When taking a garment in from just below the band or facing, the first thought is that you do not need to unpick the band. WRONG. If the start of the new stitch line is around 5 cm (2 in) below the band I would say YES. That would be fine. But if the start point is anything less than that, the bottom of the band should be unpicked. The seam should be unpicked at the stitch line ON THE BAND, so that the seam is OPEN.
This means the new stitch line can be started from the position where the body is joined to the band, then any tapering will begin from here and down.
If this is not done, and you try to take a garment in without unpicking the bottom of the band, you will more than likely cause a pucker in the fabric on the opposite panel.
One trick is to start sewing from below the band and sew up to the band. Once this is done, lock off, and go back to the beginning and sew DOWN the garment. This works some of the time.
Tip – The reason some alterations “run a muck” is because time is not taken to get complete access to a seam. I see it all the time with people who try and alter their clothes in a hurry. Clothing alterations is about working backwards towards your goal. The last seam sewn is the first one to unpick.
No matter what the alteration, getting easy access to the seam about to be altered is imperative to a successful drape for any garment. How many times have you thought, I will just get as close as possible to the seam under the band and start from there. Except that when the garment is turned inside out, there is a “pucker” or what I call a “duck tail” sticking out under the band.
By unpicking a small section of the band, and getting access to the seam from the very beginning, and tapering out from there, the garment will drape correctly, and fit snugly on the body.
Happy altering
Judith aka genie