Alteration and Fitting
What the domain tests
Alteration and Fitting tests systematic fitting: preparing a toile, checking balance and ease, pinning corrections, and transferring them to the pattern. Questions often describe a fit fault and ask for the correction.
Fitting sequence
Check vertical balance first (centre front, centre back, side seams), then horizontal balance (bust, waist, hip), then ease and design line placement. Work on a toile in a similar weight fabric. Pin only the correction, mark both sides, remove the toile and true the seam lines. Alter the paper pattern, not just the toile.
Common faults
A gaping neckline needs a dart pinned from the neckline to the bust point, tapering to nothing. Narrow shoulders need the shoulder seam lowered at the armhole. A sway back needs a horizontal tuck at the back waist. A full bust needs a larger bust dart and extra front length. Sleeve pitch faults show as diagonal drags.
Worked example
A bodice neckline gapes 2 cm at each side. Pin a dart starting 1.5 cm at the neckline and tapering to the bust point; do not sew to the point. Reasoning: the excess is at the neck edge, so the correction must remove width there and fade before the bust. Transfer the dart to the pattern, shorten it 2 cm from the bust point, and adjust the facing so it still lies flat. Re-toile to confirm.
Traps
Do not overfit to the point of restricting movement; do not correct only one side; do not ignore horizontal balance while fixing a vertical seam; do not forget to true the seam after moving it; do not alter the fashion fabric before the toile is approved.