The Sewing Place

Adjusting back waist length

charlotte

Adjusting back waist length
« on: July 19, 2021, 15:19:41 PM »
New Look 6447



I need to remove 6cm+ length above the waistline for a very short back waist. I can't for the life of me work out where I should be removing it.

My initial thought was to split between the bodice and waistband, but I can't work out where on the bodice I should shorten. Obviously it is not a petites pattern, and there are no shorten/lengthen lines. I tried below the notches but the re-drawn darts looked very odd, and when I tried above the notches the point of the darts ended up on the bust line, so that is not right either.

Any suggestions? It's ages since I adjusted a commercial pattern and I think the heat has melted my brain a bit!  :laughing:

dolcevita

Re: Adjusting back waist length
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2021, 17:43:57 PM »
Do you need to shorten the front bodice as well? You say that you need to shorten the back bodice but then talk about raising the front, too.

To keep balance in the pattern, you will probably need to remove some length above and below the bust point. Have someone measure you from the shoulder down to the bust point, then from the bust point to the waist. That will give you a more accurate picture of what you need there. Do the same for the back as the front. Then you can see how much you have to take from the back waist only.

For now, get those measurements nailed and you can re-draw the darts once the other things are correct.

charlotte

Re: Adjusting back waist length
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2021, 18:30:09 PM »
Yes, I did not explain well! I need to adjust for someone short of torso. It’s my mum, so I don’t have her here to measure and I don’t trust my dad to measure accurately so I only have her bust, upper bust, waist, hips and back waist length measurements. However, she is like me - short in the torso - so I am assuming I need to alter both front and back pieces as I would for myself.

I think you are right, and I should try and take small amounts evenly from the front. I also think I need to take a little bit from the midriff pieces to keep the proportions right.

I think I’m just going to take a total of 5cm out and then attempt to fix the rest at the toile fitting stage.

Ohsewsimple

Re: Adjusting back waist length
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2021, 18:43:13 PM »
I agree with @dolcevita.  It probably needs to be done in at least a couple of places and the band as it’s quite a large amount to take off.  Can you do a video call with mum and get her to measure by taping the tape measure in place at the shoulder?   
I’d also check the depth of  armhole because that can be an indication of how much needs to be taken off above the bust.  The darts can be adjusted later.