Bulky Under Arm Seams

Recently one of my website fans wrote me the following :

“When working with small doll clothes, it is difficult to get the sleeve under the arm pit to lay right. It often bunches up under the arm. It would be great to see tips on your site about that.”

I think this is a fairly common problem, so I did a picture article. 

I made a prototype of a bodice with a set in sleeve so I could show you how to reduce the bulk and make it hang nicely. When people who have learned to sew on person clothes start to make doll clothes, there are many things they don’t think about or address (which is why I started doing doll clothes sewing seminars—it is totally different than people clothes) and one of those things is, dolls don’t move. When sewing clothes for people we are taught to make nice wide seams so they won’t pull out when people move around, and because even children’s clothes are much , much larger than doll clothes, that  5/8” seam just doesn’t add enough bulk to worry about. When the whole bodice is only four inches across the chest, a 5/8” seam adds a lot—too much—bulk. It also stiffens the garment so it wants to not fit gracefully. So here are the pictures I did for you and the explanation : ( Click on pictures for larger view)

Here is a bodice with the sleeve set in, showing the sleeve seam. As shown, once the sleeve is sewn to bodice, trim the seam to a scant ¼”.

Then, as shown in view 2, clip all the curves.

When this is done, sew up the under arm seam as in view 3.

Carefully clip all the curves as shown in view 4.

When that is done, trim the seam to a scant ¼”  as in view 5.

This will reduce the extra bulk and make your underarm seam give nicely.

I hope this is helpful to everyone!  JoAnn