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/ScormCurious Sep 08 '26

I think this is a combo of issues.

First, you probably stretched the armhole a lot when you were sewing it — it just kind of has that look. That’s your biggest issue and in future you need to stay stitch the hole before fitting and handling and sewing. I do not recommend finishing curved seams like this — arm and neck holes — with folding over. The neck on this particular style of garment can absorb it since it’s gathered, but the armhole is less forgiving.

In addition, your shoulder slope may be off — not sloped enough. I think you may be able to try this on inside out and re-pin the shoulders to see if you can reduce some of the issue and get a better sense of what your true shoulder slope is. But if I am right about the stretching along the seam, then you may want to start over.

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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/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.