Tips for Achieving an Ideal Fit

The ENT jumpsuit is, perhaps, simultaneously the easiest and most difficult Starfleet uniform to alter for fitting purposes. 

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 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, 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 shoulders, the chest, the waist, and the length of the garment (at various places).

The shoulders are probably the trickiest area of the ENT jumpsuit to get just right; the uniform should, ideally, look "sculpted" to the wearer, similarly to how the men's later-era TNG jacket yokes were structured. 

The two biggest factors in achieving an ideal fit in the shoulder area are the shape/slope of the wearer's shoulders, and the loft of the shoulder pads. 

Some peoples' shoulders are straighter and more squared (with a sharper angle "drop off" at the arm), while others' are more sloped and diagonal. 

We're drafted our ENT jumpsuit pattern to accommodate the majority of peoples' average shoulder slopes, but some additional adjustments may be needed to get the uniform to sit on the shoulders "just right." 

For minor fitting issues regarding the shoulder slope, we recommend compensating by simply adjusting the loft of the shoulder pads accordingly; if the upper shoulder area is a little baggy around the shoulder seam, use taller shoulder pads, and if it's a little tight, use smaller ones. 

One neat trick that the ENT costuming department seemed to employ was to sometimes support the appropriate raglan shoulder pads with an additional pair of set-in shoulder pads underneath, "doubling-up" as it were! (We recommend using this trick only if your shoulders are sloped considerably more than our pattern's shoulder seam, though, as you don't want your ENT jumpsuit's shoulders to end up looking like those TNG-era Romulans'!)

If more extreme measures are required to achieve a good shoulder fit, one can, of course, redraw the slope of the shoulder seam, adjusting as needed.

IMPORTANT: If you alter the actual cut of the shoulders in any way, remember to alter your shoulder reinforcements (and division stripe alignment guides) in the same manner! Otherwise, your shoulder reinforcements will not fit onto the jumpsuit body properly!

Achieving an ideal fit in the chest area can be tricky, although not as tricky as with the shoulders. 

Unlike the shoulders, which, as we've mentioned, should ideally look "sculpted" around the wearer's shoulders and drape beautifully (and snugly) over the shoulder area, the jumpsuit's chest has some wearing ease. 

This wearing ease begins at the bottom of the division stripe (where the shoulder fit is still fairly snug) and tapers to its fullness at the bottom of the armscye. 

In other words, the upper chest (where the division stripe is) should be relatively snug, but the lower chest (at the bottom of the armscye) should have a comfortable amount of wearing ease. 

When testing the fit of your jumpsuit, stand or sit in a natural position. Obviously, moving and posing in certain ways will cause your jumpsuit to respond differently, sometimes bunching or pulling. Just relax! 

If the upper chest is too tight, the fabric will pull uncomfortably and the jumpsuit will feel restrictive. We recommend letting it out by extending the outer area of the shoulder as needed, in the same manner as one would extend the garment along horizontal lengthen/shorten lines. 

If the upper chest is too loose, the excess fabric may gather and bunch around the bottom of the division stripe. We recommend taking it along the outer edge of the shoulders. 

If the lower chest is too tight, we recommend letting it out by extending the lower armscye by ¼ of the total amount needed and tapering to the original seam line toward the waist. (For instance, if you need to let out the chest 2", extend the front and back lower armscyes by ½" each, which totals to 2".) 

If the lower chest is too loose, we recommend taking it in at the lower armscye by ¼ of the total amount needed and tapering to the original seam line toward the waist. 

IMPORTANT: If you adjust the upper armscye, remember to adjust your shoulder reinforcements in the same manner!

IMPORTANT: If you adjust the lower armscye, remember to adjust the outer edges of your chest pockets in the same manner! 

IMPORTANT: If you adjust the upper or lower armscyes in any way, remember to adjust the appropriate armscye edges of your sleeves accordingly! (For instance, if you took in the lower armscye ¼", take in the top outer corner of the sleeve ¼" too, unless you want to keep it and ease it in when installing the sleeve.)

The waist is generally an easy aspect of the ENT jumpsuit to alter, thanks to the back elastic waistband! 

Like with the chest, there is some wearing ease at the waist, but the back elastic waistband gathers this ease around the wearer's waist and pulls the jumpsuit taut. 

As you may have noticed, the side seam line on the ENT jumpsuit is rolled forward slightly; once the back waistband is installed, the side seam is pulled toward the back so it hangs vertically.

If you need to tighten the jumpsuit's waist, it's as easy as adjusting the back elastic, which we covered in the main body of our tutorial.

If you need to slightly loosen the jumpsuit's waist, it's also easily handled by feeding some of the elastic back into the channel, which we also covered in the main body of our tutorial. 

However, if your waist measurement is approximately equal to, or exceeds, your chest measurement, simply letting out the elastic won't really get the job done. 

Should this be the case with your physique, we recommend letting out the waist by redrawing the jumpsuit's front side edge. Start at the lower armscye and taper outward toward the waistline, with the waist adjustment being ½ of the total amount needed, continuing downward over the hips and thighs as far as necessary. 

For example, if you need to let the waist out 2", we recommend adding 1" onto each front body at the waist, starting at the lower armscye and tapering to the new waist line (1" away from the original), continuing downward as needed before tapering back to the original seam line.

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. 

To shorten the garment, simply fold the pattern paper upward at the lines then back down again, or cut along one of the horizontal lines as if you were lengthening it and overlap the upper and lower portions however much is necessary, straightening the edges if needed. 

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 leftover paper scrap from the cut pattern 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?).

Obviously, the same adjustment needs to be made to both the front and back body panels for the jumpsuit to go together properly.

CONGRATULATIONS! 

YOU'RE FINISHED!

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