In my previous post I mentioned that I would expand a little more on how to find the bust point on different pattern shapes.

As I have already mentioned, if you have 2 darts on a pattern or a basic pattern block, then the bust point is fairly easy to find, simply extend lines through the center of both darts and where these lines touch, there lies the bust point! So we know that darts should point towards the bust point, and the reason this is the case is that this is the area that requires the most fullness.

The ‘job’ of a dart is to take fabric out where we don’t need it, for example at the shoulder, and let it out where we do need it, for example the fullness of the bust. This is why darts are sometimes referred to as ‘suppression’ as they suppress fabric.

If the bust point is marked on a pattern or block, you can take a compass and with the point in the bust point, draw a circle around the bust point at the distance you would like the dart to end, if you remember we mentioned in our earlier post that darts are never sewn right to the bust point.

As I covered in my previous point, our bust points are not always where the pattern bust point is and I suggested a method to measure and locate your bust point, some of you asked for more detail so here it is. If you use the center front to bp measurement, then you must be sure you can see where the center front mid waist location is on your pattern, this is easy to locate on a basic block.

Coming back to the pattern, some of you also asked where the bust point is likely to be when a pattern has one dart, and also how far away from the bust point are the darts on a commercial pattern likely to be. Knowing the answer to both these questions will help you a lot.

Let’s take a look at the first question. We already know that the dart will be pointing towards the bust point on a pattern, we also know that if we draw a line through the center of the dart, then the bp will be somewhere on that extended line. If the dart on a pattern aims towards your bust point, then this is perfect for your bust, and there is no need to make any changes, of course you are free to make the dart longer or shorter as you desire, but there is no need to move the dart.

Now answering the second question will also help. As a general rule the smaller the size the closer the end of the dart will be to the bust point, the large the size the further away it will be.

Here is a chart that will act as a rough guide to help you estimate the distance a dart ‘may’ be from a bust point, the chart will also give you a guide to planning your own dart locations.

Another useful technique to know, when placing darts, is to draw a circle, with a compass around the bust point. All darts will lie on this circle. The radius of the circle will be the distance you select from the chart above, or your own personal preference!

The illustration above shows the planning lines I would start with if I were to plan a garment that followed the contours of the actual ‘cup’ of the breast. The illustration is exactly to scale for a size 12 pattern and a B cup.

Now hopefully armed with all this extra fitting and sizing information you can refer back to post 1 in this series and locate and place your own bust point on any pattern you choose to use. As always if you have any questions at all, I would love to hear from you! Don’t forget to go back to post 1.

My next post will look at how you can determine your own cup size.

See you soon with more fitting around the bust!

Nicola x