Resizing a suit jacket

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

Hi, so I’ve been in the middle of upcycling a single-breasted suit jacket I got at goodwill for a costume into a tailcoat and well it’s huge on me. Though it semi works for the costume the big thing I was wondering if i could get some advice on fixing is I can’t raise my arms much more than in the pic without the entire thing comically lifting up. Is there something I can do to give myself a bit more mobility?

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

omg, I love your jacket already and I don’t even know what the costume is for! Just from what I can see in your picture, I’m guessing that problem stems from the armhole and sleeve, in that the armhole is so large, that it’s almost too low. I imagine this makes it pretty uncomfortable in that it limits your arm movement. I’m not an expert tailor in menswear but I did find a forum where it sounds like someone else had the same issue: http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/showthread.php?101951-Armholes-too-low-is-tailoring-practical

In reading it, here’s what one person said would need to be done: “If, while wearing the jacket, you can reach under the arms and pinch the side seams and get an inch or so of excess fabric without wrinkling or pulling the front or rear of the coat, then you can get higher armholes. Here’s how it’s done:

The tailor cuts the bottom half of the sleevehead loose from the jacket. He then takes in the sides, above the waist, 1-2″ equally on both sides. This reduces the circumference of the arm hole, effectively ‘raising’ it. The sleeve head is correspondingly tightened at the under seam and reattached at the bottom. A tailor may balk at doing this or it may be very expensive. With a needle, thread and a razor blade this would take me about 3-4 hours, a great deal of that time spent in getting the measurements precise. I am not a tailor, so I am slow, but I am pretty good.”

I hope that provides some help!

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