having, I will probably drop 1/4 on the left and 1/2 on the right. A closer view in our bathroom (Mirror and horizontal and vertical lines behind me!) revealed at least a dropped right shoulder.
3) This should clean up the back. Further excess cloth at the back, below the scye, can then be reduced by taking in the side seam - and:
4) I will very probably need to take off material at the shoulders too, as they are too broad, I'm guessing 1/2" at both sides.
As this will involve whipping out my shears, I will do this as last step, if all other issues are (mostly) cleared.
Which is now my plan of attack:
1) fix front balance - 1/4 to 1/2 up in the back.2) adapt shoulder slope3) take in excess at the side seam between waist and scye
I would say no, too. All seams and darts in a garment can be shifted where ever you want to. If you like e.x. your shoulder seam not to be seen from the front you place it more to the back of the coat. You can shift the front dart to the shoulder, to the armhole or to the side seam .... it’s your choice not by law of pattern drafting.
The answer is no (see my fitting post, Rory told me to take off both the front and back balance). Not sure I can be much more helpful, but I guess I have a small chest and small back, so the coat has to be narrower in width but also in length than the pattern may suggest. Others could probably be more illuminating!
Balance is ultimately relative, insofar as it is purely defined by the ratio of front length vs. back length (ie. neckpoint to chest line in both cases). If you add to one, you change the ratio in the same way as if you removed from the other. So, it doesn't matter if you add & subtract, or just add, or just subtract, so long as the net balance alteration is the same.
Obviously, this is ignoring the change to armscye depth, pocket heights, etc. which occur when you move one balance instead of the other. But these are simply adjusted to compensate. For example, if you shorten back balance by 1cm, it is generally expected that you would also lower back armscye by 1cm too.
To further illustrate this point - balance can also be altered by 'passing up' the side seam so that the relationship between the chest & waist balance marks is used to assess the total change in balance. For example, to lengthen back balance, you sew the side seam together so that the back waist mark is higher than the side panel waist mark. This has an identical effect to changing the balance at the shoulder seams. It is in fact the preferred method of altering balance in circumstances where you do not have enough inlay at the shoulder seam to implement the required alteration.
I would say no, too. All seams and darts in a garment can be shifted where ever you want to. If you like e.x. your shoulder seam not to be seen from the front you place it more to the back of the coat. You can shift the front dart to the shoulder, to the armhole or to the side seam .... it’s your choice not by law of pattern drafting.
The answer is no (see my fitting post, Rory told me to take off both the front and back balance). Not sure I can be much more helpful, but I guess I have a small chest and small back, so the coat has to be narrower in width but also in length than the pattern may suggest. Others could probably be more illuminating!