Hello all, wow looks like I'm the first post in this forum.
I'm doing my first trouser and waistcoat fittings separately. I basically know what to do with the trousers. I might make the waistcoat 1" longer or so, although I'm not sure if it's better to add that length by taking it out at the shoulder seam, or just letting out some of the inlay in the hem? My main question is how to alter the centerback waist because I have a pretty extreme swayback posture, and I know I am about to run into the same issue when I try to fit the jacket I'm working on. Is this simply a matter of bringing it in more in the center back seam at the waist? Any suggestions or advice?
Thank you for the excellent advice Jeroen!
Yes, I did drop the neck and and shoulder points 3/8"
I think I know what caused the pooling in the back of the neck. When Rory drafted the pattern in the video series, he took off i think 3/8" or so at the center back neck because he has a forward head posture. I did the same because I thought my posture was similar, but I don't think I should have.
Anyways, I followed your advice and raised the shoulder points for my higher right shoulder. I also added about 1/4" to the front at the shoulder ( I would have done 1/2", but was running out of inlay after raising the right shoulder). I also lowered the back neck 1/2". Then I took it in the lining at the sides and a little from the center back, and I'm happy now with how it fits in the waist. I also added 1/2" to the length, taking it out of the hem. Here are some photos of the corrections.
Overall, it's looking much better. I think I will redraw the curve at the back of. the neck, so that it is a little lower in the center back neck, and curves more to meet the shoulder point. The one last thing I'm wondering about is how the front edges are still close to my neck, so maybe I will just reshape that part slightly, taking in 3"8 or so from the front edge.
Thank you for the great advice!
Hiya,
here are a few things I spotted - and some possible solutions to the things you mention:
The front edges are very close to your neck
the back neck is also very high up and
seems to stand off quite a bit from your neck too
This will become even more of an issue, when you wear a shirt underneath, the edges will ride up on your collar
Have you dropped the neck and shoulder points 3/8", as shown in the video?
Add 1/2" to the front, remove 1/2" from the upper back.
This should resolve the issues in your neck and make the front edges wider.
If that does not resolve the issue completely, squaring the shoulders might be needed too. Yours seem to be quite "square" - so the outside of your shoulders is pushing the coat upwards. @Rory Duffy has posted an picture out of his book regarding this - OTOH you might find it somewhere in my coat postings.
Your right shoulder is higher than your left. Add 1/2" at the shoulder points, that would get rid of the fold on your right shoulder.
Regarding the back: Draw a new curve on the back sideseams, starting at the balance mark. Start with taking in ~ 1/2" on both sides around the natural waist You don't want it to be too snug in the end!
Lengthening: Work from top to bottom: If shoulders, neck and everything else is fine, then you can let out the hem. If you change the shoulder seams, you change the balance of the waistcoat. Lining is a pretty delicate fabric, if you are not really, really sure of what you're doing, you might end up with a back lining that needs to be re-cut completely, as the stitches from the machine will keep showing.