Sleeveless clothing such as vests, jumpers and dresses, unless they have darts, tend to gape at the armhole. This problem can be remedied by running an ease line at the front armhole. The idea is to reduce the circumference of the armhole near the seam line, enabling the garment to conform to the curves of the body. Try these tips when dealing with gaping armholes:
- At the armhole, ease in approximately 1/4" for an A or B cup, 3/8" for a C cup, 1/2" for a D cup, and 5/8" for a DD cup. Some fabrics may not ease well, so the amount of ease possible is reduced. Personally, I rarely measure how much I am easing . I have just provided these amounts as guidelines.
- Put the ease in the middle third of the front armhole. If you are trying to ease to the max, ease all the way to the side seam.
- Fabric can be eased by either pulling the bobbin thread slightly, pushing at the back of the presser foot as you sew or using fusible twill tape. Keep the ease line within the seam allowance, sewing about 1/2" away from the edge of the fabric. Once you have eased the desired amount, stabilize by sewing twill tape or a piece of narrow selvage over your ease line. Press so that the area now has contours but no obvious puckers at the seam line.
- If you have a rounded back, the same principle can be used to enable the back armhole to conform better to the body.
- Additional shaping is possible along the front neck of a vest by running an ease line again in the middle third of the front neckline. Your goal is to take out between 1/4" to 3/8" in length. Once you have accomplished this, stabilize with twill tape or selvage as before, and press so that no puckers appear at the seam line.
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