Advice needed for taking in a nurses tunic

[IceColdFan]

I have just received my student nurse tunics and had to order ones larger than normal to fit my boobs (38 J) but I have a smaller waist so they are pretty huge on me around the waist. The chest area is only slightly too big and if I get the next size down I don't think they will fit that area.

I can't find any alteration shops open local to me to have the waist taken in, I have very, very basic sewing knowledge, as in I can take up trousers, skirts and do minor fixes on clothing but I've never taken in anything before. I have looked on YouTube for tutorials but can only find tutorials showing how to make 'scrubs' from scratch.

I was thinking of popping them through the washing machine on a 60 degree wash to see if it shrinks them slightly. Can anyone point me in the direction of a tutorial to help me figure out how to take the waist in please? Or if anyone can give me some pointers I would be grateful.

I have a sewing machine and very basic knowledge of hand sewing.

What style is it? Does it have darts in the back?
A nurse at out practice had a dressmaker take hers in and she did it at the back darts -rather than the side seams, does that make sense?

This is the closest thing I could find

Hi Notanothernamechanged101, thank you. The tunics don't have darts in the back, but do have those pin tucks that the lady talks about in the the video. Now I know the terminology of what I need I might be able to find a way of doing it. Thank you xxxx

I made a decent go of it on my work shirt just making it up myself. You do need help though with the measuring and marking though.

Fold tunic and mark/iron centre line. Put on tunic inside out. Mark bottom of shoulder blades this should be roughly level with the bottom of your bust. Mark the level at the bottom of your back, above the buttocks where your hips flare out. Mark the level at the narrowest part of your waist. Now get someone to pinch a bit of fabric level with the shoulder blades on each side of your spine to get the desired shape, pin then remove the tunic.

Measure how much you have pinched. say 2cm. Make sure your marks at the shoulder blades are level (measure up from the bottom hem) and equal distance apart from the centre line. Same with the bottom marks (should be the same distance apart as the top). Draw a vertical line between these marks. Where you have marked the narrowest part of your waist draw a horizontal line the length you measured above (2cm). You should have two crosses. Join the points of the cross until you have two kite shapes.

Iron down the vertical line into a sharp fold, tack stitch around the edge of your kite. Repeat on other side. Try on the tunic and if you're happy with the fit, stitch securely.

If the fabric on the front is flat you can put darts on the front too, instead of 2cm over two kites, do 1 cm over 4.

That worked for me. If that doesn't make any sense I will try to draw a diagram!