Tips for Achieving an Ideal Fit

The sizes available on the printed pattern should accommodate most body builds, but some customizing may be needed in order to achieve an ideal fit. 

Perhaps most likely to need adjustment is the collar, as it may be slightly too tight or too loose for comfort around the wearer's neck. It should be snug-ish but not uncomfortably tight. 

Our pattern's collars are graded in increments of 1", starting with 14 ½" for the size small.

The collar and collar facing pieces themselves are rectangles, and to adjust the size of the collar, one needs only to adjust the width of the rectangles (the long way). 

Remember that by whatever increment you adjust the size, the end result will be double (since the pieces are placed on the fold)! In other words, if you widen the pattern piece by ¼", the result will be a collar that is ½" looser.

Should you require LOOSENING of the collar, we recommend widening the pattern pieces as described above by whatever increment is necessary for an ideal fit (and this may take a few tries to get just right). Then simply ease in the longer collar while sewing it; you may also stretch the body's neckline if necessary to accommodate the longer collar. 

Should you require TIGHTENING of the collar, we recommend first tapering the collar a little bit at the center front - that is, instead of leaving a straight vertical edge on each side of the center front, cutting it at a slight angle, widening from the bottom to top of the collar. This will help the collar better conform to and hug the wearer's neck.

If that alone doesn't work, we recommend narrowing the width of the collar by the necessary amount in the same manner as the loosening procedure above. A combination of tightening and tapering may produce ideal results.

If you've chosen to construct the undershirt with sleeves, then you may wish to lengthen or shorten them.

If your sleeves need lengthening or shortening, first determine if the sleeve cuff is comfortable and/or has the desired amount of tautness around your wrists. 

If not, the sleeve cuff is easily adjustable in the same manner as the collar (that is, narrowing or widening the rectangle by the desired amount). 

Once the bottom of the sleeve is adjusted (if need be), redraft the sleeve edges from the underarm (the widest point of the sleeve pattern piece) to the bottom of the sleeve.

If you widened or narrowed of the bottom of the sleeve, do the same for the hem allowance (the bottom 1" of the pattern piece).

The only other area that might need adjustment is the chest. 

The garment itself is made of stretchy knit fabric and should fit comfortably if worn at an appropriate size, but should it be too tight or loose, there are several simple options to achieve an ideal fit. 

First, as mentioned previously, the center back seam allows for some give and take. 

Otherwise, if the garment is too loose, the body's side seams can be taken in (along with the upper portion of the sleeve seam) after it is already made. 

If it is too tight, extend the upper side of the pattern piece (at the underarm) by ¼ of the desired alteration on both the front and back pattern pieces, and widen the sleeve's underarm edges by the same amount (so the seam lines will match). For instance, if you need the garment to be 1" looser, add ¼" to the top of the front side seam (underarm), ¼" to the top of the back side seam (underarm), and ¼" to both sides of the sleeve underarm.

If you constructed the fly onesie and the leg holes are too large (I, for one, have skinny little chicken legs), you may wish to adjust them.

Model: Alex Beard

Rather than attaching the leg binding stably, you might want to stretch the leg binding as you go. 

This will elasticize the leg holes somewhat and they will be more likely to sit snugly around the legs (such as men's briefs might). The more you stretch the leg binding, the more it will contract around your leg (just like sleeve cuffs do around the wrists).

CONGRATULATIONS!

YOU'RE FINISHED!

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

Tutorial, part 10 - Optional Neck Flap

OPTIONAL: Interface optional neck flap (piece T) with knit interfacing to sturdy it. 

Hand sew left edge of optional neck flap (piece T) to left collar facing, 1" from center. 

Hand sew two snaps close to right edge of neck flap. 

Hand sew opposite ends of two snaps onto right collar facing, the same distance from center and apart.

NEXT: Tips for Achieving an Ideal Fit

Tutorial, part 9 - Hem

If the optional fitting darts are desired, sew them where indicated on the printed pattern. 

Press underside of darts toward center. 

NOTE: This entire step is optional; being constructed of a knit fabric, the shirt actually doesn't require hemming for garment longevity, so this is purely aesthetic. As of the writing of this tutorial, we're not sure if the screen-used VOY undershirts were typically hemmed or not, but we think it looks nice! 

Turn the bottom of the shirt under ½", then ½" again. 

From the wrong side, stitch through all layers, close to the edge of the hem.

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 6 - Sleeves

NEXT: Tutorial, part 10 - Optional Neck Flap

Tutorial, part 8 - Standard Onesie

Apply standard onesie interfacing (piece M) to the center of the front undershirt bottom (alignment guides are included on the printed pattern).

Sew a strip of ¾" Velcro (or other hook and loop tape) the same length as the interfacing to the front undershirt bottom over said interfacing.

Apply standard onesie interfacing (piece M) to the wrong side of the thin edge of onesie back (piece N).

Turn interfaced edge of back onesie under ¾" (wrong sides together) and baste or sew the fold securely in place.

Sew a strip of ¾" Velcro (or other hook and loop tape) through all layers.

OPTIONAL: To further secure the fly closure, attach three snaps to each end over the Velcro.

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 6 - Sleeves

NEXT: Tutorial, part 10 - Optional Neck Flap

Tutorial, part 7 - Fly Onesie

Pin the leg binding (piece Q) to the fly assembly along the open leg hole, right sides together and edges flush. 

Remove any excess so that the leg binding is the same length as the leg hole. 

Sew the leg binding to the leg hole. 

Press leg binding away from the fly assembly. 

Repeat for other side.

Turn leg binding under, press, "stitch in the ditch," and remove excess in the same manner as done previously with the fly binding.

Turn interfaced edge of back onesie under ¾" (wrong sides together) and baste or sew the fold securely in place.

Sew a strip of ¾" Velcro (or other hook and loop tape) through all layers between leg binding.

Turn under bottom edge of left front fly ¾" and baste or sew securely in place.

Turn OVER bottom edge of right front fly ¾" and baste or sew securely in place.

Baste or sew the two front fly halves together along the bottom, matching edges and centers and with the folded fabric allowances together.

Sew a strip of opposite end of ¾" Velcro (or other hook and loop tape) to the outer side of bottom front fly between leg binding, through all layers.

OPTIONAL: To further secure the fly closure, attach three snaps to each end over the Velcro.

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 6 - Sleeves

NEXT: Tutorial, part 10 - Optional Neck Flap

Tutorial, part 6 - Sleeves

For the version WITH SLEEVES, sew the open sleeve (piece C) to the body assembly, right sides facing, matching edges and sleeve center with shoulder seam. (The sleeve is symmetrical, so either sleeve piece will do; there isn't a specific front or back.)

Repeat for other side. 

Sew the sleeve and body side seam closed in one continuous stitch, right sides facing, matching edges and sleeve/body seam lines. 

Press seam allowances open. 

Repeat for other side.

Fold the sleeve cuff (piece K) in half horizontally (so the short edges meet), right sides facing, and sew it closed. 

Press seam allowance open. 

Fold the sleeve cuff in half again, this time vertically (the short way), wrong sides facing, matching seam lines. 

OPTIONAL: Baste or sew the sleeve cuff across the seam allowances to ensure proper alignment with the sleeve.

Stretch the sleeve cuff around the bottom of the sleeve and pin in place, open edges flush and matching seam lines. (Pinning excessively is unnecessary; quarterly or so should do nicely, perhaps with a couple more at the seam line.) 

Sew the sleeve cuff to the sleeve, right sides together.

Fold sleeve cuff downward. 

For SLEEVELESS option, sew the side seams closed and press seam allowances open. 

NOTE: Being constructed of a knit fabric, the garment edges do not technically require hemming, but we do recommend hemming the armhole openings for aesthetic purposes. 

Turn the armhole edge under ¼", then ¼" again. 

From the wrong side, stitch through all layers, close to the edge of the hem.

For FLY ONESIE, continue to next step. 

For STANDARD ONESIE, skip to step 8. 

For HEMMED VERSION, skip to step 9. 

Tutorial, part 5 - Fly Onesie

Apply fly interfacing (piece R) to the wrong side of the bottom of the left front fly (piece O). 

Sew the fly binding (piece P) to the front fly along the long straight edge, edges flush and right sides together.

Press the fly binding away from fly.

Turn fly binding under along edge of fly and pin underside of fly binding in place. 

"Stitch in the ditch" along fly/fly binding seam line to secure underside of fly binding.

The fly should look like this:

Remove the excess fly binding by clipping close to the stitch line.

Press fly binding. 

Repeat for other side (except interfacing). 

Overlap the two fly pieces, matching centers, and with both right sides facing outward.

Baste or sew the fly halves together ¼" or so from the top edge where the two halves overlap, matching centers. 

Sew the fly assembly onto the undershirt front, matching centers and side edges.

Apply fly interfacing (piece R) to the wrong side of the bottom of the back onesie.

NEXT: Tutorial, part 6 - Sleeves

Tutorial, part 4d - Picard trim

For the Captain Picard-style (partial-length) zipper trim, any of the five zipper trim construction methods will work; the only thing that changes is the bottom. 

Rather than extending the trim all the way down to the bottom of the division shirt, we will instead be making use of the previously clipped front opening. 

First, decide which zipper construction you wish to use (and yes, a shorter zipper with the Picard/partial-length trim is an option, whether it only extends partially to an open collar or closes all the way as a standard garment would).

Clip, pin, and sew your zipper trim to the front body assembly in the same manner as with full-length trim, except, in this case, the zipper trim should overhang the bottom of the clipped triangle by 1" or so. 

Stitch zipper trim to end of triangle, but not past it! 

However, if you do accidentally stitch past it, just extend the clip to the bottommost stitch on both sides.

Press each zipper trim toward center. 

Fold the zipper trim (the long way) over division shirt front, turning the zipper trim under to the wrong side and leaving a ⅜" band along front center edges. 

Press zipper trim along front center.

NOTE: From here forward, the open collar version is pictured; again, the other zipper construction techniques will work with the Picard/partial-length trim as well! 

OPTIONAL: If not using a zipper, you may instead wish to sew the bottommost few inches of your zipper trims together for a "partially unzipped Picard trim" look; it doesn't have to open immediately at the bottom of the trim. It can open wherever you want it to! 

Press the zipper trim and slipstitch the underside in the same manner as full-length trim, but leaving the bottommost length of zipper trim past the clipped triangle free.

Press trims toward center. 

Turn trims underneath clipped triangle. 

Turn the clipped triangle under. 

OPTIONAL: Quickly hand sew the zipper trims and clipped triangle prior to the following step. It'll be easier! 

Using an edging/piping/zipper foot, sew the clipped triangle to the zipper trims as close to the fold line as possible.

OPTIONAL: "Stitch in the ditch" along the bottom of the zipper trim at the clipped triangle's fold line.

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 4c - Open Collar

For FLY ONESIE, continue to next step. 

For STANDARD ONESIE and HEMMED VERSION, skip to step 6. 

Tutorial, part 4c - Open Collar

The OPEN COLLAR VERSION is the final construction option we offer with this pattern and tutorial, and it's one of our favorites. 

Begin by pressing the free edge of the collar facing under ⅜".

Sew the collar to the body assembly (only the collar, not the collar facing), matching front edges and center back.

Press seam allowances upward, toward collar.

Unfold the free edge of the collar facing. 

Pin the zipper trim to the body assembly, right sides together and matching edges at center, with the zipper trim beginning just below the crease on the free edge of the collar facing and ending at the bottom of the division shirt. 

Cut off any excess. 

Sew the zipper trim to the body assembly ⅜" from center edges. 

Repeat for other side. 

Fold the free edge of the collar facing back under (⅜"), then fold the collar facing downward along previously pressed fold line, matching bottom (folded) edge of collar facing with the collar/body seam line.

Slipstitch the collar facing to the collar/body assembly at the previous stitch line.

Press the zipper trim toward center, away from the body assembly. 

Remove as much bulk as possible from the innards of the collar assembly: mainly the collar facing and the already-stitched zipper trim. 

Repeat for other side. 

OPTIONAL: We recommend quickly hand-stitching the front edge and sewn zipper trim together, as the cotton lycra does tend to curl, and the next step requires folding over it and pressing. It doesn't need to be anything fancy or pretty, just enough to keep the edges from curling/rolling/etc. and messing up your zipper trim later! (The zipper trim should have a nice, crisp, flat look, and ironing it over curled cotton lycra will ruin it.)

Fold the zipper trim (the long way) over division shirt front, turning the zipper trim under to the wrong side and leaving a ⅜" band along front center edges. 

Press zipper trim along front center. 

Repeat for other side. 

OPTIONAL: If desired, install a shorter invisible zipper on the lower portion of the division shirt using zipper construction method 2, substituting collar top for the point at which you wish your division shirt to open. 

OPTIONAL: Sew the bottommost portion of your division shirt closed along the center front in the same manner as the previous zipper construction methods. 

Fold underside of zipper trim under again toward center, in the same manner as double-fold bias tape. 

For the PICARD ZIPPER TRIM, the folded edge of the underside of the zipper trim should be flush with the edge of the interfacing. 

Slipstitch the folded edge of the zipper trim's underside to the front body.












Slipstitch the top of the zipper trim closed.

So there you are - a snazzy open collar! 

PREVIOUS: Tutorial, part 4b - Collar to Body, Zipper Trim methods 3 and 4

NEXT: Tutorial, part 4d - Picard trim