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 five main aspects of the garment that may need adjustment and the original pattern need be altered: the neckline, the chest, the waist, the length of the garment, and the sleeves.
These revisions are not difficult to make, even to conform to NEMESIS "hero" uniform standards, provided one remembers the appropriate points at which the garment is to be aligned and/or coordinated.
The neckline, for instance, is simply adjusted in lateral increments of half quilt-lines ... that is, it is widened (sideways) in increments of ⅜". ):
|
|
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 the front yoke and the back yoke on the neckline side of the shoulder seam.
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!
Adjusting the chest at the bottom of the yoke is a fairly simple matter, too.
The chest sizes of the printed pattern are graded in increments of 4 ½" - that is, one additional ¾" quilt line on each front yoke, one additional ¾" quilt line on each side of the back yoke, and ⅜" on each side of the underarm/side front/side back seam and on both sides.
Any chest alterations - between the "default" sizes on the printed pattern, that is - are easiest to make in increments of ¾". This is most effectively done by taking in the armscye seam in by ⅜" on either the back or both front yokes (wherever there's more excess), thus moving the seam's ⅛" topstitching from on a quilt line to a mid-quilt line.
(All of the "default" printed pattern sizes place the yokes' armscye seam's topstitching on a quilt line, as we believe it to be ideal, but as noted in the construction analysis, a mid-quilt line is acceptable.)
.jpg)
In other words, the printed pattern piece will look like this (right) in every size, in the front and the back: 
But you can add or remove ¾" to or from the chest by moving the armscye seam to a mid-quilt line (left), in the front or the back.
Of course, you can add or remove 1 ½" to or from the chest by doing in both the front AND the back.
Remember to adjust your shoulder point, side front body panels, and lining panels accordingly.
Another option, for slight 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.
The waist sizes on the printed pattern are graded in increments of 3". This means that each pattern size may need up to 2 ½" or so added or subtracted to the waistline.
The best place to take the waist in a bit is at the side front/side back seams (say, ¼" each or so). That would be ½" for each side, or 1" total.
Adding to the waist is a similar process and can be done anywhere, though the easiest place to add is, by far, the side front/side back seam.
As is, the pieces are angled inward somewhat, but they can be adjusted as needed with relative ease.
Remember to adjust the lining panels and the length of the waistband (both Picard and Sisko versions) accordingly when modifying the waist.
The jacket length is a bit more of an issue than the others.
The distance from the bottom of the yoke to the bottom of the jacket at the front center was 16 ½" on Captain Picard's Nemesis jacket - presumably not only because that was an ideal fit, but also it because conveniently lent itself to a 16" jacket zipper and ½" for a hook-and-eye closure. Captain Sisko's jacket appeared to be the same.
From this, we can deduce that the IDEAL jacket height (from the bottom of the yoke, which was a fixed height of 4 ½" at the front opening, to the bottom of the jacket, measured from the front center) was 16 ½".
On our pattern, we have drafted the jacket so that the MEDIUM size is "screen accurate" in this regard. From there, the jacket body height is graded in 1" increments; the SMALL is 15 ½", the MEDIUM is 16 ½", the LARGE is 17 ½", the XL is 18 ½", and the 2XL is 19 ½".
This was done for height/weight purposes only! For instance, a shorter fellow with moobs and a beer gut might wear a size 2XL, but the 19 ½" jacket body would be way too long. Likewise, a taller, toothpick-size gentleman might wear a size small, but the jacket would likely be too short.
Take a look at Oberoth and Gabe Lewis; though they might have a similar build at the chest and shoulders, their waistlines will be radically different:
We have graded the jacket height for your sizing convenience, but 16 ½" is, arguably, the ideal!
The length of the sleeves may need to be adjusted, depending on the wearer's arm length.
This is relatively easy, however!
The sleeve length on the pattern is graded in increments of 1".
The sleeve is wider at the top and gradually narrows toward the wrist, but the bottommost 2 ½" are a consistent width for the sleeve cuff.
To length or shorten, simply move said 2 ½" rectangle upward or downward as needed and change the angle of the sleeve's narrowing accordingly.
CONGRATULATIONS!
If you found this tutorial helpful, please support my costume research on Ko-Fi! :)
