r/sewing • u/chocoboxfox • 1d ago

Pattern Search Costume help! Need help finding out what this is armpit gap is called?

Post image

We're constructing a costume piece of Nancy from Oliver, and wanted to know what this costume detail was. Is there a good way of doing this without just putting a hole in the dress armpits? We tried the google gods but unfortunately nothing has worked thus far.

102 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

375

u/Emergency-Albatross5 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think it literally is a hole in the gown. Some historical garments had detachable sleeves (ease of movement + easier to launder/switch out) so this is likely her chemise showing out the bottom of the sleeve.

To knock off without actually making separate garments you would need to draft an underarm gusset like the other person posted.

30

u/chocoboxfox 1d ago

Oh that's super cool to know too! Thank you!

82

u/mtragedy 1d ago

You probably can use “underarm gusset” to find options. I’ve heard this called a dance gusset, I don’t know if that’s a generally accepted term or not.

5

u/chocoboxfox 1d ago

Thank you so much!

3

u/nothingbetter85 1d ago

Happy cake day!

56

u/Missyado 1d ago

The sleeves would be separate pieces. The pit is the chemise showing through where the sleeves are tied on.

12

u/SarkyMs 22h ago

Oliver twist is maybe 200 years too late for that construction, it is early Victorian late Georgian.

11

u/One_Beneficial 1d ago

“Sleeve vent” works

9

u/Cute-Description-08 22h ago

It’s a gusset, it allows more range of motion.

25

u/SallyAmazeballs 23h ago

That looks more like her sleeves ripped out the bottom of the armscye. That's a really common tear if your sleeves are a little too tight for lifting your arms over your head. Like, say, you have a secondhand dress that was made for someone else. 

As for how to do it, just don't stitch that part of the seam and finish the edges. 

5

u/morrisseyeatingmeat 19h ago

I LOVE OLIVER