Hit 500 pattern drafts before I finally got a bodice that didn't gap at the armhole

I've been sketching and sewing on the side for about six years now and after draft number 492 I finally realized my shoulder slope measurement was off by half a degree the whole time, has anyone else discovered a dumb simple fix that took them way too long to notice?

3 comments

3 Comments

seth68313h ago

Read something from a pattern maker online who said she was doing the same thing for years. Turns out her shoulder slope was fine, but she was cutting her armhole curve too tight on the back. Said she widened it by like 3/16 of an inch and it fixed all her gaping issues. Crazy how such a tiny measurement can mess up the whole fit. I personally spent months adjusting darts before realizing my shoulder seam was just placed too far back. Felt pretty dumb when I moved it forward a quarter inch and everything lay flat. That half a degree thing sounds brutal though, at least you caught it.

emmaallen11h ago

Totally agree @seth683, I had a similar fix with my sleeve cap height and it was like magic.

allen.charlie3h ago

That pattern maker's 3/16 inch fix is mind-blowing. Did she mention if the tight armhole curve was causing any specific wrinkle pattern, like diagonal pulls towards the back neck, or was it just general gaping? I've got a hunch that's exactly what's happening with a bodice block I've been fighting with for weeks now. The tweaks are always so small they feel wrong, but little things like that seem to make or break the whole garment.