1. The first thing to notice is that the center front is snug where we have marked it (with the pencil line).  We've made some pretty substantial progress since the last fitting, and this can happen as we start making more adjustments.  But no matter, we get to decide where we want center front and so releasing center front is no problem.  We're only about ¾" off, so that means we don't really have too much to release.  But that ¾" makes the top so much more comfortable.
2. The second thing we both notice is that it's snug through the shoulders.  A lot of folks think that when it's snug through the shoulders, then that means you have to add more in the back, which means you have to add more in the front.  That can lead to all sorts of problems:
   1. It completely throws off your shoulder line that we've worked so hard to make in just the right place - usually making the shoulder line off the shoulder which is something we're trying to avoid.
   2. Increasing the back and front shoulder make solve the problem of tight shoulders (this is how RTW solves the problem), but in reality, it's not through the shoulders where it's tight. 

Look again at the top of the garment where the sleeve goes in. 

Looking here you can see how tight and "shallow" the sleeve header is.  It should look like this:

Two things to notice here:

• Notice how there is a slight puff at the top of the sleeve?  This is the penultimate look of a beautifully set-in tailored sleeve.  This comes from easing in more than you think you can into the head of the sleeve, but it never gathers - it puffs up!
• Notice how the sleeve stands out a bit?  This is the hang of the sleeve.  It bows in ever so slightly, but because there is so much room in the header (and therefore across the shoulder).  This is the correct hang we want of the sleeve.

In the above shot of the muslin, the sleeve head does not puff and it doesn't hang right as well.  So let's look at that hang.

See these wrinkles up under the underarm.  They can mean two things.

1. That the underarm seam is hitting to high.  Usually it will feel like the underarm is being cut by the shallow or too high underarm seam. 
2. That the pitch of the sleeve is wrong. 

• I asked early on in the video if the underarm was too high and she said it "felt" too high.  Before we started taping, she expanded that it wasn't cutting her but "felt" high.  There's a difference between technically being too high and feeling too high, and when I hear that from a student or client, I don't argue.  This is about feel and it ain't gerna get better by simply wishing it so or pshaw-ing it away.  

• The minute she stuck her arm out:

Bingo - see how her right side lost all those wrinkles under the underarm?  When one sleeve is good when the arm is out, but when the harm hangs naturally by the side the wrinkles are bad - that's about the pitch of the sleeve and the pitch needs to be corrected.  That's a dead giveaway that it's the pitch of the sleeve.  We are still going to cut out underneath the armhole, but that won't solve the pitch problem.

What will?  See the Draping video of this.  It's very empowering and magical how this works.

The second video is about how we correct the adjustments we made during the fitting.  There are three:

1. Adding more into the armhole to make it "feel" better under the arm.
2. The above requires the sleeve head to be larger, so we're adding 1" in the underarm of the sleeve.
3. We're correcting the pitch of the sleeve because it is splaying.

All these fitting adjustments happen on the drafting table not that hard, because we've basically made all the corrections draping on her body.  We've recorded those adjustments, and this is a process not of applying those adjustments. 

Here are two videos this week:

Draping:  Making corrections on the body

Flat Pattern Design:  Correcting the pattern on the drafting table.

This is why clothing design students must study both Flat Pattern Design AND Draping.    Famous designers who studied both have so much better constructed and designed clothing than those who do not study only one.  The classic example of this was Alexander McQueen who studied flat pattern design and drafting on Savile Row. This is THE very best place for gentlemen to get the ultimate tailored clothing that will fit, flatter and drape beautifully. Men's clothing fits men.  Whereas women's clothing is designed so that women have to fit the clothing.  That's why I often use men's clothes-making techniques, because women's clothing doesn't consider fit, comfort and flattery for any size!  Boo!!!  But because we sew - we can bypass RTW!!!

But Alexander McQueen also studied draping at the House of Dior.  So that by the time he finished he could do both

Tailoring                                    and                                     Draping

Fortunately, we're not going to have to tailor with feathers or drape with tons of ruched fabric, but it's important to note that the master tailors and designers do know how to do both and have both skills in their cadre of tools to use to make their garments. 

I ALWAYS love hearing from you and if there's a problem that you're having that's not covered here or this is confusing, please LMK.  I really can't read your mind, and love hearing your questions. 

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