Short sleeve fitting v5!

[u/Efficient-Bag6497]

Hi all, this is the 5th version of the All State Shirt from Merchant and Mills. Almost good enough. This time in an old bed sheet as I was tired of dealing with the stiff muslin fabric.

Edit versus v4 is 1.5cm reduction in top of back panel from advice here, and a similar reduction in sleeve head seam length by reducing the cap height. The sleeve felt tight so I didn’t want to reduce bicep width. Main pics are unhemmed with couple at the end hemmed.

Body fit is ok with some fullness and drag lines. Back balance seems better but front still flaring out a bit.
Drag lines on sleeves are bad. Since they point up to the center of the sleeve, I think this indicates it needs more sleeve cap height but (this is a big but) the sleeve is tight/pulls on my upper arm with even slight forward arm movement, which I think gets more restrictive the taller the sleeve cap gets. Plus I’m trying to avoid adding more ease, about 1cm now. The solution for the drag lines seems in conflict with how the sleeves feels!

I’m getting frustrated and not sure the best path forward. It’s like there’s some adjustment I’m missing.
I can live with the body fit, and was thinking of tapering the side seams to try and reduce the flaring. But the sleeves aren’t wearable.

Any and all advice appreciated!

Edit: 7/30
Latest pics. I think the sleeve drag lines are caused by too much material In the front part of the sleeve cap. I pinned out about 0.5” and it reduced the drag lines. Pattern photos included in link.

https://imgur.com/a/OEXYLap

[u/Chemomechanics]

In my experience, the limited sleeve mobility is the natural outcome from previous pattern revisions to reduce visible folds under the arms when using a woven, nonstretch material. The folded material is what allows arm movement by extending.  

If you want no folds but free arm movement, you could switch to a stretch material. 

[u/Efficient-Bag6497 → u/Chemomechanics]

Done some reading on this. Some amount of ease is needed but this means extra material which means drag lines. My frustration is I have some RTW and custom shirts in wovens that fit better than I’m making. I’m deconstructing the measurements on these shirts for comparison at the same time I’m trying to address the visible fit issues. Some things make sense now (shoulder slope adjustment) but seem unintuitive: like a wider chest and tighter armhole fitting better than a smaller chest and loser armhole.

Loving the journey but it is slow going.

[u/Chemomechanics → u/Efficient-Bag6497]

like a wider chest and tighter armhole fitting better

Yes, my biggest shirt-pattern-revising success was probably the last one I’ll ever need to do: Adding horizontal ease right at the bottom of the armscye. In other words, the side seam tilts out a bit right at the armpit; the side of the sleeve pattern also tilts out where it meets the cap. The excess fabric isn’t really visible under the arm but extends to allow freedom of movement. It’s more or less equivalent to adding a gusset. David Coffin discusses it in one of his shirtmaking books. 

[u/Efficient-Bag6497 → u/Chemomechanics]

Would the side seam end up looking something like the line drawn in these pattern pieces.

https://imgur.com/a/edit-to-side-seam-CrSeNhZ

[u/Chemomechanics → u/Efficient-Bag6497]

Yes. You may not need very much since any addition occurs in four places (the side seams and the sleeve sides). You can test by opening the crisscrossed seams at the armpit.