question about drag lines

[RachelB]

I am still working on my Style Arc Queenie dress to sew a knock off of The Vampire's Wife Falconetti Dress.  The pattern itself is virtually a replica of the dress. I am getting close to getting it fitted correctly, but  I am getting some draglines on the back bodice.  I didn't take a picture of it because my muslin fabric is sheer and I would feel uncomfortable posting it.    However, weirdly enough, the model wearing the dress in the link above has the same fitting issue, so I will post it so you can see. I have circled the drag lines in picture in this link.  Draglines picture  Does anyone know what is causing this and how to fix it?  I tried taking a smaller side seam, but that did not fix it. 

[Ouryve]

Are they still there when you lift your hands to your mouth as if you were eating?

[Ohsewsimple]

Vertical draglines generally denote too much fabric but it’s difficult without seeing a proper photo. 

[RachelB]

Are they still there when you lift your hands to your mouth as if you were eating?

They aren't.

[coffeeandcake]

The fit of the dress on the model doesn't look great. The darts end right over the bust apex and are not well finished. Hence the puckering at the ends.
The pic you show of the drag lines appears to be at the back of the dress. My immediate thought is as @Ohsewsimple says that there is too much fabric. I would look at a narrow back adjustment.

[Ohsewsimple]

@coffeeandcake gosh I hadn’t seen the other pictures.  Just looked at the close up.  But you’re right, it’s a poor fit.  And looking at the back it’s very weird.  There are drag lines from the shoulders too. 
Some of that could be the way she is standing. 

[Ouryve]

The dart us dreadful, isn't it. It's even worse on some of the style arc samples. The crinkle fabric ofthe falconetti dress sems to emphasise the false nipple effect at the end of the dart which draws attention to the poor placement and the shine makes the pooling above the bust even more obvious.


For that money, you would want the fit to be flawless.

[RachelB]

Vertical draglines generally denote too much fabric but it’s difficult without seeing a proper photo.

Thank you. This will put me on the right path to fixing it.

[RachelB]

The fit of the dress on the model doesn't look great. The darts end right over the bust apex and are not well finished. Hence the puckering at the ends.
The pic you show of the drag lines appears to be at the back of the dress. My immediate thought is as @Ohsewsimple says that there is too much fabric. I would look at a narrow back adjustment.

Thank you.  I will look up the narrow back adjustment.

[Morgan]

Probably a bit too late to the party -
After checking the front & back Stylearc photos I think there are 2 different fit issues going on abd probably more. 
1   Neckline balance - on each example there is some excess fabric across the upper chest.
 https://youtu.be/rxGucflvQb8?feature=shared
2.  The diagonal/comma shape draglines on the back  suggest that the shoulder slope is incorrect  indicated by the armhole being set too low.  The armhole needs to be lifted.  It's worse on one model as the dress is too snug around the waist and slightly too long in the bodice. 
Also, I suspect that the across back width is a little too wide. 

[RachelB]

Probably a bit too late to the party -
After checking the front & back Stylearc photos I think there are 2 different fit issues going on abd probably more. 
1   Neckline balance - on each example there is some excess fabric across the upper chest.
 https://youtu.be/rxGucflvQb8?feature=shared
2.  The diagonal/comma shape draglines on the back  suggest that the shoulder slope is incorrect  indicated by the armhole being set too low.  The armhole needs to be lifted.  It's worse on one model as the dress is too snug around the waist and slightly too long in the bodice. 
Also, I suspect that the across back width is a little too wide.

Thank you.  This is very helpful because if the picture you are referring to is this one,  those are the exact draglines I have.   I have not been able to find anything that explains how to fix that, but your explanation makes perfect sense.  If I correct the shoulder slope on the front and back bodices by raising it, should that help in fixing the armhole gaping and the comma shaped drag lines?  Instead of cutting off fabric at the shoulder, could I just take a larger shoulder seam beginning at the sleeve top and  tapering to nothing at the neckline?

[Ohsewsimple]

There are instructions here about sloping shoulders alteration. 
https://www.sewdiy.com/blog/how-to-adjust-shoulder-slope-sewing-pattern

You must remember to adjust the armhole or your sleeve won’t fit. 
I doubt it will sort the gaping armhole.  That usually denotes that a FBA is needed. 

I’m still not entirely convinced that the shoulder is the problem as you haven’t mentioned the front having these draglines.  The red dress shows different draglines and that is a different problem.  As already stated, that is too much widths across the back.

I’m afraid it’s very difficult trying to help without photos of the actual garment on yourself. 

[RachelB]

There are instructions here about sloping shoulders alteration. 
https://www.sewdiy.com/blog/how-to-adjust-shoulder-slope-sewing-pattern

You must remember to adjust the armhole or your sleeve won’t fit. 
I doubt it will sort the gaping armhole.  That usually denotes that a FBA is needed. 

I’m still not entirely convinced that the shoulder is the problem as you haven’t mentioned the front having these draglines.  The red dress shows different draglines and that is a different problem.  As already stated, that is too much widths across the back.

I’m afraid it’s very difficult trying to help without photos of the actual garment on yourself.

I have thought about doing an FBA, but although I am a D cup in bra size, I am a B cup based on the measurement of the pattern I am using.  This is confusing to me because a FBA is not supposed to be necessary if you are a B cup in
pattern size, but with the amount of armhole gaping I have, it looks like an FBA would work.  I just don't know what to do in regard to that.  I don't have a picture of the comma shaped drag lines I have on the back.  My husband is out of town and I have no one else to take a picture.  But,  interestingly enough, those drag lines improved when I inserted the sleeves. There are still a couple of those comma shaped drag lines on the back bodice, but some went away when I inserted the sleeve.  I am not sure why.

 However, when I inserted the sleeves, a couple of other fitting problems developed on the front bodice that are not there when the sleeves are not inserted.  I do have pictures of these problems that I just took and am linking below.     It is tight around the armholes and I can't raise my arms.  I feel like I need to raise the underarm portion of the armhole  and add some around the armscye for it to have more ease, but I am not sure.  My front French darts are not in the right place so I need to fix that.   Here are the links to the pictures of my front bodice.
Right upper bodice   Left upper bodice

[Ouryve]

I'm not massively experienced in fitting but I wouldn't try to fix anything else without fixing the dart position, first as, like the sleeves, they will affect the tension over a wide area. With a closely fitted dress, there is always going to be a trade off between picture perfect fit and ability to move in the thing - this looks like a dress you would wear to a fancy dinner rather than rummaging for the freshest loaf of bread at the back of a high shelf in Sainsbury's so the goal would be can you eat and tidy your hair and make up comfortably with it on.

[Ohsewsimple]

@Ouryve that made me laugh.    I had a friend at college who had ‘restaurant clothes' for eating out. 

@RachelB wonderful, we have pictures.    First thing, like @Ouryve said, your darts are wrong.  Darts should point to the fullest part of the bust.  They should never be sewn to that point……..unless you’re aiming for a Madonna look.    It’s worth mentioning that all the examples on the Style Arc site are also in the wrong place!  The darts are too high.  They can be moved down or you can literally sew them so they are further away from the bust. 

I always like to get a bodice fitting properly before adding sleeves.  This was how I was taught and my tutor was very hot on that.  Adding the sleeves will change things slightly but if the bodice isn’t right to start with you’re already on to a loser. 

If the dart is folded I would undo it, press the fabric flat and then begin again.  You need to know where your bust point is, the fullest part.  There are several ways to find this.  You may have it marked on the pattern.  But that does not mean that is where it should be for you.  Have a look at this.  It shows how to find your bust point and check it against the pattern. 

Don’t worry about the sleeve for the moment.  One alteration at a time.