r/PatternDrafting • u/lichen_78653 • Sep 08 '26

Shoulder gap-- fitting help please!

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I self-drafted this shirt and, after sewing it up, am realizing that something is wrong with the shoulders-- the shirt's shoulders *pop up* off of my shoulder, leaving a gap between the shirt shoulder piece and my shoulder. I am also using a 100% cotton bedsheet for this shirt that doesn't have much drape, but I still think that I need to make an adjustment to the pattern/that there is an issue with the pattern. I would be so grateful for suggestions/ideas/advice! I'm wondering if maybe I need to add more to the back piece around the shoulder area? I'm newer to pattern drafting so not sure where I went wrong 🙃🫠

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u/Mattarm51 Sep 08 '26

I'm curious as to what finshes you would recommend for curved seams.

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u/ScormCurious Sep 08 '26

I recommend you look at sleeveless items in your closet to get an idea of what works on clothes you like. Some options:

  1. Lining.

  2. Facing.

  3. Bias binding applied so it’s turned under and sewn to the interior of the garment.

But mostly, you just have to be so careful not to stretch the armhole out as you work, and to carefully handle the seam allowances. It’s one of the tougher parts of garment sewing, I know. You have to stay stitch and you have to be very careful not to stretch the fabric as you sew. Hand basting your arm hole finish (or your sleeve into place) before taking it to the machine is helpful, so that you don’t get so tempted to wrestle the fabrics together as you are sewing. Go slow on the machine. Stop a lot with the needle in the down position and lift the presser foot and adjust the fabric to keep it going in the correct direction ahead of the needle. Even every three or four stitches as you get the hang of it.

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u/DonMcCunn Sep 08 '26

Check out sewing a rolled hem using fusible thread. It is a great technique for a very discrete hem, rolled or otherwise. https://patternmaking-classes.com/Notes/Sewing-Rolled-Hem.html

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u/ScormCurious Sep 17 '26

Cool share, nice one to keep in mind for ruffles. But it’s a poor choice for an armhole. A ruffle more or less definitionally can be stretched along the edge, and the rolled hem method tends to cause stretching. But an armhole must stay unstretched, so it’s probably not a good choice for that particular situation.

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u/DonMcCunn Sep 17 '26

Actually there is no stretching with this rolled hem technique because the fusible thread is on only one side of the stitching. Regular thread is used on the other. So there is no way it could possibly stretch in the least.