Current Projects, General Info

Basic Bodice Block – (Sloper) Designers Guide to Sizing & Fit – A Great Starting Point for Beginners

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If you already have, or are thinking about getting my basic bodice block, this post will hopefully give you all the information you need – if you make it to the end of the post you will find a little ‘gift’ too!

Let’s first take a little tour around my ready printed version of the basic bodice block – this version is printed and posted free of charge worldwide! This is a popular choice for those that don’t want the hassle of printing at home and sticking the pages together, or using a copy shop – this version is in black and white.

You can find this version on Etsy – here

I have now developed the block into digital versions, including an Ai version, an A4 / US Letter Versions and an A0 copyshop version, if you prefer to go digital!

The A4/US letter version of the bodice block has been designed so that you can compile the pages to create the front bodice on it’s own, then the back, and then the sleeve – this method improves the accuracy a lot!

The digital versions can be colour or black and white printed and all versions now come with a 32 page guide to sizing & fit and free 1/4 and half scale blocks for practice too.

The digital versions of the blocks are also layered, this means you can open the files in Adobe reader and choose only the sizes you want to print, or all of them, the choice is yours to make!

You can find all versions in my Etsy Shop – https://designcutandwear.etsy.com

In the 32 page guide to sizing and fit I have provided lots of information to help you work with the bodice block, including very detailed measurements! As a fashion lecturer I am compelled to go into great detail, I just can’t help myself.

Many of my customers are small fashion startups that are time poor, and need all the help they can get!

Let’s take a very quick run through the bodice guide PDF –

In addition to the fit guide, I also send out 1/4 and half scale versions – they are great for practice and note keeping, I use my half scale versions all the time to work out detailed and complex drafts, and save paper!

I also have several YouTube videos to get you started, and you can follow along as I move darts and cover some of the basics –

https://www.youtube.com/@ModelisteCreative

If you purchase any one of my blocks I am also, always here to help and answer questions and of course you can always join me for a pattern cutting course.

My courses are detailed, no quick fixes or gimmicks, they are there for those that want to learn professional methods from a professional pattern cutter, there are no shortcuts unfortunately, and if you want to learn how to be a professional pattern cutter, one that has the skills to work in the industry, then my courses are for you!

You can find detailed posts on my bog that outline my courses and the curriculums they cover.

As always if you have any questions, please ask.

I nearly forgot…. Please use the following code in my Etsy shop for a discount on my basic blocks – BLOG15BB – click the link to shop!

Happy Sewing & Pattern Cutting.

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Fitting at the Bust, General Info

What is Neck Width and How Does It Effect Bust Fit?

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What is neck width? In the diagram above you can see that I have extended the Center Back (CB) and Center Front (CF) upwards and squared a line from each shoulder point – the measurement of this line is the neck width. As you can see above the back neck width is wider than the front neck width. Is this normal you may ask, and the answer is yes -it’s perfectly normal, in fact a sign of a well balanced neckline. In this post we will go on to look at the reasons for this difference and how this information can help your bust fitting.

Let’s first understand what the implications to fit are if the back neck width (BNW) is NOT wider that the front neck width (FNW). The answer to this is that the front neck will gape. My example block above is somewhat of an extreme example as it’s a contour fitted block that needs to fit really well at the above bust area. It’s a block designed for corsets and fitted garments and it needs to be snug! I have also designed this block to accommodate a C cup, so this adjustment actually makes that ‘difference’ between the BNW and the FNW wider still.

You can see in the image above how we can measure the back and front neck widths and compare them, here we are only measuring half, so of course you would need to double these quantities for the total neck widths.

In a block for a B cup (standard fitting block), the average difference between the two widths, meaning how much the BNW is wider than the FNW is generally around 6mm to 10mm – however this ‘difference’ will increase if you are fitting a larger bust or have fit issues and a gaping front neckline area, or a garment that does not sit well above the bust level. We are very concave above our bust level at the front and there can often be fit issues here when trying to fit a larger cup size.

Let’s take a look at an adjustment we can make to accommodate a full bust and get a better fit above the bust level, you may have already made a full bust adjustment and are still having fit issues, or your block may simply be gaping at the neck and not sitting correctly, here is a simple adjustment you can try.

First I am going to close out the dart at the shoulder, as a temporary measure to allow me to make the fit adjustment with no dart in place, it can be pivoted back after.

With the dart out of the way, now we are clear to make the FNW adjustment.

Plan the cut lines as shown on the front block above – we are going to cut this section of the block and move it over to the right to reduce the front neck width even more, this is a minor adjustment and I would advise doing it in stages, particularly with the block I am using above as it has already been fine tuned for a close fit above the bust.

What we are doing here is reducing the front neck width even more, for a larger cup size, the maximum adjustment I would recommend would be a total neck width adjustment of 1.25 cm (half an inch) to a regular block, or pattern you are working on. It’s always best to make these adjutments slowly and keep checking the fit.

Here we are essentially ‘fine tuning’ the fit, this can be a solution if the bust fits well for you, but the neckline is still not fitting as you would like it.

Here you can see that we have reduced the front neck width, we would now need to trace off this pattern section and smooth out the armhole as we have a tiny ‘jog’ at the armhole curve. Please note that these small fit adjustments do not effect the fit of the back at all. having made these changes you can now pivot the temporary dart back to the shoulder if you like.

I hope this post has helped a little. You may find all this slighly confusing if you have not read my previous posts on bust adjusment, It’s a popular topic for me and you can find lots more information in this series of posts on fitting at the bust!

Happy sewing and pattern making,

Nicola

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Current Projects

Working With Your Basic Block / Sloper – Essential Steps To Creating a Toile

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If you have purchased one of my basic blocks sheets, or if you have drafted and graded a set of basic blocks yourself, you will find the following guidelines useful.

My ready printed and graded blocks come with no seam allowance added – the exception to this may be some of my menswear blocks that traditionally have 1cm (3/8″) seam allowance included – and this will be clearly marked on the sheet. You should always trace the basic block you need from the master copy. Keeping the master copy safe is essential for 2 reasons, the first is that you can use it again and again, the second it that you can refer to it if things don’t match and check you have indeed traced the correct size and shape.

The very first thing any pattern cutter should do with a new basic block is to make a ‘toile’ – a toile is simply the technical term for a basic block sewn up in its very basic form – there are additional guidelines to follow here, so let’s take a look.

As we have already established, a toile is a prototype or a trial garment. Toiles are normally made up in calico for woven garments and a knit, that is most similar to the finished garments, for knit blocks. Toiles are also referred to as muslins in the USA.


Calico is a popular choice for woven toiles as it comes in different weights and is light in colour. This makes it easy to see the changes that need to be made and the toile can also be drawn on to note the changes required. It’s worth noting that pattern cutters make several toiles to test their patterns to perfect them, so this is very normal practice in the fashion industry.


Toiles do not need to be finished garments, in fact to speed up the process there is no need to place any seam allowance on hems. Placing seam allowance on the neckline of a toile is the wrong thing to do. This is because the seam allowance will prevent you from seeing where the neckline actually sits, and the seam allowance may also distort the neckline. Adding hem allowance to a garment also prevents you from seeing where the hem will sit when finished.

Sampling complex design details such as unusual pockets and intricate design details can be practiced as small samples to save time and fabric. I must admit that very often I do make ‘wearable’ toiles, where I finish off the toile to the standard of a wearable garment.


It is however normally not necessary to complete a toile to a finished garment stage.

As a pattern cutter, it is essential to view a toile before any pattern development takes place. A toile is simply a starting point for you design, whether you are making a simple change like adding a patch pocket or drastic changes and developing an entirely new style, knowing your starting point is essential. Once you have your toile prepared you can then make any fit adjustments before making style changes. The toile can then be kept with the basic block for quick reference every time you need to use it.

Knit garments require knit toiles.

If you would like to learn more about professional pattern design then why not join me for a course – email me at onitnotinit@mail.com or take a look at my blog page for course details.

Happy sewing & pattern making!

Nicola

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Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, Pattern Cutting Techniques

Pattern Language – Abbreviations you may come across

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As with any hobby or subject area, patterns have their own language and abbreviations.

This post is one I will add to as time goes on and I think of other things to add, but lets start today by listing the main abbreviations you may come across and what they mean.

  • CB – Center Back
  • CF – Center Front
  • CBF- Center Back Fold
  • CFF- Center Front Fold
  • CH – Crown Height ( on a sleeve)
  • RS – Right Side
  • RDS – Right Side Down
  • WS – Wrong Side
  • WSD – Wrong Side Down
  • SS – Side Seam
  • SA – Seam Allowance
  • RHSAW – Right Hand Side As Worn
  • LHSAW – Left Hand Side As Worn
  • OL – Overlock (serge)
  • GL – Grainline
  • RST – Right Sides Together
  • WST – Wrong Sides Together
  • WL – Waistline
  • ZZ – Zigzag Stitch
  • S/F – Side Front
  • S/B – Side Back
  • W/L – Waist Line
  • B/L – Bust Line
  • B/P – Bust Point
  • H/L – Hip Line
  • E/L – Elbow Line
  • K/L – Knee Line
  • A/H – Armhole
  • CBL – Cross Back Line
  • U/L Underarm Line
  • SHLDR or SH – Shoulder
  • NCK – Neck
  • SLV – Sleeve
  • FCNG –Facing
  • W/BAND  – Waistband
  • CLR – Collar
  • TR – Trousers
  • TP – Top (blouses, shirts and t-shirts any upper body section)
  • SK – Skirt
  • JKT – Jacket (coats)
  • DRS – Dress

It is useful for pattern cutters to have a consistent way of labelling and saving pattern pieces. I use a number of CAD systems and I find that consistent accurate labelling saves me a great deal of time.

If you can think of any more abbreviations then please let me know and the list can grow!

Happy pattern making

Nicola

 

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Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, Pattern Cutting Techniques

Good Working Practice – For a Pattern Cutter.

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Developing good working practice and good habits saves time.

As a professional pattern cutter, you soon learn that if you don’t have a good working practice, it costs you time, and time is something you rarely have in the fashion industry. If you are a self employed designer/pattern cutter, it also costs you money!

I worked with a wonderful Japanese designer many years ago in Copenhagen. He could only speak Japanese and unfortunately I could only speak a few words to him but he left a lasting impression on me. The reason I still remember him so well over 26 years later is because his working methods and his patterns were faultless and I do mean faultless. In fact it became a daily ritual that we would check his patterns, and see if we could spot any mistake he had made, and we never could, ever, not even once!

He also produced all his designs with the wooden end of a paintbrush, not the brush end, and they were beautiful!

Back to the topic in hand!

This is  broadly the way he worked –

He always used a 4H pencil.

He also only used a set square, no fancy pattern rulers, just a set square and a meter rule.

Pattern Labelling…

When pattern sections are traced from a draft pattern all information needs to be transferred too.

For example:

  • All pattern markings, sewing notches and balance notches. I wonder if you are thinking ” I know what sewing notches are (notches to help you match pieces when you sew) but what are balance notches. Balance notches on a pattern are there to help you ‘balance’ the pattern. For example a notch at center front and also at center back, lets you know that the garment is sitting correctly on the stand when you assess the fit of the pattern.
  • Fold lines or indications where a pattern is to be mirrored – please take note that ‘cut on fold’ is not a practice adopted in the industry. Pattern sections are mirrored and cut flat and open as a whole piece.
  • Grain lines, size of pattern, name of pattern piece, style number if required, the number of pieces to be cut and in which fabric, for example main fabric, lining, fusing, a note of the quantity of seam allowance added to the pattern, indicate the CF (center front) and CB (center back), name of cutter, small sketch or technical sketch of the garment, button and button hole positions, pocket positions, and any other important design or construction detail, for example areas you need to gather and how much to gather back to.
  • There are also a range of pattern symbols you need to know

Buttons and button holes

A solid line with a dash at each end is used to mark a button hole position

Large X’s mark button positions (I intend to do a blog post on button stands very soon and there will be a lot of information on button hole and button placement in the post)

Drill Holes – are sometimes indicated by a + but can also be marked as a circle, they can be filled or empty.

Drill holes are used in industry to indicate pocket placement positions and also indicate where to taper the dart, they are placed a set distance from the end of the dart i.e. the dart apex  (1.5 cm is a good distance).

In an industrial setting drill holes are an actual hole, a small one, but still a hole, a home sewer will mark the point with a fabric pen or a pin.

 

A place on fold or cut on fold symbol is indicated as illustrated below –

Grain lines are placed on pattern pieces to indicate the way a pattern piece should be placed on the fabric. Strictly speaking blocks should not have grain lines placed on them, if they do then the line should not have arrows on the ends.

The arrows on a grain line have meaning. An arrow indicates which direction the pattern piece should be placed on the fabric in relation to the ‘selvedge’ i.e. the finished edge of the fabric.

Knit pattern piece should be labelled with a grain line with an arrow on one end only as knit garment sections should be cut all facing one way. This is also the case with fabrics that have a nap, for example velvet. If velvet is cut with pattern sections facing different ways then the garment will look as though it has been made from different colour fabrics for each panel, as the light hits the pieces in different ways.

Grain lines can also be placed at 45 degrees and this indicates the pattern pieces should be cut on the bias grain.

DOGS

Stretch pattern pieces may need to be labelled with an instruction to cut the pattern piece in the direction of greatest stretch, particularly important with all in one garments and swim suits. This again is a topic in itself and a particular area of interest for me and I will be covering this in detail soon.

You may also need to use the following abbreviations, particularly for A-symmetrical pattern pieces.

RSU – Right Side Up

This is an instruction to cut the pattern piece with the right side up, so the cutter knows not to flip the pattern piece in an attempt to save fabric.

The opposite of RSU is RSD – Right Side Down.

Good Working Practice…

  • Use the edge of your tape measure when measuring curves
  • Sketchy lines are not acceptable in pattern drafting, use at least a 2H sharp pencil
  • Notches are very important, particularly on long or curved seams. Notches should always be marked at 90 degrees to the seam line.
  • Grain lines are marked parallel to center front and center back. A sleeve has the grain line marked down the center, a trouser has the grain line marked down the crease line (center line).
  • When you draft a pattern on a piece of pattern paper, never cut it up. Trace the pattern sections off the main draft. Do not add seam allowance until the very end of the process!
  • Check the draft pattern for the following –
  • Seam lines and lengths match
  • Grain lines have been placed on all pattern pieces.
  • Facing patterns are best cut from a final pattern
  • Check all notches match – particularly sleeve and armhole notches
  • Fitting lines such as button stands and button and button hole placement are accurate.
  • Seams meet at the correct angles – these should be 90 degrees if you want a straight line.

  • Gathers, tucks etc are clearly marked, with measurements indicated.
  • Directions in which to fold pleats are clearly marked.

I think that’s it!! There may be things I have missed, please let me know if you can think of anything at all.

I could go on forever explain all the associated information that goes with certain topics, such as notches, as there is a lot to cover there, in time I will cover these topic so please subscribe to keep up to date.

You may also find my Pattern Language Post – interesting. This covers abbreviations you may come across when using patterns.

Happy Pattern Making!

Nicola x

 

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Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, design and pattern cutting, Pattern Cutting Techniques

Making 1 dart into 2 darts- Ideal for Skirts & Trousers

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What if my block or pattern has 1 dart and I want 2 darts!

I am often asked what to do if a block or pattern has 1 dart and the designer wants 2 darts, in the skirt or trouser style they are working on. It really isn’t that difficult to amend a block and reduce or even increase the number of darts, as long as you follow a few rules.

Measure the 1/4 waist and divide into thirds.

The first third of the waist is close to the hip and there is already shaping there so in order to keep a good fit and spread the suppression around the waist line, it is best not to plan the new dart in that area.

Mark lines where you want the darts, they do not need to be vertical lines, you can angle them gently if you want to.

Cut down these lines and along, to the apex of the dart you want to remove, keep the paper attached by a couple of millimetres – don’t worry if you do cut it accidentally , it just needs to be pivoted from the apex position ( tip of the old dart).

Fold out the old dart and balance the suppression equally between the two new darts.

The darts can be taken down as low as the hip line, but they are best at about 9 cm (3 9/16″ in length.

Here is my half scale pattern pictured above, The darts are folded in as they would be sewn and the waist now needs to be reshaped as the waist level. Where the old dart was positioned has risen slightly as the new darts were opened. This means we need to reshape the waist line run to keep a nice smooth shape.

Remove the excess and this completes the process, take a look at my 1/2 scale pattern on my much loved 1/2 scale stand!

In the background you can see an upcoming blog post in the making! If you have a dress stand I am going to demonstrate a wonderful technique for creating fitted patterns. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the post!

If you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you want to know more about darts check out this great dart workbook.

If you need 1/4 and half scale blocks to practice you can find them here.

Nicola x

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Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, Free Downloads, General Info, Pattern Cutting Techniques

Garment Ease – Pattern Ease- Explained

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Ease – Explained – What is ease?

There is a lot of confusion out there about ‘ease’. I have read some rather misleading definitions on many a web page. Here I will give a detailed explanation about ease. You can also download your free PDF Ease Allowance Chart below –

Why have ease?

Ease is incorporated into a block or a pattern to allow the wearer to move, therefore ease is “allowance for movement”. Ease allows the wearer to breath, bend, sit down and move around. Ease is particularly important in children’s’ and babies wear and again becomes important in older peoples clothing.  If there is too little ease in a garment then the “look” of the garment may also be compromised, skirts will ride up, trousers will wrinkle and jackets will be restrictive. Therefore getting the right quantity of ease in your patterns and garments is important.

Ease Allowance Chart Free Download

Hopefully the above chart will give you a guideline for classifying the quantity of ease that a garment contains but lets look at the meaning of ease.

Ease is the difference between the measurement of the body (without clothes) and the measurement of the block, pattern and ultimately the garment that fits over the body.

Lets look at a real example – Using my basic bodice block in the Modeliste Creative Range available on Etsy.

The bust measurement the size 12 block is designed to fit is a 90.5 cm bust (34 1/16 inches). That is the measurement from the size chart I used to draft the block and relates the the measurement of the actual body the block is drafted to fit.

When I drafted the block I allowed 6.9 cm ( 2 3/4″)  ease over the bust as ease in this block range, as its developed for a curvy figure.

Therefore if we measure the block itself the measurement will be 94.4 cm (38 3/4″). This is the body measurement plus the ease.

If we produced a pattern from this blocks and made no changes to the block, then this quantity of ease would stay the same. However, usually during the course of making a pattern, we either reduce or increase the quantity of ease as we create the pattern. The extra we add in or take away during the pattern making process is called design ease.

We now have 2 types of ease –

  • Block Ease
  • Design Ease

There is a third type of ease, we will come onto that in a moment. The information above relates to woven fabrics or stable knits. If we are dealing with stretch fabric then this is where we come onto another type of ease.

  • Negative ease

Negative ease occurs when a block or pattern is smaller than the body it is designed to fit. Negative ease becomes important when drafting patterns with over 18 – 20 % stretch percentage. If you are drafting patterns with a stretch percentage of under that amount then you can use a woven fabric pattern.

Adjusting patterns and blocks for stretch percentage and negative ease percentages is a book in itself and I have come across many different methods in my career. That’s a topic for another day!

I hope this helps and as always, if you have any questions or comments then please let me know.

Happy Sewing,

Nicola

 

 

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General Info, Pattern Cutting Techniques, Sewing Techniques

Fabric Width Conversion Chart –

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Have you ever picked up a pattern and noted the amount of fabric you need for a particular width, only to find that the fabric you love is a different width. There is nothing worse than buying too little fabric for the design you want to make.

Below is a handy conversion chart that will give you some idea of the fabric you require in different widths. print a copy and keep it in your bag!

Hope this helps!

Happy Sewing,

Nicola x

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General Info

The Story Of How Our Pattern Blocks Are Created.

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All my blocks are created either from scratch, or they are blocks that I have developed throughout my career, they are all tried and tested.

We use the most up to date size charts that we can and all our latest blocks have centimetres and inches with both UK and USA sizing and the EU equivalents too!

I revisit my tried and tested blocks constantly to review the sizing, ladies waists have become larger, so that’s a measurement we always keep our eye on.

We start with a set of basic measurements and a sheet of pattern paper, from there our years of practice allow us to draft the block in a size 12 or sometimes a size 14 to begin with.

 

Once I am satisfied with the draft, I then make a sample and fit this to my concept stand, made by Kennett & Lindsell. I bought this stand because of its measurements, they are almost identical to the latest data for size 14 (UK) measurements, within a couple of millimetres. It was only after I bought the stand from Saville Row in London that they told me it had only been used once to make a dress for Byonce. She obviously has a perfect figure, nice and shapely. The deficiencies of modern dress stands are a subject for another day!

I then fit and perfect the block on the dress stand and make any amendments necessary, this is commonly referred to as ‘toiling’ in the fashion industry.

We Have One Size – How do we then make the full range of sizes we supply –

 

Once we are satisfied with the ‘base size’ we can then ‘grade’ the block. Grading is the term used to create a range of sizes from a base size; in this case our base size is a size 12. (In the case of our outsize blocks our base size will be larger).

Pattern grading uses a set of mathematical formulas to grow a pattern piece by a specific amount and small movements in a positive of negative X or Y direction are made. This is how the various sizes of a pattern or design are developed. Every company has its own set of grade rules, and these are usually guarded closely as a trade secret because they take a lot of time and effort to develop. Once a company has an established set of grade rules, they tend to keep top secret. There are many variations of grading that exist in the industry. On your pattern block size guide you will see that I have indicated the total grading increment. This is the amount your block increases or decreases per size. For example there is usually a 5 cm difference between a size 12 and a size 14 bust. The same difference applies to the waist and hips. Some companies use a 4 cm difference.

Each small increase or decrease of the pattern is carried out in millimetres.

Hopefully this has given you an idea of the time, skill and effort that has gone into creating these blocks for you. If you have one of my blocks then hopefully I have saved you a great deal of time and stress!

If you have any question, comments or ideas please email me at onitnotinit@mail.com

Please see our shops page within the blog for places you can purchase our blocks, we have over 100 different blocks sets. Ranges include Ladies Blocks, Plus Sized Block, Baby, Child and Teen Blocks, and Menswear Blocks.

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