Burda Style For people who sew

One of the common problems with sleeveless dresses is a gaping armhole. This technique will show you how to put that extra fabric into the bust dart. (Also works for neckline gaping as well!)

Technique Materials

A copy of your pattern, pencil, french curve, extra tracing paper, scissors, tape, a muslin of your pattern

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7 Comments Sign in to add a post

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  May 5, 2013, 04.42 AMby Cass0

  absolutely awesome, this is the best FBA tutorial I have found. Thank you
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  Apr 1, 2012, 03.13 AMby jenss-1

  This problem often happens when a full-bust adjustment was needed. Since most patterns are designed for a B-cup, it’s not uncommon. The tutorial is helpful for a small adjustment. For larger adjustments & as an alternative, you can start with a (usually smaller) size pattern that fits the upper chest well—choose the size based on high chest measurement -not over mid bust. Then do one of the usual FBA adjustments to the pattern. (Just search FBA online if it’s not on this website).
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  Mar 7, 2012, 04.11 PMby lpmays

  This is great, thanks for sharing!. How would you get rid of a gaping armhole without darts on stretchy jersey?

  1 Reply

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    Apr 1, 2012, 03.17 AMby jenss-1

    Hi, you probably need to do an FBA (full-bust adjustment) on the pattern first. There are a lot of examples online. Then, rotate the dart out. Here’s an example: http://3hourspast.com/how-to-eliminate-a-horizontal-dart/

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  Sep 21, 2011, 11.13 AMby jphilbrick

  ahhh…i see! thank you!
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  Sep 17, 2011, 12.03 PMby jphilbrick

  Forgive my extreme ignorance at altering patterns, but how would this work for neckline gaping (my Waterloo, apparently)? If you pinch the excess out in the middle, you wouldn’t be able to shift it over to the bust darts, would you?

  1 Reply

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    Sep 17, 2011, 09.36 PMby prettysweet

    Pinch the neckline fullness into a dart that ends at the bust dart point. Sometimes it is just a teeny tiny dart. If you are working directly on your muslin, you will make two darts, one for each side, each dart pointing to the end of your bust dart. Then copy it to your paper pattern. Does this make sense? (You don’t pinch out the excess in the middle, but usually more to the bottom left and right.)

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  Jul 14, 2011, 12.26 AMby dorawarren

  I am so glad you posted this. This is the exact problem I had with one I made for a lady with a fuller chest. With your tutorial, I altered the third muslin – I think this one with work well. Thanks!
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  Jul 11, 2011, 09.23 AMby susanne2011

  Fabulous, thanks!