Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Removing Shoulder Pad From a Blouse Pattern...

Recently, I was working on a blouse from the 90s.  It called for a 5/8" shoulder pad.  I didn't want a shoulder pad so following is how I went about removing the shoulder pad from the pattern pieces.  Let's start with the sleeve:


Here I have traced the sleeve that I want to use.  Knowing that I needed to remove the 5/8" shoulder pad, I used a 6"x 24" ruler (affiliate link) to draw the lines across the cap.  Note that I drew them above the notches but low enough that I could use the straight of grain marking as a guide.  The lines are 5/8" apart. 


Here I cut out the bottom potion of the sleeve.  Leaving the top portion uncut just in case I need some of the extra pattern paper.  I creased the top line and folded it down to the bottom line. 


Using a design curve (affiliate link), I redrew the curve of the sleeve cap.   I started just above the notch area and rotated the curve until it met the original line above the fold line on the cap.  This is to create a smooth line.


Here's the sleeve without the curve in the way.


Finished sleeve with the fold line taped down and the top portion cut out.   This is the same alteration that you would use anytime that you are reducing the length of a bodice above the notches on the armscye.  That modification can also be known a petite alteration.

Here's the front/back bodice:




Here's the front and the back pattern pieces.  I have marked where the 1/2" seam is on the sleeve and the 5/8" down from the shoulder seam at the sleeve seam line.  Here's a close up of the changes:



So this shows the changes to the shoulder seam.  Basically, you remove the needed about at the armscye to nothing at the neckline.   This is the same alteration that you would use to change the slope of the shoulder.  Remember that seam is really just a sewn dart.

The two rulers that I mentioned using above are really a necessity when you start making alterations to patterns.  Sometimes you can find that second hand a sales. 

Hope you find this helpful.

Happy Stitching!

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