Tips for Achieving an Ideal Fit

While some costumers may find a perfect fit in one of the "default" pattern sizes, it is somewhat unlikely due to variations in height, weight, build, musculature, neck size, and general physique. 

That's why we highly recommend making a muslin test or a "practice" garment of some kind (other than to familiarize yourself with its construction, that is!) - you can make the necessary sizing observations (e.g. sleeves need to be an inch longer, waist needs to be loosened, neckline needs to be taken in a bit, etc.). 

All this fitting does require extra time and effort on the part of the costumer, but the finished garment's custom-tailored look will definitely be worth it!

There are four main aspects of the garment that may need adjustment and the original pattern need be altered: the neckline, the chest, the waist, and the length of the garment (at various places). 

Fortunately, these revisions are not difficult to make!

The neckline is, perhaps, the easiest, as it will most likely simply need to be widened or narrowed, and to accomplish this one only needs to adjust the curvature of the neckline on the printed pattern before cutting.

Another aspect of the neckline which may need to be adjusted is the height of the yoke at the center front; depending on the size of one's neck and/or shape of their chest that the corners of the front opening either droop too low or poke upward. (Both of these are sometimes impossible to avoid, such as when one is sitting or reaching upward; we believe casual standing posture is the primary consideration regarding this.)

If, for some reason, your neckline needs to be lengthened in the other direction, it is a simple matter of adding the appropriate length to the shoulder seam on each side. 

For instance, if your neckline needs to be lengthened (as opposed to widened, sideways) by ¼", simply add ⅛" to both the front yoke and the back yoke on the neckline side of the shoulder seam.

(DS9/NEM duty jumpsuit yoke pictured)

The opposite would be the case if you need it let out a bit at the shoulder/armscye. 

Just remember to adjust the seamline of your shoulder point accordingly!

If you need to adjust the chest, we generally recommend determining the amount of adjustment necessary and distributing it as evenly as possible among the center front/side front and center back body panel seams. 

For instance, if you need to let the chest out 2" to achieve a comfortable fit, that 2" could be allocated as ½" to each of the center front/side front body panel seams and 1" to the center back body panel seam. - or, more specifically, by adding ¼" to the outermost edge of the center front body panel, ½" to the centermost edge of the side front body panel, and ½" to the centermost edge of the center back body panel. 

This adjustment may need to be made to the entire body panel if one also has a large waist and legs, or one could taper the additional ease from, say, the waist or crotch upward. 

Remember, when changing the width of the jumpsuit's body panels, the width of the corresponding yoke piece(s) must also be altered to match! 

(In other words, if you let the chest out 2" using the above method, the front yokes will each need to be ½" wider and the back yoke will need to be 1" wider.) 

Another option, for minute chest alterations, is the top of the side front/side back seam (under the arm) - adjusting the sleeve (and sleeve lining) accordingly, of course!

The waist is, likewise, an easy aspect of the garment to alter. 

Of course, as waist sizes vary widely amongst people, it's also, perhaps, the most likely to need adjustment.

Fortunately, on this jumpsuit, adjusting the waist is a fairly simple matter, as the jumpsuit, without the elastic waistband, is likely quite a bit too large around the waist. The elastic "shrinks" the waist of the jumpsuit body to the wearer to whatever degree is necessary for comfort and mobility. 

In most situations, the jumpsuit's waist will be adjustable however necessary by simply adjusting the length of the elastic inside the waistband channel; for instance, if you're using 8" lengths of elastic and the jumpsuit is uncomfortably tight around the waist, try using a 9" or 10" lengths on each side instead. 

Alternatively, if you're using 8" lengths of elastic and the jumpsuit is too baggy, try using 7" or 6" lengths on each side instead. 

In fact, during your muslin test, you might want to begin with a long cut of elastic - say, 12" - and sew the elastic channel on first over the elastic but only securing the back end of it. Then you can tighten the elastic as necessary by pulling it along the front and pinning, basting, or marking it where the fit is best, cutting off the excess (leaving about an inch "poking out" from the channel, of course) and securing it. 

Lengthening or shortening the garment is a simple matter, for the most part. 

Naturally, some people will be taller while others are shorter; some may have a long torso and short legs, or vice-versa. Some people may have a long waist and short thighs, while other people may have a tiny "seat" and very long legs. Builds obviously vary considerably!

On the jumpsuit body, there are three places where we recommend lengthening or shortening the body as needed to achieve an ideal fit. 

At whichever portion(s) of the body need to be lengthened, cut the pattern along one of the horizontal lines so it is two separate pieces, insert a small piece of paper underneath the two pieces, (a standard 8 ½" x 11" page will work nicely, as well any cheap craft paper you might have sitting around, or you could even put some of that junk mail to good use!), tape the three together, and, making sure the upper and lower portions are properly aligned (i.e. not straight and not crooked/slanted/etc.), use a ruler as a guide and draw a line on each side to connect them. Cut along these lines to form your new, extended pattern piece. 

I (Alex), for instance, need to lengthen the upper portion of the jumpsuit body by 1" so it doesn't ride up in the crotch uncomfortably in the front and give me a wedgie in the back (TMI?). 

CONGRATULATIONS! 

YOU'RE FINISHED!

If you found this tutorial helpful, please support my costume research on Ko-Fi! :)

Tutorial, part 13 - Odds and Ends

Just a few loose ends to tie up ... 

Fold the top 1" of the zipper out of the way and hand sew a hook-and-eye closure to the body facing, taking care to only sew through the facing (and seam allowances) and not stitching through to the right side of the garment!

NOTE: We recommend using one regular (medium) size hook-and-eye closure, although the screen-used uniforms seemed to have sometimes used one medium closure or two small ones. The choice is up to you! We've had better results with the single medium closure, though.

Put your jumpsuit on again and determine adequate pants' hem allowance. (The pattern's default pant leg hem allowance is 2"). 

Pin your hem allowance place if possible. (It helps to have a partner with this.) 

Take your jumpsuit back off and press your pants' hem allowance upward. 

Hand sew the hem allowance to the pant legs. 

Press the bottom of the pant legs. 

NOTE: We recommend hemming your pants as pictured above - that is, with the split's extra seam allowance pressed over the hem allowance, as an observer is more likely to get a peek inside of the pants split than up the bottom of the pant leg. To accomplish this, simply fold the split's extra seam allowance out of the way, press the hem allowance upward and hand sew it into place, fold and press the split's seam allowance back away from center, slip-stitch the layers together along bottom, and hand sew the split's seam allowances to the hem allowance. 

DS9/NEM cadet jumpsuit pictured

Cut two lengths of ¾" elastic for the "stirrup" at the bottom of the pant legs. 

The exact length needed may vary from person to person depending on the length of the pant legs and the width of the wearer's boots, but we generally recommend cutting these about 8" long. 

Sew the elastic stirrups to the bottom of the pant legs at the side seams with a triangular stitch (with the "flat" side of the triangle on bottom). 

(The above example was done in gray thread slightly darker than the jumpsuit body, so it's easier to see; done in matching thread it would be practically unnoticeable.) 

NOTE: Depending on the placement of the sole and shape of the bottom of your boots, you may find 1" elastic to be preferable and more effective than the ¾" pictured above. 


PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 12 - Internal Belt

NEXT: Tips for Achieving an Ideal Fit

Tutorial, part 12 - Internal Belt

To construct the internal belt of the jumpsuit, begin by opening it and laying it flat on the floor or your workspace. Open the fronts as much as possible so you have a clear view of the back elastic channels and spandex panel. 

Measure a length of 2" grossgrain ribbon or belting that extends from the back of one elastic channel to the other, plus about 2". 

Cut the length of ribbon or belting. 

Turn the ends under about 1" and sew them down. 

Press the ribbon briefly to flatten the ends.

Sew this length of ribbon or belting to the back ends of the waistband elastic that you left poking out of the back ends of the channels earlier. 

Cut two more lengths of ribbon or belting at least 12" to 16" long. 

Turn one end of each under about 1," then sew and press them each in the same manner as done previously with the back of the internal belt. 

Sew the sewn/pressed ends to the front ends of the waistband elastic that you left poking out of the front ends of the channels, just as you did for the back. 

Leave the two front lengths of ribbon or belting dangling for now. 

And now, the time has come for you to put on your jumpsuit!

Pull the two lengths of ribbon or belting together, as symmetrically as possible, to a comfortable tautness. 

Pin (or even double-pin) the two lengths of ribbon or belting together at the front center. 

TIP: We recommend wearing your undershirt shirt plus any other undergarments you plan on wearing, as these may affect the necessary tautness of the belt, either by adding a modest but significant amount of bulk and/or by compressing your torso a bit (such as if you're wearing, say, Under Armour or your undershirt is on the small side).

Cut both ribbons approximately 1" from your pins' placement. 

Turn these ends under ¾" (not 1", since they will overlap slightly), then sew and press them as done previously. 

Hand sew two trouser-style hook-and-eye closures to the ribbon/belting. 

Your jumpsuit's finished internal belt should now look something like this: 

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 11 - Shoulder Pads

NEXT: Tutorial, part 13 - Odds and Ends

Tutorial, part 11 - Shoulder Pads

The necessary loft of the shoulder pads will depend on the wearer's physique (as will the precise angle of the shoulder seam, for that matter); most non-raglan shoulder pads will work nicely, though, like these:

Place the shoulder pad inside the jumpsuit so that the pad's long edge is flush with the jumpsuit's armscye seam, and the pad's seam (if it has one) is flush with the jumpsuit's shoulder seam. 

Hand-stitch the pad securely in place to the yoke facing and armscye seam allowances being careful not to stitch all the way through to the outside of the garment. 

Repeat for the other side. 

NOTE: As you may recall, on the screen-used jumpsuits, the shoulder pads were attached via two snaps along the shoulder seam; this was likely so they could be swapped out as needed amongst the cast and/or for dry-cleaning. However, unless you plan on sharing your uniform with another person or you plan on wearing it often enough for it to need to be dry-cleaned, we recommend sewing the shoulder pads rather than attaching them with snaps. 

TIP: We recommend securing the shoulder pad to the jumpsuit in only two places: the centermost and outermost portions of the shoulder pad along the shoulder seam. This will mimic the effect of the snaps used on the screen-used jumpsuits and prevent any unsightly puckering along the armscye caused by slightly misplaced or poorly sewn pads.


PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 10 - Close Inseam

NEXT: Tutorial, part 12 - Internal Belt

Tutorial, part 10 - Close Inseam

We recommend pressing the garment as much as possible while it's still open and the wrong side is still fairly easily accessible; it will be much more difficult to do so later (especially the pant legs). 

Sew the inseam closed in one long, continuous stitch, matching seam lines at the center bottom.

Press seam allowances open. (A pants seam pressing board is practically indispensible for this.)

The bottom of your jumpsuit's torso should now look like this: 

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 9 - Elastic Waistbands

NEXT: Tutorial, part 11 - Shoulder Pads

Tutorial, part 9 - Elastic Waistbands

Open your jumpsuit body so the inside is more easily accessible. 

Sew one edge of the elastic waistband channel (piece M) to the jumpsuit body along the lines indicated, ¼" from the edge. (We did the upper edge of the waistband channel first, but it doesn't really matter.) 

The stitch should begin and end exactly at the centermost side body panels' seam allowances. 

The stitch will also be visible on the outside of the jumpsuit, but it is supposed to be, so don't worry! 

Cut an appropriate length of 2" elastic, plus about 2" in addition to whatever amount you require for a comfortable elasticized fit. 

(And you do know how much you need because you made a muslin test or three first, right???) 

I (Alex), for instance, need about 8" of elastic on each side for a comfortable fit, so I cut a 10" length of elastic. 

Place your elastic so its upper edge is flush with the upper stitching line of the elastic channel, and it overhangs the side front/center front (or side back/center back) seam line by about 1". 

Fasten the elastic to the jumpsuit body securely by vertically stitching exactly over the body panel seam line. (Since you can't actually see it, just give it your best guess. It'll probably be fine.) 

Repeat for the other end of the elastic. 

Fold the elastic channel down over the elastic. 

Remember, about 1" of elastic should be "poking out" from each end of the channel. 

Using your zipper/piping foot, sew down the other end of the elastic channel (lower end, in this case) ¼" from the edge of the elastic channel.

TIP: As the elastic will, by its very nature, cause the channel to gather and contract (that's what it's there for ... duh!), it can be difficult to sew the lower edge without the channel shifting or accidentally sewing puckers or other such undesirable outcomes. (It's even harder to do while holding a camera ...) We recommend pulling the elastic so all the gathering is on the half of the channel closest to you, sewing from the far edge to the side seam, leaving the needle down and lifting the presser foot, then redistributing the elasticity/gathering of the fabric to the sewn half of the elastic channel, lowering the presser foot and continuing as best you can. 

The inside of your finished elastic channel should now look something like this: 

TIP: If you have black elastic, then we recommend using it instead of white or some other color! The likelihood that it will matter is negligible, but sometimes when securing the ends of the elastic to the body the sewing needle might "poke" a thread or two of the elastic through to the right side of the garment, causing a teeny white fleck to be visible on the outside of the jumpsuit. The same thing might happen if you accidentally "nick" the elastic when sewing on the lower edge of the elastic channel. Better safe than sorry! 

(We used white elastic mainly because it was easier to demonstrate the construction process in this tutorial, but pretty much every screen-used jumpsuit we've seen the inside of had white elastic, so, again, it's not a big deal.)


PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 8 - Close Sides and Sleeve Vents

NEXT: Tutorial, part 10 - Close Inseam

Tutorial, part 8 - Close Sides and Sleeve Vents

For "regular" sleeves, sew the jumpsuit body's side seam and sleeve seam closed in one continuous stitch, from the bottom of the pant leg to the bottom of the sleeve. 

Press the seam allowances open. 

Fold the sleeve's hem allowance upward and press. 

Hand sew the hem allowance to the sleeve.

For vented sleeves, sew the jumpsuit body's side seam and sleeve seam closed in one continuous stitch, from the bottom of the pant leg to the upper edge of the sleeve vent, pivoting at the vent and reinforcing the seam several times at the top of the vent.

Clip through all layers diagonally from the top corner of the vent to the stitch line pivot.

Press seam allowances open. 

Fold the front side of the sleeve under ¾" (wrong sides together) and press. 

Cut a 3 ½" length of ¾" black hook and loop tape ("Velcro") - 3 ⅝" if you're feeling brave! 

Sew the "Velcro" to the underside of the front sleeve bottom (the part you folded under) and the right side of the back sleeve bottom (the flat part).

Your finished sleeve vent should look something like this:

Repeat for the other side.


PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 7 - Sleeves to Body

NEXT: Tutorial, part 9 - Elastic Waistbands

Tutorial, part 7 - Sleeves to Body

If you valiantly chose to use the shoulder points with ease, kudos! 

In case you are unfamiliar with the process of easing sleeves, here are some basic instructions: 

Decrease the thread tension on your sewing machine and, using a long stitch length (and perhaps contrasting thread), baste along and ¼" inside the upper (rounded) edge of the shoulder point, starting and stopping at the dots marked on the printed pattern and leaving several inches of thread/bobbin trailing at the ends. 

Baste again ⅛" from the edge.

Gently gather the shoulder point along the two rows of stitching and press the gathered ease into place (with no folds or puckers past the armscye seam line, or ⅜" from the edge). Repeat as necessary to shrink the fullness. 

Pin the sleeve assembly to the appropriate side of the jumpsuit body, aligning the shoulder seam with the line indicated on the printed pattern and the lower edges of the shoulder point with the bottom of the jumpsuit body's yoke.

Baste the sleeve to the body, easing and distributing ease as necessary. 

Check to make sure the bottom edges of the shoulder point are properly aligned with the bottom of the yoke, that there are no tucks or puckers along the shoulder point, and the ease is satisfactorily distributed. Adjust as needed. 

I hate this!

If you chose to use the shoulder point without ease, simply pin the sleeve assembly to the body, matching shoulder point/sleeve and yoke/body seam lines and appropriately placing the shoulder seam. 

All too easy.

Sew the sleeve to the body (but NOT the yoke facing!), using division-color thread for the shoulder point and black for the sleeve.

Press the armscye seam allowances open using a tailor's ham.

It's at this point that you'll be glad you clipped out the yoke/body seam allowances in the key areas to reduce bulk! 

Fold the yoke facing back toward the armscye. 

The armscye edge of the yoke facing should be flush with the rounded edge of the shoulder point (⅜" past the seam line). 

Sewing over the previous stitch line (or perhaps just beyond it, to be safe), secure the yoke facing at the armscye, beginning and ending about 1" above the bottom of the shoulder point. 

Press the armscye seam allowances again. 

Remember, the action pleat should extend all the way to the armscye, and its top edge should meet the yoke exactly at the yoke/body seam line at the armscye.

Repeat for other side.


PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 6 - Shoulder Point onto Sleeve

NEXT: Tutorial, part 8 - Close Sides and Sleeve Vents

Tutorial, part 6 - Shoulder Point onto Sleeve

Stay-stitch the lower corner at the top of the sleeve (piece I), where the shoulder point will be attached, ⅜" from the edges, and clip the sleeve vertically from the corner to the stay-stitch's pivot point.

Sew the shoulder point (piece H) to the sleeve, right sides facing. 

NOTE: For your convenience, we have included two shoulder point options for the VOY jumpsuit sleeves: one with ease, and one without ease. If you're unpracticed at easing sleeves, or if you simply hate the process (like we do), you may simply cut the DS9/NEM shoulder point with seam allowance (noted on the printed pattern) and disregard the quilt lines. We've observed no advantage to having shoulder point ease on these uniforms, but the screen-used uniforms' shoulder points appeared to have some ease, so we've included that option as well. 

TIP: With the shoulder point on top, stitch to the pivot line (you can mark this with chalk, a disappearing ink fabric marker, or even a pin), and stop with the needle still in the fabric. Lift the presser foot and rotate the sleeve so that the other sleeve edge is flush with the other edge of the shoulder point, lower the presser foot, and continue stitching.

Once you've sewn the shoulder point onto the sleeve, it may initially look something like this:

And you'll feel like this: 

But don't worry! A sleeve even this "bad" can be salvaged with very little effort, and we'll show you how.

Notch the shoulder point seam allowances at the bottom of the shoulder point. 

From the wrong side, steam and press the area directly beneath the corner of the shoulder point. 

If steam doesn't get the job done, you may want to lightly spray a bit of water on the area and press it again. 

See how much better it already looks? 

Press the shoulder point/sleeve seam allowances open. 

As a finishing touch, we recommend interfacing the area directly beneath the bottom corner of the shoulder point to keep it looking nice, flat, and crisp. 

Cut a small, rectangular piece of lightweight or midweight fusible interfacing (about 2" x 1" or so). 

We recommend cutting it with pinking shears ("pinking" it), thus minimizing the effect of strong, linear imprints on the right side of the garment where the edges of the interfacing are, better obscuring them. 

Make sure the fabric area beneath the shoulder point is wrinkle-free, then fuse the interfacing strip to the wrong side of the sleeve. We recommend placing one of the pinked wedges directly beneath the bottom corner of the shoulder point, as high as possible.

Here's a photo of the same sleeve as above after notching the shoulder point seam allowances, thoroughly steaming and pressing the area beneath the shoulder point, pressing the shoulder point/sleeve seam allowances open, and fusing pinked interfacing beneath the shoulder point. 

For "regular" sleeves, repeat for other side and skip ahead to the next step. 

For vented sleeves, fold the sleeve hem upward and press. 

Sew or baste the hem allowance to the sleeve along the sleeve sides and pin the upper edge into place. 

Hand sew the upper edge of the hem allowance to the sleeve. 

Repeat for other side.


NOTE: The sleeve, as it is on the pattern, has 4" hem allowance, which is generous, to say the least - double the 2" hem allowance sleeves usually have. This was done for two reasons: first, to provide the widest range of potential hems for the costumer, and second, so that the hem would extend all the way to the top of the sleeve vent on the vented sleeves.

The process of constructing the vented sleeve does not require 4" hem allowance to work properly!

Whether you are constructing "regular" or vented sleeves, you may reduce the hem allowance if you wish; if you do so, we recommend reducing it to the standard 1 ½" or 2".

Hand sew the upper edge of the hem allowances into place. 

You should now have two (otherwise) finished sleeves, huzzah! 

(Vented sleeve pictured)

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 5- Yoke to Body

NEXT: Tutorial, part 7 - Sleeves to Body

Tutorial, part 5 - Yoke to Body

It's a bit dodgy, this process.

Trim ¼" off of the top edges of your jumpsuit's front and back body assemblies and serge the top edges again. 

(This is because we use the same jumpsuit body pattern for our VOY and DS9/NEM duty jumpsuits, but on the former we use ¾" seam allowance at the top and 1" seam allowance on the latter.) 

Unzip your jumpsuit so the top edges of the fronts are more easily accessible. 

Open the facing again so that, if the jumpsuit were lying flat, all three panels (side front, center front, facing) are visible, right sides upward, and top edges even. 

Place the front yoke upside-down on the front body assembly so that the bottom edge of the front yoke is flush with the top edge of the front body and right sides are facing. 

Pin ONLY the yoke (NOT the yoke facing) to the front body assembly, matching edges at the armscye and front opening. Open and rotate the yoke assembly a few inches so that the centermost portion of the yoke facing faces the body facing and continue pinning for the duration of the body facing. 

Note that the bottom edge of the yoke facing will NOT be flush with the top edge of the body facing. It will be ⅜" away. 

Sew the front yoke to the front body with ¾" seam allowance. 

Again, note that the bottom edge of the yoke facing will NOT be flush with the top edge of the body facing; it will be ⅜" away. Continue to stitch with ¾" seam allowance. 

Clip the yoke seam allowance at the front opening seam line (shown with arrow) and press the yoke/body seam allowances open. Press the yoke facing/body facing seam allowances DOWNWARD, though. 

Turn the yoke facing/body facing under and press. 

The yoke/body seam lines and front opening seam lines should match exactly. 

The inside of your jumpsuit's front assembly should look like this after pressing:

From the right side (outside of the jumpsuit body), pin the yoke facing into place along the yoke/body seam line. 

"Stitch in the ditch" using black thread from the right side along the yoke/body seam line to secure the yoke facing, leaving the outermost 2" or so free. 

Repeat for the other side. 

Note how this process distributes the bulk as evenly as possible and avoids having too much thickness accumulating in any particular area; Blackman & co. sure seem to have known what they were doing! 

The process of attaching the back yoke to the back body assembly is slightly different, however. 

Sew ONLY the back yoke (NOT the yoke facing) to the back body assembly with ¾" seam allowance in the same manner as done previously with the front (bottom edge of the yoke flush with the top edge of the back body assembly and right sides together). We recommend reinforcing the stitch line several times over the action pleats. 

Press the seam allowances upward. 

From the right side, pin the back yoke facing into place along the yoke/body seam line. 

"Stitch in the ditch" to secure the back yoke facing as done previously with the front (using black thread from the right side along the yoke/body seam line, leaving the outermost 2" or so free). 

TIP: Cut away the yoke/body seam allowances at the armscye above the stitch line to reduce bulk when attaching the sleeve later. 

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 4 - Back Body

NEXT: Tutorial, part 6 - Shoulder Point onto Sleeve