Balance

Balance refers to the “hang” of the garment.  If a garment is balanced, it will hang straight, rather than twisting or having folds. When creating patterns you need to do the following to make sure your pattern will be balanced:

1. correctly mark the pattern grain on the pattern pieces
2. use notches as balance points to assist in the construction process, and
3. ensure that adjoining pattern pieces match (in length and shape – using the balance points to do this)

Example

Image 1

In this image, those three requirements are emphasized in bold color:

1. The grainline is in bold red (no.1),
2. There is a notch at the hip line which is noted in bold green (2), and
3. The measurement from the hem to the (hip) notch point on the front and back are the same, noted by the purple dashed line (no.3a),  and the length of the curve from the (hip) notch points to the waist on the front and back are the same, shown by the blue dashed lines (no.3b).

Image 2

The final Skirt Blocks, no emphasis. These blocks will produce a balanced garment.