Back draglines often occur due to the curvature of the spine or the roundness of the shoulder blades. Natural body lines may be deceiving and could result in fabric excess along the back waist area of your patterns. There are several options for fixing this problem.

This method works especially well in combination with adding back darts. Did you know that you can reduce back waist draglines by adding a shaped center back seam (CB seam)?

Before going into this correction, always check if the pattern is balanced. Often, the back armhole is too low compared to the front armhole, which should be corrected first. This can resolve a significant portion of the issue. To review pattern balancing, here are the videos about balanced tops and balanced coats and jackets.

Steps to Add a Center Back Seam

1. Pin horizontally the amount needed at the back waist area to eliminate the back draglines as much as possible.
2. Mark the pattern at the location where you pinned at the waist.
3. Close that amount on the pattern.
4. Add a slight curvature to the CB seam by bumping out the shoulder area about 1/4” and returning to zero at the neckline. Smooth out the CB seam for a clean curve at the waist.
5. Rebalance the side seams by placing the front pattern piece over the back piece and finding the midpoint. This midpoint becomes the new side seam for both pattern pieces.
6. You may need to add back length at the CB hem, depending on the curvature of the spine.

Always check the armhole depth between front and back bodices to ensure they are balanced before and after making adjustments.

This information and more can be found in The Fitting Book. Order your book today through the link below.