evac72•9d ago

Hot take: fitted vs flowy tops are both fine, but the cut on shoulders matters more than anything

I've been watching people in sewing groups obsess over waist darts and hip measurements, but every top I've made that fits poorly in the shoulders ruins the whole look. Why do beginners ignore shoulder slope and width for so long, like it won't make the sleeves bunch up?

2 comments

2 Comments

roberts.troy8d ago

the cut on shoulders matters more than anything" - you're definitely onto something, but I'd gently push back on saying it matters MORE than anything. Shoulder fit is huge, no argument there, but if the waist is off by a lot it can make the whole top look like a potato sack even with perfect shoulders. I spent forever fussing with shoulder slope on a woven top, then realized the bust dart was sitting two inches too low and that was the real culprit for the gaping armhole. Shoulders are a top priority but not the only one, you know?

park.tara8d ago

Oh totally, I had a friend who was losing her mind over shoulder fit on a button-up she was making. She adjusted the slope like five times, recut the whole thing, and it still had weird folds. Turns out the shoulder seam was fine, it was her forward shoulder posture she never accounted for. Once she added a tiny pivot adjustment for her rounded back, the whole thing just... fell into place.