Method of drafting and cutting for beginners

When there are identical parts usually pattern is drafted on folded paper. For example right and left sleeves front and back of bodice etc…. Both the shapes of front and back such as neck, armhole etc……are marked on the top fold itself. Outer line is cut first .Sheets are separated. This forms the back. On the top sheet the inner lines are also cut .This forms the front. Care should be taken to measure from the fold line. Facing line for neck, armhole etc …can also be marked .position for darts can also be marked.
Precautions to be taken while cutting the material.
1. It is better to shrink cotton material before cutting or ½’ extra should be added for width.
For the length we can add still more. It depends on the material. I prefer to wash, iron and
then cut the pattern.
2. Straighten the grain of the fabric by pulling the corners material .If the fabric is long you need help of another person. Lay the fabric on a table keeping both the selvedges together. If it forms a rectangle and the warf and weft are perpendicular it means fabric is grain perfect. Sometimes shopkeepers also would have cut the fabric bias. That also should be corrected. Pull a thread from width wise from end to end and cut on the line got by pulling the thread.
3. Fabric should be ironed lengthwise. Length wise means the grains that run parallel to the selvedge.
4. Selvedges should always come to sides .(side of the sleeve, side of the bodice etc…..)If the garment is stitched width wise it will not stretch. It will be uncomfortable to wear. Dresses get torn fast.
Measure the width of the draft and fold the material according to that. Keep the fabric on table and smoothen it so that there are no folds. Place the large pieces of the paper draft first. Check whether the garment has back opening or front opening. Keep the one that has got no opening on fold line. Selvedges should come to the sides. Arrange the other small pieces .Pin the pieces to the fabric without lifting the fabric.If there is not enough fabric to cut same pieces together cut them separately. Mark darts and notches and then remove the pins.

Pattern making(for begginners)

Making a paper pattern is a must for the beginners. I prefer to make paper patterns and then cut the fabric. It saves time and material and the paper draft is reusable. We can adjust the placing of the paper pattern on the fabric according to the material available. If the fitting is not good we can make necessary alterations in the paper pattern itself. Same paper pattern can be used as basic and design different patterns
Materials needed
1. Sheet of paper.
We need thick sheet of paper if we want keep the draft for a long time and use it again and again. If not news paper is well and good. Once we get correct fitting we can make cut pattern in thick cardboard and use it for future use.
2. Pencil
3. Eraser
4. Ruler
In the paper pattern ½” seam allowance will be there unless it is mentioned.name of the parts should be written .If two identical parts are cut separately we have to mark R and L on the draft. For example sleeves. Especially while cutting plain material we end up cutting two right sleeves.
½” seam should be added to attach button stands. If we have ample material button can be cut along with the bodice. Care must be taken to mark the place by notches from where the button strand starts. Notches should be made to mark important points that must coincide while stitching. The point of notch should project beyond the cutting line of the pattern.

Puff sleeves with gathers at the top only

Swing the sections apart at the cap line only keeping the sleeve edge together.Give shape as shown in the figure . We get gathers, only at the cap of the sleeve.

 Another method

Puff sleeves with gathers at bottom only

By spreading the sections only at the bottom as shown in the figure sleeves will have gathers only at the bottom .

puff sleeves with more fullness

Plenty of fullness at top and bottom of the sleeve can be obtained by making more sections and spreading them apart Mid line of the sleeve is extended both ways
as shown in the figure 2. Shape is given as shown.

Varieties of puff sleeves from plain sleeve

Here are a few varieties of puff sleeves.

Puffed sleeves

Puffed sleeve has gathers at the armhole as well as at the sleeve round. There are several types of puffed sleeves. At the edge of the sleeve some will have sleeve band, some will have piping and some will have open gathers .Some will have more fullness at the top as well as at the bottom. Some will be tight the bottom and very loose at the top. Mutton leg sleeve will have more fullness at the top and will be tight fitting at the bottom. On the whole the shape of the puff sleeves depends upon the gathers.

Draw the outline of the basic plain sleeve on a brown paper and divide it in to 4 equal parts (fig 3) label them as 1, 2, 3 and 4 On another sheet of paper draw a line and arrange the four portions in the same order in the same order leaving gaps between each portion such that the new distance between J and J’ is 1½ times the original J-J’ measurement. Spaces between the four portions should be equal. Secure the portions to the sheet with pins.
Mark D’ ¾” above D and B’ ¾ below B and draw connecting lines between the four portions as shown by dotted line in the figure 5.cut along the line J’-B-J F- D-’F’and J’.T his is the draft of the puffed sleeve

Method of drafting plain sleeve

Measurements needed
Sleeve length
Sleeve round
Chest
Mark B-D on fold = Sleeve length +½” (Shaded portion is 1” for in turn for plain sleeve.)
D-C =1/12 Th chest+½”
Draw perpendiculars from D, C, and B
D-E =¼ chest -1”
D-E =C-F
B-J= half sleeve round + ½”
Join D-F and F-J
Divide D-F into four equal parts by points G,H and I. Draw perpendiculars from those points such that
G-K= ¼”, H-L=½” and I-M=¼”
Join the points F-K-H-M-D by a curved line as shown in the figure. This is the front portion of the sleeve.
Join the points F-L-D -by a curved line as shown in the figure. This is the back portion of the sleeve.
Cut the paper draft along the line B-J-F-L-M-D. Open the fold .and cut along the curved line F-K-H-M-D.
This is the draft of basic plain sleeve. Outline of the draft is traced on a fairly thick card board and a block is prepared which can be used as foundation for all other types of sleeves.

Basics in sewing-Taking body measurements

Shoulder =A-B = Measured from the prominent bone at the end of one shoulder to the prominent bone at the end of the other shoulder.
Chest = Measured around the fullest part of the chest= C-D
Waist line. =Measured around the natural waist line= G-H
Hip = Measured around the fullest part of the hip=I-J .Usually 7” to 8” down from the waist line.It is also called seat measurement.
Upper arm = biceps =.Measured around Q-R
Sleeve width= Measured around the edge of the sleeve =O-P.
Sleeve length= Measured from B, on shoulder line, to the edge of the sleeve S
Full length for the bodice = E-F Measured from the shoulder line to waist.
Full for skirts, Salwar etc… = Measured from waist line to the bottom edge of the garment
Neck width=1/12th chest + 1/4"or to taste.
Front neck depth=1/12 th chest + 1/2 " or to taste.
Back neck depth1"+1/2"or to taste.
Full length of long skirts= M-N . Measured from nape of the neck to the bottom edge of the skirt .

Pavade Blouse( Blouse worn on long skirt)

Draft

layout

pattern pieces

Measurements

Chest
waist
shoulder
full length of the blouse= G to H
sleeve length from = A to N
sleeve width
Sleeve band width
refer here for taking mesurements

Bodice

A-B (On fold) =length of the blouse+1”
A-L waist length
A-C = ¼ chest-½”
Draw perpendiculars from the points A, C.L and B.
A-D = shoulder width +¼”
C-F =¼ chest +1½” K-N-F-O-G-H-I-C-L-B-K
B-K =F-C
A-C =D-E
J-N =½”
Join and shape F-N-K
D-O =½”
Join G-O
G-A =1/12 chest + ¼” or to taste. A-I = 1/12 chest + ½” or to taste. A-H =1
Shape back and front neck G-H and G-I
M is midpoint of J-L .A dart of ½” is stitched at the point M on both front and back of the bodice
E-E” -1”.Join and shape front armhole- E-E’-O. Join and shape back armhole F-O
Cut the draft along K-N-F-O-G-H-I-C-L-B-K. This includes front and back of bodice.
Separate front and back by cutting along the line A-B. Keep one portion aside. This is the back of the bodice. On the other portion cut front armhole shape F-E-E’-O and front neck shape G-I. This portion is front bodice draft. An extra ½”extension is added along the line A-B while cutting the material for stitching button stands. If there is more material right and left button stands can be cut along with the bodice.


Sleeve

Q-P = length of the sleeve+2”for puff - width of the band
S-Q =¼ chest+1¼”
S-T=1/12 th chest+¾”.R-P = S-Q
R-W =½”Join T-W. S-X =1/12th chest. X-U =½”
Join and shape T-X-Q back of the sleeve.
Join and shape T-U-Q front of
V-W =½’
Shape V=P.
Sleeve band
Length = a-b= c-d= width of the sleeve ( sleeve round)+ ¾” for seams
a-c=b-d=double the width of the band + 1/4"