Does it come in large?

A friend of a friend was given a mens extra large soft shell jacket as part of her uniform. Not being XL herself she wanted it tailored to fit her and seeing the jacket it on her I thought, “This is going to be a challenge”.

The sleeves were too long and baggy, the shoulders too wide, the hem too long and the whole body of the jacket too wide for her frame. Actually there really wasn’t much that look right at all if I’m honest! Not one to give up easily, I stuck a few pins in here and there, made some notes and took the jacket away to contemplate my next move.

First job was to sort out the sleeves. Working for the inside I sewed around the seam head and armhole through all layers 2.5cm in from the original seams. This took off 5cm from the shoulder width and 2.5 cm from the length of the sleeves. Great, first bit done. Next I tacked a row of stitching 2cm from the original stitching along the sleeve length to the underarm and continuing down the side seam, taking the bulk from the sleeves and body. I repeated this for the second sleeve. The body of the jacket was still not tailored enough for a lass so I pinned and tacked two back darts to take out the bagginess. The hem at the rear of the jacket needed unpicking and pinning to make it level with the front and more in proportion to the new shape I was creating.

At this point I asked if I could have the friend try on the jacket to make sure I had the dimensions correct. Once I cut away the excess there was no going back. All looked good so I charged ahead and sewed over the tacking stitches, finishing off the raw edges with my overlocker. The hem involved a couple of darts to take make the fit good and some top stitching for effect.

I am pleased with how it has turned out and it fits her well. Thank you Tina for letting me lose on your uniform and having the confidence in my abilities. I hope the jacket keeps you snug and warm at work now.

Any alterations you think I can help with, please do get in touch by email, phone or contact page.