First Fitting of a Cotton Kameez: Reading Drag Lines and Deciding What Can Be Saved
Manpreet stitches a cotton kameez for a customer from her own paper draft. At the first fitting the customer says the kameez 'climbs' at the front - the front hem sits 3 cm higher than the back - the armholes cut into the armpits, and diagonal folds run from the armpit towards the bust point on both sides. The back neck stands away from the neck by about 2 cm when she sits, though it lies flat when she stands straight. The side seams swing forward. The customer's bust measures 96 cm, but Manpreet had drafted from a 92 cm bust measurement taken over a thin blouse. Manpreet has left 2 cm seam allowance at the side seams, 1.5 cm at the armhole, and a 3 cm hem; the fabric is a medium cotton with no stretch.
1. Match each symptom to its cause and state whether it can be corrected from the existing allowances.
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Front hem 3 cm high: the front length is too short for a 96 cm bust - the bust lifts the front panel and eats length. Partly correctable: there is a 3 cm hem, so the front can be lowered, but the bust level and armhole will still be high.
Armholes cutting in: the armhole is too shallow and probably too tight in circumference for the larger bust. Correctable - scoop 0.5–1 cm deeper and use the 1.5 cm armhole allowance to let out.
Diagonal folds from armpit to bust point: classic drag lines pointing to the tight spot - too little width across the chest and a tight armhole pulling the front panel. Correctable by letting out the side seams: 2 cm on each of four edges adds up to 8 cm of bust circumference, which more than covers the missing 4 cm.
Back neck standing away when seated: the back neck is too wide or the back shoulder slope too flat; sitting rounds the back and the extra width stands off. Correctable by taking a small dart at the back neck or easing the neckline in, but never by pulling the front.
Side seams swinging forward: the front panel is narrow relative to the bust, so the garment rotates forward to find room. This should improve once the bust width is let out.
2. In what sequence should Manpreet make the alterations, and why does the order matter?
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Fit from the top and the widest point downwards; finish the hem last.
- Open the side seams and let out the bust first (up to 2 cm per edge). Every later step - armhole, neck, hem - is measured from a body that has now changed shape. Taking in the neck before the bust is right will leave the neck wrong again.
- Re-pin and check the armhole, then scoop it 0.5–1 cm deeper and let out the armhole seam. Do this second because armhole comfort depends on the chest width that step 1 has just fixed.
- Correct the back neck with a small dart or by easing the neckline, checking the customer seated as well as standing.
- Level the hem last. Mark the hem with a hem gauge or a floor marker while the customer stands in the altered garment; letting out the bust drops the front, so any hem marked earlier is now wrong. Keep the front and back level with the floor, not with each other.
- Baste, refit, then stitch. Never machine-stitch an alteration straight from the chalk mark; cotton shows every reopened stitch hole.
3. Which fault cannot be fully cured on this garment, and what must Manpreet change in the next draft for this customer?
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The missing front length cannot be created. There is only 3 cm of hem, and the fault is not really a hem fault - the front panel is short at the bust level. Lowering the hem 3 cm makes the front and back level at the floor, but the armhole and bust point still sit high, and the drag lines may only reduce rather than disappear. The reopened side seams will also leave needle marks in medium cotton; the customer should be told this before work starts.
For the next draft she must:
- Draft from the true bust of 96 cm, measured over the blouse she will wear, with the tape horizontal and two fingers underneath.
- Add a front-length allowance of 1–1.5 cm for bust prominence, and add a bust dart or shift the fullness into the side seam - a 96 cm bust on a bodice drafted without a dart always climbs at the front.
- Add 5–7 cm wearing ease at the bust instead of drafting to the body measurement.
- Keep 2.5 cm side seams and 4 cm hem as standard, so the next fitting has room to move.
- Take a back-neck and shoulder-slope measurement with the customer seated, since the gaping only appeared when she sat.