1. Pull lines from the bust towards the armhole.

1. Cause: too little room at the bust. Let out the side seams using the margin.
2. Deepen the dart or move to a katori or princess cut for more shaping.
3. Prevention: check the bust ease and the apex position before cutting.

2. Folds under the bust.

1. Cause: the dart point sits too low, or the dart is too big. Raise the dart point to about 0.5–1 in (1.5–2.5 cm) below the apex.
2. Take a smaller dart.
3. Prevention: re-measure shoulder to apex with the right bra.

3. The front neckline gapes.

1. Cause: the neck edge is longer than the body under it, common with deep and wide necks. Take a small dart at the neck edge, hidden in the shaping, or ease the edge onto a stay tape.
2. Re-cut the neck facing slightly shorter and ease the neck onto it.
3. Prevention: stay-stitch (a line of machine stitching inside the edge) curved necks right after cutting, and add a small neck dart to the pattern for deep necks.

4. The back neckline gapes or stands away.

1. Cause: the back neck is too wide or too deep for the shoulder slope. Take in the shoulder seam at the neck end.
2. Add a hidden button-loop or dori to hold it.
3. Prevention: deep backs need a shorter back neck edge and a firm facing.

5. The shoulders slip off.

1. Cause: the shoulder is too wide, or the back neck is too wide. Take in the shoulder at the outer end.
2. Add a lingerie-strap holder (a small thread loop with a press stud) inside the shoulder.
3. Prevention: measure shoulder point to point carefully; narrow the shoulder for deep necks.

6. The armhole cuts or pinches.

1. Cause: the armhole is too small or too high. Scoop the underarm curve lower, a little at a time.
2. Add a small gusset under the arm for movement.
3. Prevention: add armhole ease and check it is close to half the bust.

7. The armhole gapes at the front.

1. Cause: extra length in the front armhole, common on fuller busts. Take a small dart from the armhole towards the apex, then move it into the bust dart.
2. Ease the armhole onto the sleeve slightly.
3. Prevention: on a full bust, plan more shaping in the bust and less length in the armhole.

8. The blouse rides up at the front.

1. Cause: too short over the bust. Add length with a band at the waist edge.
2. Let down any hem allowance.
3. Prevention: take front length over the apex.

9. Horizontal folds at the back waist.

1. Cause: the back is too long for this body, often a sway back. Take a tuck across the back at the waist and shorten the pattern.
2. Deepen the back waist darts.
3. Prevention: measure back length as well as front length for these figures.

10. Diagonal pull lines across the back.

1. Cause: too tight across the shoulder blades. Let out the side seams near the armhole.
2. Widen the back pattern at the cross-back line.
3. Prevention: measure across the back (back cross) for athletic and rounded backs.

11. The sleeve twists or pulls.

1. Cause: the sleeve is set in turned. Unpick and set it again, matching the shoulder mark to the shoulder seam.
2. Check the sleeve was cut on grain.
3. Prevention: always mark the sleeve top and match it.

12. The sleeve is tight when the arm bends.

1. Cause: too little ease at the sleeve round or the sleeve head is too flat. Let out the sleeve seam.
2. Re-cut with a slightly higher sleeve head.
3. Prevention: add sleeve ease; check with the arm bent.

13. The hooks gap between each other.

1. Cause: too tight at the bust. Let out the side seams.
2. Add more hooks, closer together, or a hidden placket behind them.
3. Prevention: hooks every 1–1.25 in (2.5–3 cm) over the bust; a placket on fuller busts.

14. One side fits and the other doesn’t.

1. Cause: the body is uneven. Pin each side separately at the trial.
2. Draft a left and a right pattern piece.
3. Prevention: measure both sides and note the difference.

How many trials?

• Everyday blouse for a regular customer: often none, if her fit block is up to date.
• New customer: one trial in the real fabric, tacked, or a toile first.
• Bridal, padded or creative cuts: a toile, then a trial in fabric before the embroidery and lining are finished.

The order of corrections

Work from the top down and from the body outwards: shoulders and neck first, then bust and armhole, then waist and length, then sleeves. A shoulder change moves everything below it; a waist change moves nothing above it.

Control: how much to change at once

• Change in small steps: about 0.25 in (0.5 cm) per seam edge is a typical first step.
• Divide a correction across all the seams that share it. Taking 1 in from one side seam twists the blouse; 0.25 in from each of the four seam edges keeps it balanced.
• Re-pin and look again after each change.

In Indian studios

Many neighbourhood tailors fit from a customer’s old blouse and skip the trial for everyday work. For bridal and designer blouses, trials are now normal in most studios, often two. The fit notes a studio keeps are the reason customers return for years.

• Fit inside out for the first trial; seam allowances are then on the outside and easy to pin.
• Tack in a contrasting thread. Easy to see, easy to remove.
• Draw the centre front and centre back in chalk on the toile; they show balance at a glance.
• Pin out, then measure the pin. The amount pinned out is the correction.
• Fix the top first. A shoulder correction changes everything below it.
• One correction at a time on a confusing fit. Several changes at once hide the real cause.
• Photograph front, back and side at each trial. You will see more on the phone than in the room.
• A mirror behind the customer lets her see the back too.
• Professionals keep a “fit block” for regular customers: a pattern already corrected to her body.
• Small changes, both sides: taking 0.25 in (0.5 cm) from each side seam removes 1 in (2.5 cm) in total.
• Keep the bra the same for every trial.

Mistakes

• Fitting without the right bra.
• Correcting the waist before the shoulders.
• Forgetting to ask the wearer to move.
• Not writing down the corrections.
• Fixing in the finished fabric without a trial.

Myths

• “A good tailor never needs a trial.” Good tailors do trials for anything important.
• “Tighter means better fit.” A good fit is smooth and lets you move.
• “Gaping necks are just how deep necks are.” They can be prevented.

1. Spot the cause: look at photos of ten badly fitting blouses and name the cause of each.
2. One toile, three bodies: fit the same toile on three people and record the corrections.
3. The gaping neck: cut a deep U on a toile, then fix the gape with a neck dart.
4. The fit block: correct a basic pattern to your own body and keep it.

As a hobby: fixing a ready-made blouse that never fitted is one of the most satisfying skills you can learn.

For earning: fitting is where a studio earns its reputation. Plan trials into every important order, and keep fit notes for every customer.

For teaching: teach diagnosis before correction. A learner who can say why a blouse pulls can learn every fix.

• Transfer every correction to the paper pattern before sewing.
• Remove tacking threads before pressing, or they leave marks.
• True (smooth) every corrected seam line so curves stay curves.

• Can you read pull lines, folds and gaps?
• Do you fit from the top down?
• Do you ask the wearer to move?
• Do you write down every correction?
• Can you fix a gaping neckline?

• Toile: a trial blouse in cheap fabric.
• Tacking (basting): long temporary stitches.
• Stay-stitching: a line of stitching that stops curves stretching.
• Gusset: a small inset piece for movement.
• Fit block: a pattern corrected to one person.
• Truing: smoothing pattern lines after a correction.

• General fitting practice.
• Teacher to check: the dart point distance (0.5–1 in below the apex), hook spacing, and every correction amount.