Fitting: coat adjustment

In this article, we are going to take a look at one of the real fitting cases of the VikiSews patterns. We’re always happy to share a couple of helpful tips and tricks with you!

In the photo, you can see several fitting issues of the Maru coat: diagonal folds, radiating down from the bust area, and visible folds on one of the sleeves. That’s right – interestingly, the other sleeve looks quite smooth.

Here are our suggestions:

1. First of all, to have a proper fitting, it is necessary to “button up” the coat (pin the wrap-over area of the front and at the future button places).
2. Don’t skip the toile-making step, especially if you have a full bust. If you decide to cut your garment pieces from the main fabric from the get-go, make sure to increase your seam allowances so you’re able to fix the fit if needed. In our case, increased shoulder seam and armscye seam allowances would be a huge help.
3. Diagonal folds on the front piece may indicate that the bust dart is not enough in this case (the darts here have been transferred and are hiding under the lapels) and that the garment is overall unbalanced. Judging from the picture, our client has a full bust, which may have also resulted in the front pieces riding up and being shorter than the back. However, it is impossible to say for sure, as we don’t have photos from other perspectives.

In this case, it is quite difficult to fix the issues. It would have been easier if this coat was a toile or if there were extra seam allowances on the garment. Nevertheless, we can suggest taking the following steps:

1. Remove the sleeves and unpick the side seams.
2. Baste the side seams so that the front pieces would be 1–1.5 cm (3/8–5/8”) higher than the back piece.
3. Add small darts to the armscyes to take in the folds.
4. Use the seam allowances to create new armscyes. Note that you can’t make a large dart as it will drastically change the armscye shape.
5. Try the sleeveless garment on and check if the folds have dissolved.
6. If the garment looks good, even it out along the armscyes. Check how the garment fits from the side and whether it looks uneven at the shoulders.

Now on to the sleeves. One of them doesn’t show any folds while the other one shows many. This could be the result of uneven shoulders – the shoulder from the folded sleeve side is higher, and it looks like the cap of this sleeve should have been higher as well. Anyway, once you make the aforementioned adjustments, you will need to adjust the sleeves.

Adjusting them right on the body is the easiest way to do it. Pin the sleeve at the top so it lies beautifully, then lay it on the table and pin the bottom part. Pin it the exact way it lies.

Now if you face a similar problem with your coat, you’ll know exactly what to do to fix the fit!

Find Vikisews outerwear patterns in the “Outerwear” section.

More articles on fit adjustments and sewing technology:

3 cases of fixing fit issues – a dress, a corset top, and a coat

Flat seat pattern adjustment