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June 11, 2021
So furthering along with the sleeve and armscye adventures, one of the most valued tools that designers use when they are fitting difficult shapes is the princess seam. That seam can take many iterations. Here are two of the most common.
https://sewingartistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Princess-seam.jpg
The one on the right is what you most commonly think of as a princess seam, but the one on the left is the one that is a favorite among designers. Both cross right over the bust point and that's what makes them such a great fitting mechanism.
Here's a suit that Oscar de la Renta made for Hillary when she was first lady. She loved pants suits, and this jacket was not only a great style on her, but fit her beautifully...because it had those shoulder to hem princess seam in them.
https://sewingartistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Hillary.jpg
What makes this seam even better is when you are messing around with the armscye, pulling it in and around in all sorts of different directions, that shoulder-hem seam allows you to do that without worrying too much about the length of the shoulder seam.
Here's what's going on. When you have to start altering the armscye, then you very well can end up altering the shoulder length as well. When that happens you have to alter the length in the bodice back too. That's one of the many things that makes the armscye in the bodice to alter. There are other factors like making the sure shoulder width is in balance with the rest of the body, making sure the dip under the shoulder, just above the bust isn't
wrinkly and droopy, and making sure that there is enough room in the bust and waist without lengthening the shoulder seam. This sounds almost like an impossibility.
But it isn't there are cures for this, and we can see those cures in clothes that leaders and people who need to look responsible but modern, with-it but not weird.
 
Neither of these ladies is anything but svelte, but at the same time, they have to look like they are up-to-date and much more modern with out looking like they are so far out there that they look weird. And it all starts at the shoulders.
It may be hard to see but both of these jackets have that magical shoulder to hem seam. This is a favorite seam for Coco Chanel and her magical quilted jacket.
You can see here easily the shoulder to hem seam, and even another dart closer to center front from the bust line to the hem.
These patterns are fairly straight-forward. Look for the seam from about middle of the shoulder to the hem. That's what you want. I have a good selection of them my Pinterest page here.
The main thing to remember is that this sort of jacket makes altering across the bust and waist and rest of the body, even the back, very alterable and very manageable.
And the next time you're looking at some notable who's got a regular figure shape and size, notice if she's wearing a princess seam cut on her clothes, particularly when it's designed by a major fashion house. Especially if the garment is heirloom or at least 30 years or older, these kinds of seams were common place, and they were that way for a reason. They worked.
The sleeve or more importantly the armscye seam - besides seam-ripping, I think, is what everyone perceives as the hardest seam alive. Well, mastering it does take some practice, but everything in sewing does, but once mastered, the sleeve is a beautiful thing. Yes, I know - I don't have a life when I think this is a beautiful thing, but there it is!!!
Watch me take this mess of a sleeve:
and turn it into this:
Don't purchase both of these resources - you only need one or the other.
What I've done here is that I know a lot of you already have the Entire Sleeve Resource. The one thing I've changed and updated and extended is the Armscye-Armhole Alteration Resource. So I'm offering both of them special this month.
If you don't have the Entire Sleeve Resource, it's at a tremendous discount. If you have the Sleeve Resource and want to update it, the Armscye-Armhole Alteration Resource is at discount as well.
Here's the Entire Sleeve Resource
Here's the newly updated Armscye-Armhole Alteration Resource
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