[thesimpson5]

I could use a little help here sewing friends. I’ve successfully made a small bust alteration and feel really good about my muslin as far as that goes. However, the backside has some problems and I’m not sure whether to adjust the darts or adjust at the center back seam. I tried taking it in some along the center back seam, but that didn’t seem to be the answer, so I took that back out. These pictures represent the seam sewn at 1/2″ according to the pattern. Any suggestions? Thanks so much!

[thesimpson5]

Let’s try the photos again, sorry they were too large to upload apparently.

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[Tamara]

@thesimpson5 I am very sure Liesl and some other ladies will chime in here. I had a good look at the photos and from what I can see is there are wirnkles that are not “it’s too tight” wrinkles but “there’s too much fabric” wrinkles on the skirt part of the back dress. They are pointing away but look baggy which says to me you need to take it up slightly and remove the excess fabric from the region inbetween your back hip and waist area.

Do you have a sewing buddy? Someone who could be able to pin it out? If you did it on the muslin then you could take the measurement of how much was pinned up and then you can work this back to the paper pattern.

I am of the new school of thought where treating the front and back differently and measuring so, really helps to get a better fit. I carry my weight in my front and I don’t need to do alot of altering in the back. I know that the swayback is quite a common thing and when I made this dress for my daughter I had to take the middle of the back up to accommodate for her swayback. There are lots of terms for the same thing.

I hope this helps. It’s looking very good so far.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Tamara.
• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Tamara.

[thesimpson5]

Thank you, @justsewit for chiming in. I really appreciate it. I wondered if swayback might be what I was dealing with. I’ve got the book Fit for Real People and that was the only thing I could find that looked like it might be the problem. I just haven’t really noticed that on anything else I’ve made, so I wanted someone else’s opinion! I do have access to a sewing buddy. I will have to ask her to come over soon and help me out. I’m trying really hard to be patient on this one and get it right 🙂

[Nicole]

@thesimpson5 I am pretty new to this fitting business but I find if my seams are on the outside they are easier to adjust.

[Liesl Gibson]

Yes, I think @justsewit might be right. It’s difficult to tell from the photos, but you might want to try a swayback adjustment. Or maybe you just need to take in the hips more? It sort of looks like if you pin the hips, especially at the back, to be a little tighter you’ll eliminate the drag lines. It definitely doesn’t need to be looser–overall it looks really good!

[sewgirl23]

The other fabulous ladies up thread have great advice! I’d concur with trying a sway back adjustment and lower the waistline on the skirt just a bit, pinning it out so you can see how much you need. The side view looks like your side seams are canting forward just a smidge and that should help correct the drag lines and the angle. I’m working on a sloper for a friend today so attaching a photo showing yellow head pins of where to take out. It looks like it fits beautifully otherwise!