Tuesday Techniques Rounded Back Adjustment
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2024
- If, like me, you have had jobs that require a lot of time sitting at a computer or physical jobs with lots of bending over and lifting then it could be that the top of your back has started to round and your shoulders sit slightly more forward. This change can also happen as we age, but getting older shouldn't stop anyone from having great fitting clothes!
If your clothes feel like they are slipping backwards off your shoulders, or if the back or front hem of your garments seem to stick out, then the balance might have been affected by rounding of the upper back and shoulders.
I make this adjustment on most of my patterns and the small but effective tweak really helps me to get a great fit across the back and shoulders but also in terms of how the garment hangs.
In this Tuesday Techniques session I explain
how to tell if you need a rounded back adjustment
two options for making the adjustment depending on how much you need to add and where the rounding is most prominent.
If you have a pattern that you want to work on then why not give these modifications a try as you watch the video. The pattern I have used in this example is the Seamwork Sorbetto top which is a free PDF pattern.
Thanks for this I will try it on my next project. I usually use the hinge at the armhole but like you said it leaves the neckline a bit sloppy so very interested to give this a go. I'm a big fan of your podcasts you always ask such great questions of your guests, so was really happy to find your YT channel.
Thank you so much for getting in touch Julie! I think this is a great technique and do let me know how it goes when you try it out. Thank you so much also for listening to the podcast. It's a gift to get to talk to such fabulous people and I am so pleased you enjoy it too!
From the new shoulder blade line don’t go straight up! Draw the shoulder blade line in, now use the slanted line off the shoulder to draw the line to the shoulder blade line. Now the coupe line is more slanted.
Hi! I have quite a rounded back, sloping shoulders, AND broader back than most patterns. I need to add 2” at the center back to fix the rounding part. I’ve seen where some say you shouldn’t make more than 1/2” correction. If you need to add more length (my example of 2”), then I need to split the adjustment up to do 4 lines across my back. What do you think about this and how would you make the dart adjustments?
Hi Pamela. Thank you so much for getting in touch. That's a great question and I do have instructions on how to make a larger adjustment but it's a bit too much to write here so if you email me at hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk I'd be happy to send you more information 😁
Hi Pamela. Thanks for your email. I did send over some additional instructions but not sure if you received them so let me know if you still need help x
Hi there, this is the first time I have seen your tutorials and it was really concise and clear. I have recently made myself the Style Arc Melba dress which has a boat neck and grown on sleeves (not separate sleeve inserts). I have found that the dress keeps falling backwards creating a much lower neckline at the back and very high at the front. I have a slightly rounded high back, with forward rolling, sloping shoulders. Should I do a round back adjustment and a front shoulder adjustment to fix this? And should I apply these adjustments to all garments I make for myself? Thank you 🙂
Hi Elaine. That's a great question and in this case having looked at that pattern I don't think a rounded back adjustment will be the optimal solution. I have a few suggestions but probably a bit too long to detail here. If you email me at hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk I'd be happy to share my thoughts. Thanks so much for the feedback and for watching too! Hope to catch up with you on email soon!
Hi. I've just come across your video and it's given me food for thought. I do have slighly rounded shoulders, however, I almost always find that the back centre, ie.. at the top of the zip, it could do with pulling in. Any ideas what kind of adjustment I need please? Alway i ought to mention that i have to do a sway back adjustment too. Thank you in advance
Hi Teresa (apologies if you get this response twice - I had problems with the tech!) Thanks for your great question. It's difficult to say exactly which adjustments I'd recommend without seeing you. But it sounds like if you have gaping of the zip at the neckline that could be from some rounding in the upper back. If your pattern has a centre back seam (i.e. a zip) then the simplest adjustment is to take a small amount off the pattern at the centre back neckline, tapering down to nothing when you get level with the middle of the armhole. This creates the same effect as a dart and will pull in the top at the neckline. If your pattern has corresponding facing or lining pieces you need to copy your adjustment to those pieces so that they match. It's a bit difficult to describe in this comment so if you want more information, please just email me at hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk. Good luck and thank you so much for watching.
Thank you so much for this. I was thinking this would be the way, but I kept looking at it and wondering if it distort, but you have given me the confidence to go ahead so it altered the pattern as you suggested. Thanks again, most helpful 👍
@@TeresaScutt It's great to be thinking in that way. The majority of the centre back will still be on grain so this small adjustment should not cause any distortion. You will often see shaping in the centre back seam so as long as you cut the pattern piece matching up the grain line of your fabric with any marked grainlines on the pattern piece that should be fine. Hope it goes well but if you have any further questions, just let me know.
@@sewmuchmorefunfabulous, thank you 🤩
Hello and thank you. I'm not sure I'm understanding about the dart. Does the actual finished garment have a dart in it? Or do you just pin the dart in the pattern piece to cut out the fabric? Thank you, Judy.
Hi @judymorgan319 - thanks for your question and sorry if that wasn't clear. Also apologies for the delay in replying - I thought I had responded but it doesn't seem to have saved it. Anyway, yes the way the adjustment works is such that you do sew the dart and that is to help give the shaping over the shoulder and upper back for the roundness. If the adjustment you are making is small and the resulting dart is small, you can often just ease the bit of extra fabric into either the shoulder or neckband (depending on where you took your dart to) without having to sew the dart but if the adjustment and resulting dart are bigger then its best to either sew it as a dart or pleat. If you need more help then feel free to email me hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk. I hope that helps and thank you so much for watching 😄
Thanks so much for your answer!
Is a rounded back and foward shoulder combination common? I’m finding a foward shoulder adjustment doesn’t get my shoulder seam under my ear on the left side
Hi Collene - that's also a great question. Personally I do often do a combination of a rounded back and forward shoulder adjustment but they do each give different results. The forward shoulder adjustment is typically a cosmetic adjustment to visually align the seamline with the top of your shoulder. That's because we are usually taking some off the front bodice and adding some onto the back shoulder.
The rounded back adjustment is used to add more length to the back bodice piece between the neck and mid back. This is to allow for the extra fabric required to go over the rounding at the top of the back and to allow the rest of the back to hang straight down (rather than sticking out). It can impact how the garment sits on the shoulders because you can wear the garment pulled a bit closer up to your neck.
So if you have some back rounding, I would make that adjustment first. Then see where the shoulder line is positioned and do a forward shoulder if you need that as a second adjustment. Hope that helps but feel free to email me if you want more help - hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk.
Thank you so much for watching!! 😁
Excellent video, tried it on a T-shirt pattern and it worked great, so a big THANK YOU! Question? Would you know how to go about doing this adjustment on a raglan sleeve T-shirt pattern with one piece sleeve? I’ve been going over it in my mind but get stuck at the one piece sleeve part. Any insight on that? Thanks again.
Hi Lisa. So glad you found the video useful 😁. RE the one piece raglan sleeve top, I do have an image I can send you of how to do that. If you email me at hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk I will send over some instructions. Have a great week!
Hi what is the difference using this method instead of a forward shoulder adjustment? Thanks
That's a great question! This method creates extra length to go over the upper back so if you find that the hem of tops seem to stick out at the back, this will help fix that problem. A forward shoulder adjustment moves the position of the shoulder seam so that it looks more aesthetically pleasing as it then follows the line of your shoulder. Usually in the forward shoulder adjustment you aren't changing the overall length of the shoulder part of the bodice, you are adding to the back but then taking off the same amount from the front. Hope that helps but if you'd like more info then feel free to email me hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk. thank you so much for watching!
Very clear thanks. I need to do this on tee shirts and would prefer not to have to add a dart. Also how to do this with a pattern that has a back yoke
Great questions Bev. With a t-shirt you could measure the width of the shoulder dart that you have created and then remove that amount from the neck edge or armhole edge (or split between the two) to reduce the length of the shoulder so that it matches the front. The dart is normally relatively small and with stretchy fabrics it will still fit well. I will sort out another video for doing this with a back yoke as it is very similar but you can eliminate the dart even with wovens if you are using a yoke.
Thank you so much for watching, commenting and raising such great questions.
How would you make changes to a garment with grown on sleeves, not inset sleeves?
Hi Ellie. That's a great question. I would draw the horizontal line from the centre back right out to the grown on sleeve as if that were the armhole edge. Depending on the length of the grown on sleeve you might need to draw your horizontal line a bit lower to meet the sleeve opening. I'd also be inclined to take my dart into the neckline as opposed to the shoulder too. Hope that helps but if you have any more questions feel free to email me hello@sewmuchmorefun.co.uk. Thank you so much for watching!
Please cut out all the ‘em’s’ in your commentary. So annoying!