Today, we shall be drafting the Basic Dress block with eight darts. This is a slightly different technique from the previous Basic Bodice Block draft. I have mentioned that I prefer not to draft the blocks with the ease included, but we shall be carrying out this exercise with ease, just to see how it is done. You of course have the option not to include ease when filling out the worksheet.
As you know, we shall be drafting half a front pattern and half a back pattern on the assumption that a full front or Back pattern are symmetrical on both left and right sides. You only need to draft a full piece if the left and right hand sides are different in some way.
Since we are working in halves (half front/half back) or in quarters (Quarter of the whole Bodice) depending on how you look at it, some measurements will be divided into 2, and some will be divided into 4. We shall also be drafting in a mirrored view so to speak, where the sides for the front and Back will face each other, and the centre front and centre Back will face away from each other. It will all make sense once we get into the work.
Tools you will need
1. Straight ruler
2. Set square
3. Curve ruler
4. Pencils / Eraser /Sharpener
5. Brown paper/ Drafting Paper – 1 sheet (30L x 30W inches) or (75cm x 75cm). It should be longer than your Neck to Hip length and wider than 1/2 Bust measurement. You can always tape sheets of paper together to get the right size.
Measurements you will need (Feel free to work in Inches or Cm)
• Full length Front (Shoulder to waist)
• Full length Back
• Hip
• Hip depth
• Centre Back
• Neck
• Across shoulder
• Shoulder
• Bust Depth (Shoulder to Bust)
• Full Bust
• Upper Bust
• Across Chest
• Across Back
• Full Waist
• Apex width (Bust span)
• Side
• Arm hole
IMPORTANT! Download Basic Dress Calculation Worksheet first
The Front Bodice Draft
1. Line A – B = Front full length Measurement
2. Line B - C = Hip depth measurement
3. Square out short guide lines from points A, B and C
4. Line A – D = Half Across Shoulder Measurement (perpendicular to Line AB)
5. Line D – E = Square down a guide line for about 2 1/2 inches (6.25cm)
6. Line A – F = Neck width measurement
7. Line A – G = Neck Depth measurement.
8. Line F - H = Shoulder Measurement. From point F, draw a line touching line DE.
9. From point F, draw a guide line at right angles to the shoulder line
10. Line F - G = Join with a curved line to form neckline.
11. Line A - I = Armhole depth Measurement
12. Line I - J = Front Upper Bust Measurement
13. Line A - K = Bust depth Measurement
14. Line K - L = Front Bust Measurement
15. Point M = Mark half way between points G and I
16. Line M - N = Half Across Chest Measurement
17. Join points J- L. This is the start of the Side Measurement.
18. From Point N, square a guideline up and down, stopping on line IJ.
19. Join points H to N to J with a curved line, touching the guideline to form armhole.
20. Line B - O = Front Waist Measurement plus the Dart width
21. Line C - P = Front Hip Measurement
22. Join Points L and O with a straight line, and O and P with a shallow curved line
23. Line K - Q = Half Apex (Bust Span) Measurement
24. Square a straight line down from point Q, touching the Hip line CP. Label as R and S as illustrated.
25. Points T-U = Insert front dart at Point R. Split front dart measurement equally on either side of point R. Label as T and U.
26. Connect Point Q-T-S and Q-U-S to form the waist dart
27. Measure Line J-L-O and subtract the side measurement from it. This difference will be the width of the side dart.
Eg. If JLO = 9.125 and Side length = 8, Then dart = 1.125
28. Points L - V = Side dart measurement
29. Join Points Q to V to complete the side dart.
30. Measure Line QL and compare it to Line QV. Correct line QV to be the same as Line QL. Any other inconsistencies will be corrected by trueing the pattern when cutting it out.
You can extend the bodice to your desired length as shown above. This completes the front bodice pattern. Next we shall move on to the Back Bodice Pattern.
Thanks for reading and see you in Part 2: Pattern Drafting: Basic Dress (Back)
Appendix.
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