how many ways to take in a jacket's sides

jack 220

these so far, [using stylefourm net search].

do you have one low shoulder. dated 1-5-11
how do they cut a low shoulder. dated 1-5-11
making a trouser larger. dated 3-22-11

these are now listed in the tutorials

Originally Posted by a tailor

Click to expand...

PLAN C

Here's the plan, let's use the underarm seam. It's closer to both the
front and closer to the side. That's a great idea, eh? ... as long as
we do the armhole thing again. Oh, oh, what's that horizontal line
cutting through the seam? It's the pocket, now what to do? The
solution is simple, but doing it is a big job and headache. The
pocket must be taken apart first, and then remade after the seam is
taken in. This adds a great deal to the cost, but with better effect.

What to do when the back and sides fit perfectly, but the front looks
like a maternity dress? It's true there is also a PLAN D.

PLAN D

Here's what we do. The dotted lines show how the front dart is taken
in. If there is no dart, one can be made. Taking in the dart works
well on a canvased coat, but on a fused job it may look a bit awkward,
that's because of the extra bulk of the fusing. In this case, the
pocket must be removed and re-made as before. The dart takes in above
the pocket. Below the pocket is done at the underarm seam. See the
offset of the seam. And no, that will not create lines of draw like
Plan B.
Plan D is often used for a person with a large chest and flat stomach.

Remember the more hours of work, the higher the cost, but then there's
no substitute for doing the correct alteration.

BTW I would be very careful and recommend that readers not print these out to "teach" the local Chinese laundry to perform these alterations on your several thousand dollars Brioni or Attolini coats.

These alterations presume that you know how to make pockets. I've seen untidy pockets come out of Savile Row shops. So you can just imagine how even an above average alterationist could mess this up. I've been taught that an apprentice usually won't be allowed to touch the pockets on a client's coat for about 2-3 years into their apprenticeship.

Alteration D also involves a partial de-installation and re-cutting of the canvas fronts, whose front dart should be accordingly increased. This assumes you know to make up the canvas, and how to install a canvas - a very difficult job indeed.

That means that you need bespoke level expertise to pull these advanced alterations off. Alex is good enough to do it, but if you force even some of the best alterationists out there to do try some of these things, you could be looking at an extremely expensive disaster.

a tailor,

check my thread out when you get a chance. My jacket suffers from multiple issues, the first one is the fact that i purchased it

besides the shoulders that need to be taken in, the armholes raised, and the sleeves narrowed, the bottom the jacket really bothered me.

Do you think this was a big plan B,C,D job? The tailor took everything form the side hence the skirty result.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=232723

^ Plans C and D are both >$160 jobs (this being what you paid for your coat). In fact, I would say that if you add it to narrowing shoulders, it should be in the vicinity of a >1k job.

C and D are more like recuts than alterations.

Originally Posted by Sator

Click to expand...

^ Plans C and D are both >$160 jobs (this being what you paid for your coat). In fact, I would say that if you add it to narrowing shoulders, it should be in the vicinity of a >1k job.

C and D are more like recuts than alterations.

I def learned my lesson on this jacket. The reason i bought it was because it was zegna fabric and thought i could do the possible (impossible at the cost i had i mind).

A bespoke tailor was going to do the shoulders and armholes for 150. Taking the sleeves off, cutting up the shoulder. taking off the collar and cutting front and rear panel on either side to reduce armholes (which will now raise the jacket) rebuild the shoulder and then taper down the sleeves and re-attach. This guy made it seem like it wasnt a big deal at all. But at the end of the day i sunk 260 into this lemon and don't think i want to endure any more pain.

Originally Posted by johnnyhooks

Click to expand...

I def learned my lesson on this jacket. The reason i bought it was because it was zegna fabric and thought i could do the possible (impossible at the cost i had i mind).

A bespoke tailor was going to do the shoulders and armholes for 150. Taking the sleeves off, cutting up the shoulder. taking off the collar and cutting front and rear panel on either side to reduce armholes (which will now raise the jacket) rebuild the shoulder and then taper down the sleeves and re-attach. This guy made it seem like it wasnt a big deal at all. But at the end of the day i sunk 260 into this lemon and don't think i want to endure any more pain.

if he does a good job, then you have a gem of a tailor at a bargain price.

yes the coat will be shorter, and also the sleeves.
the top button will be higher, and the lapel notch will be higher.

Originally Posted by a tailor

Click to expand...

if he does a good job, then you have a gem of a tailor at a bargain price.

yes the coat will be shorter, and also the sleeves.
the top button will be higher, and the lapel notch will be higher.

Can you hold a seminar for alterations tailors across the USA (or just NYC) please?

a tailor, I've had a jacket taken in via plan A before. The side seam is tapered out before reaching the vents however I reckon the vents should be remade as well. Am I correct?

So after reading this I decided to for the hell of it have a go at it myself with a cheap suit of mine, which was pretty much unaltered off the rack aside from sleeve shortening.

I took the sides in as per plan A and took a tiny bit from the centre seam as well.
This resulted in the rippling in the back of the collar (that common thing with off the rack suits and a straight posture) becoming what seem to be either more severe or more noticeable. Can you explain to me what may have happened there?

Originally Posted by bloke11

Click to expand...

a tailor, I've had a jacket taken in via plan A before. The side seam is tapered out before reaching the vents however I reckon the vents should be remade as well. Am I correct?

you are right, if the area around the vents now sticks out or does not lay right.
that means that the hip area should have been taken in as well as the waist.
were you charged for a plain seam finish or a vent remake? thats two different prices.this is one of these are things that should be talked over with your tailor.

Originally Posted by blahman

Click to expand...

So after reading this I decided to for the hell of it have a go at it myself with a cheap suit of mine, which was pretty much unaltered off the rack aside from sleeve shortening.

I took the sides in as per plan A and took a tiny bit from the centre seam as well.
This resulted in the rippling in the back of the collar (that common thing with off the rack suits and a straight posture) becoming what seem to be either more severe or more noticeable. Can you explain to me what may have happened there?

when the coat was loose that hump in back had the freedom to drop down.
now that the coat is fitting closer, there is no place for that hump to go so it just stays there.

a customer may have not seen an almost hump on a loose coat but after
alterations now he sees it. now he thinks the tailor did something wrong.
see how the tailor is sometimes blamed for something he did not do.

Excellent thread.

Originally Posted by a tailor

Click to expand...

see how the tailor is sometimes blamed for something the cutter did not do.

Corrected.

Originally Posted by a tailor

Click to expand...

you are right, if the area around the vents now sticks out or does not lay right.
that means that the hip area should have been taken in as well as the waist.
were you charged for a plain seam finish or a vent remake? thats two different prices.this is one of these are things that should be talked over with your tailor.

Yes, the vents don't seem to stay as flat as before, but still acceptable. I was charged pennies for that alteration. Since she's an ordinary seamstress I dare not ask for a vent remake. Instead of remaking the vents now, would taking in the center seam along the hip area improve anything?

I took 1.5" from the back and .75" from the front. The shoulders are going to be a b*tch to fix since they need to be cut in, but what do you think about the sides as per this thread?

Is it possible to just take in the side seams or does this need to be taken in from the seam running through the pocket in order to make the jacket run smooth at the vent?

Originally Posted by a tailor

Click to expand...

if he does a good job, then you have a gem of a tailor at a bargain price.

yes the coat will be shorter, and also the sleeves.
the top button will be higher, and the lapel notch will be higher.