Video Transcript

00:00:09:00 - 00:00:18:01
Hi. In this video, I'm going to show you how I drafted this dress pattern. This is my Belle Dress Pattern and I'm going to show you how I drafted it, step-by-step.

00:00:18:02 - 00:00:20:08
But first, a quick introduction.

00:00:20:08 - 00:00:38:20
Hi, I'm Maria from dresspatternmaking.com and I draft my own sewing patterns. I also write detailed step by step tutorials covering pattern making theory and practice. I have devised my own unique system for drafting the bodice block that includes the upper bust measurement, and the pants block that includes the thigh measurement. This means a better outcome for nonstandard figures.

00:00:39:00 - 00:00:47:15
From now on, I'll be focusing on drafting patterns, starting with dresses and then moving on to jackets, tops, pants, etc. so welcome to my channel!

00:00:47:15 - 00:01:03:08
So a brief overview of the dress. That is the design lines and finishes and a couple of important notes. On the left of the flats, on the right is the final pattern pieces that I'm going to end up with. The dress has an empire waist line that is higher than the natural waistline, and there is the seamline at the waist.

00:01:03:10 - 00:01:21:16
There is an armhole princess line in the bodice that continues through the skirt for the front and the back. The bodice has a wide V-neck front and a high back. Now when I say a wide V-neck, I mean there's only a narrow shoulder width. It's only about 5cm or 2in, and that's out towards the shoulders edge, which makes the V-neck wide.

00:01:21:17 - 00:01:40:02
It doesn't start near the neck. The dress has a cross over bodice and a skirt, but I haven't made it as a wrap dress. It theoretically could be a wrap dress, but there would have to be changes made to make it a wrap dress. Such as take out all the ease in the under bust. But as it is for me, it doesn't work as a wrap.

00:01:40:04 - 00:01:56:04
I would have to make various changes to make it work as a wrap dress for me, and I'll explain that why later, but because I have not made it as a wrap dress, I'm not going to give instructions for it as a wrap dress. That's not what I have drafted here. That's not the dress that I am showing you.

00:01:56:06 - 00:02:16:15
So the bodice has been sewn down and the skirt has been sewn down at the waist. It does not open at the front. It has short sleeves with added fullness in the bicep. The skirt is A-line, and it does have seam lines in the skirt to match up with the princess lines in the bodice. And the skirt has a very flouncy flounce on the skirt edge.

00:02:16:17 - 00:02:37:07
There is a pleat in the center back, but I will include some instructions for anyone who wants to make this dress. I will include instructions to put a zip in the back. In that case, the pleat will be moved over and changed to gathers, to keep the same amount of ease in the bodice. I don't need a zip to get this semi-fitted dress on, but a lot of women and I would say maybe most women would need a zip in order to get it on.

00:02:37:09 - 00:02:53:22
So I will include that option when doing the step by step instructions. There is no facing on the bodice. Both the bodice neckline and the flounce hem is finished off with bias strips. Some people might find it much easier just to do it narrow a blind hem or something else. But I love bias strips and that's how I finished it off.

00:02:53:22 - 00:03:13:00
I actually have to mention that the bias strips also give it a bit of body along the edge of the flounce, and I think it gives it a bit of a different drape. Yes, it gives it more body, makes it stick out a little bit more. The sleeve edge could be finished off with bias as well, but I actually did draft it with a facing because I planned on putting some elastic in and I didn't like the elastic and I took it out.

00:03:13:01 - 00:03:34:05
However, I will draft the facing. Just two notes about this garment. First thing, the flounces take up quite a bit of fabric, almost two meters of fabric just for the flounce. So that's over two yards. The second thing is, it's essential to make this dress out of a very drapey, lightweight fabric like viscous, rayon or silk. To get that lovely drape in the flounce.

00:03:34:05 - 00:03:53:03
So although I'm going to be showing you how I drafted my Belle Dress, you need to be aware that my Belle Dress is actually made up of my Amaranth Bodice, my Lantana Crossover Skirt with a flounce, and my Celeste Sleeve. The reason I'm telling you this is that I will label my bodice pieces the Amaranth Bodice, not my Belle Dress.

00:03:53:05 - 00:04:10:09
I will label my skirt pieces the Lantana Skirt. And so I'm telling you this so you don't get confused. You are welcome to do whatever you want when you're labeling your pattern pieces. This system works for me. And put it bluntly, I'm not going to change my system to suit you. So in these instructions, I'm just sharing with you what I do.

00:04:10:10 - 00:04:28:09
So you have to kind of live with my system, and I call these my building blocks. And to give you some examples, I have used the Amaranth bodice in my Waratah Dress and my Barbie Dress. Those dresses have different skirt and different sleeves but the same bodice. I have also used the Celeste sleeve in the Waratah Dress and my Vera dress.

00:04:28:09 - 00:04:50:13
Again, they had different bodices and different skirts just the same sleeve. I have not used the Lantana Skirt in any other dresses, but I did actually create the Lantana Skirt from the Gardenia skirt in the Waratah dress. So in actual fact, these two dresses are very, very similar. They have the same bodice, the same sleeve, and the starting point of the Lantana skirt was the Gardenia skirt.

00:04:50:19 - 00:05:02:03
I took the Gardenia Skirt and added in some seam lines, then made it a crossover and cut out the shaping to add the flounce. So with the instructions, I'll be drafting the bodice first, followed by the skirt, then the sleeve.

00:05:02:03 - 00:05:21:08
So the block I'm going to use to draft the bodice pattern pieces is actually my Sleeveless Block. Even though I'm going to be adding a sleeve to the garment. This may seem contradictory, but there are reasons why this is not a problem. Firstly, I'll show you the difference between the Sleeveless and the Standard Block. The dashed green line is my Standard Block on top of the pink Sleeveless Block.

00:05:21:14 - 00:05:37:24
You can see the difference in the shape between the Sleeveless Block and the Standard Block. The green shading I'm showing you here at the side seam shows you the amount of ease that has been removed from the Standard Block to create the Sleeveless Block. Even though I'm going to be starting out with less ease that is needed for sleeves.

00:05:38:05 - 00:06:00:20

I will be adding that ease back in when drafting the pattern, but in a different place. So instead of having the ease in the side seam, I'll be putting it in the center back pleat. So that is my preference. The second thing is that the Sleeveless Block has a higher armhole and a different armhole shape. The sleeveless armhole is close to the body, so ease has been removed to make the armhole smaller and in more towards the body.

00:06:00:22 - 00:06:20:03
The reason this is okay for me is that I add enough ease into the sleeve bicep to compensate for that reduction. So basically I end up with at least the same amount of wearing ease that was in the standard block, but it has been put in different places. This is my preference. This is the way I work and I am showing you how I draft my patterns.

00:06:20:03 - 00:06:42:21
So now tracing the Bodice Blocks is the starting point for drafting the bodice pattern pieces. So in preparation for tracing my block, I'll first draw a horizontal line with my ruler. That's the waistline. I'll then draw vertical lines at right angles to the waistline for the Center Front and the Center Back of the blocks. When I place my blocks, it's important that the Center Front and Center Back lines are at right angles to the waistline.

00:06:42:23 - 00:06:58:04
Then I'll trace my blocks, transferring the markings that I need from the blocks to the paper underneath, such as all the dart legs, the Bust Point on the bodice front, the dart points on the bodice back and across chest lines. And so this is what I end up with. And this is the starting point for drafting the bodice pattern pieces.

00:06:58:04 - 00:07:17:00
So now drafting the Amaranth Bodice, I have my front and back bodice blocks traced off onto paper, but since the Amaranth bodice is a crossover, I do need to bring the front block back in for a bit more information. I'll flip the block over and line it up on the center front line, then on the waistline, I’ll trace to the waist dart,

00:07:17:00 - 00:07:36:03
I’ll mark the bust point, the second dart leg, then remove the block and draw in those dart lines. Now I'm going to draw in the Empire line. I will measure up from the center front waist and center back waist for six centimeters, or approximately two and 3/8 of an inch. At that level, I'll draw a horizontal line at right angles to the center front and center back lines.

00:07:36:05 - 00:07:57:03
This is the Empire line and I'll be cutting off the bottom portion. So how did I come up with that measurement? Six centimeters or two and 3/8 of an inch? That is about one inch below my bust mound. If you want more information on that, see my video on contouring for lowered necklines and cutaway armholes. So as I said, I'm going to cut off that bottom portion and I end up with this.

00:07:57:05 - 00:08:13:18
Now you can make your empire level higher or lower as it suits you. I am showing you how I came up with that level for me. So now I'm going to check what the measurement is at the Empire line. And when I measure, I will of course exclude the dart values. I'm going to take the four measurements shown and add them up.

00:08:13:23 - 00:08:39:02
And given this is a half block, I will then multiply that total by two to get the total measurement for the Empire line. My total is 87.5cm, or 34 and 7/16 of an inch. I'll compare that to my body measurement to see how much ease there is currently. My body measurement is 80cm or 31.5in. I currently have 7.5cm or approximately three inches ease.

00:08:39:04 - 00:09:01:21
I want two inches ease, not three inches. I want a semi-fitted look, not fitted, not too loose and I have found for me two inches ease is ideal. So if I want two inches ease, that means I want the Empire line measurement to be 85cm or 33 and 7/16 of an inch. That means I need to remove 2.5cm or one inch ease across the whole block.

00:09:01:22 - 00:09:26:00
So here in the half blocks, I need to remove 1.25cm or half an inch ease. To reduce the ease, I need to increase the dart values. The best practice would be to distributed evenly, but because 0.625 of a centimeter is far too fiddly, I'm going to do it unevenly. The dashed gray lines are the original dashed lines, and the pink lines are my new darts.

00:09:26:02 - 00:09:47:09
From the next slide, only the new dart lines will be shown. Note that any adjustment made to the front waist dart needs to be repeated on the reflected side for the crossover. Otherwise, my crossover won't match up to my princess line. So after the changes have been made to the darts, my measurement is now 85cm or 33 and 7/16 of an inch.

00:09:47:11 - 00:10:05:17

So now I'm going to start drawing in the crossover neckline. First on the bodice front, I will measure in 5cm or 2in from the shoulders edge and place a mark. I will call that point A. I'll now draw a guideline from point A at the shoulder to point B, which is the first dart leg on the other side of the center front line.

00:10:05:19 - 00:10:25:05
I'm showing you that on the dress to show you that the crossover meets up with the armhole princess line at the waist. Now I've ended up with a neckline depth of 15cm or five and 7/8 of an inch. This is actually a good depth for me. It's not too low. If this works out too low for you, you could make the strap a bit wider.

00:10:25:06 - 00:10:44:12
So move point eight over more towards the neck as shown here. This does make the strap wider and so changes the design a little, but there's no other way to raise the neckline and keep the basic design. So this is back to the original depth my depth. If you want to lower the neckline, the easiest way is to make the line curved.

00:10:44:15 - 00:11:09:20
So the curve shown by the pink line will make my neckline 2.5cm or one inch lower than the dashed gray line, which was my original straight line. And that 2.5cm or one inch is too much for me that far too low. But that is the way you could make it lower if you wanted to. And note that even though there is a curve now, it will still look like a V-neck, and usually a V-neck is made at least slightly curved.

00:11:09:23 - 00:11:30:01
Now I am going to draw a slightly curved neckline for myself. First, at the point where the neckline crosses the center front line I'll measure in at right angles for a half a centimeter or one eighth of an inch and make a mark. Then, as shown, I’ll a draw a curve from A to B, touching that mark. Now, because this is a lowered neckline some contouring, it's required.

00:11:30:03 - 00:11:53:08
I know that I need a two centimeter gape dart. I would just mark that in and draw the dart legs. But if you don't know what contouring is, first you need to watch my video on contouring to understand the concept. And secondly, you need to either use standard contouring amounts for a lowered neckline, or for a better result you should work out your own custom contouring and mark that on your block.

00:11:53:10 - 00:12:21:16
So assuming you have some contour markings on your block, how do you apply them to this pattern? On the left is the Standard Block showing the Standard Contour Markings and amounts. The contour markings that may be relevant to this pattern are number 4, the shoulder and number five, the lowered neckline. However, number four is so negligible that I'm not going to bother with it, so I'm only using number five and you can see those on my block to the right.

00:12:21:18 - 00:12:41:20
So only the lowered neckline contouring is showing on my block. Mine looks so different because it does reflect my figure differences. You may notice that my contouring for a low neckline does go to the center front neck, which is a little different to how it's placed on the standard block. But that's where I worked it out when I did my contouring, so it's not an issue.

00:12:41:22 - 00:13:00:07
So now I'm going to transfer those contour markings on my pattern and show you how to apply those markings. So where the neckline crosses those pink lines, the value in between those two pink lines is the width of the gape dart. On the right hand side here in graphic B the neckline is lower and you can see that the gape dart is bigger.

00:13:00:09 - 00:13:21:20
As I said, the gape dart is the value between the two pink lines. So getting back to the original neckline that I actually want, not the low and revealing one, on the left (A) is the contouring information. You actually do need to do the next step of drawing in the actual dart, which will probably require you to erase the original lines as they may be confusing.

00:13:22:01 - 00:13:45:23
So now I have the gape dart drawn in, and I can cut along the pink neckline and discard the top portion. There are various ways I could proceed. I could start by manipulating the darts or I could start by drawing in the princess design line, but it will end up the same in the end. If I do start with manipulating the darts, I could move the neckline gape dart into either the side seam or the waist dart.

00:13:45:23 - 00:14:04:22
Again, the end result will be the same regardless of the order I do it in. I mention this because when I have moved the neckline dape dart into the side seam dart in the past I've had people say - “Why not the waist dart?” Bottom line is it doesn't matter. I'll get the same result. I'm actually going to start by drawing in the Princess design line.

00:14:04:24 - 00:14:30:07
So the armhole princess design line goes from the armhole through the bust point to the waist, following one of the dart legs. It doesn't really matter which dart leg because the dart will actually be removed, but I'm using the dart leg closest to the center front. So the question now - “Where along the armhole do you start?” According to a couple of my textbooks, the usual placement is about mid armhole shown here, which is the placement I don't use.

00:14:30:07 - 00:14:53:17
But you could try this, draw a curve and see how it goes. Another place along the armhole you could start is the across chest line. My placement is actually much lower down along the armhole and that works for me. There is no hard and fast rule. I suggest that either you look at any clothing you might have with a princess armhole, and if you like the look of that measure, wear along the armhole it's placed and use that placement.

00:14:53:19 - 00:15:12:19
Or use mid armhole, or use across chest, whichever one for you gets a nice curve from the armhole down to the waist. Now I'm showing you an option which I'm not actually going to use. You can draw the curves so it's a little more bowed out from the dart legs. So from the bust point down to the waist curved out.

00:15:12:21 - 00:15:29:23
Using this kind of curve means that the dress will be more fitted under the bust. So provide a little bit more shaping. But as you will need the other side of the dart leg to have the same curve reflected. It can end up being fiddly and complicate things a little bit, especially with really large busts, so I'm not taking that option.

00:15:30:00 - 00:15:47:16
I'm going to use the straight line of the dart leg, but it is an option for those who aren't beginners and know what they're doing to use the curved one. So here's my final design line, and I'm going to cut along that line to separate it into two pieces. Then I'll cut along the second leg and I can throw away that dart portion.

00:15:47:17 - 00:16:11:20
Now I'll cut along the top line of the contouring gape dart at the neckline, starting from the neckline edge and keeping a little hinge at the bust point, I'll close that gape dart at the neckline and stick it down with Sellotape. Then I'll need to redraw the neckline. I need to mark some notches one at the bust point, one 2.5cm or one inch above the bust point, and one 2.5cm or one inch below the bust point.

00:16:12:00 - 00:16:30:19
These notches are to assist in the sewing process. So moving on to the bodice front side pattern piece. I'm going to cut along the top dart leg. Now best practice does say to leave a little hinge at the bust point, but I won't because I want to open it up at the bust point later. You are theoretically supposed to just close that dart.

00:16:30:20 - 00:16:59:01
That is best practice, but because my dart is so large, I end up with this funny thing happening. So I actually just cut along both legs and throw away the dart value piece. So I remove the dart value, match up the legs and stick it down. I've ended up with a really pointy bit at the bust point. I will draw a smooth curve, which will mean cutting off a little bit of the length of this seam line, which means I will have to make an adjustment to gain that length back that I have lost.

00:16:59:03 - 00:17:30:08
So I'll measure the length of both of these lines. These are adjoining seam lines and when sewn together, they need to be the same length. The center front blue arrow line is the correct length. And I need to make sure that the side front length, the green arrow ends up the same as the blue. Now, some patternmakers do say that the seam line on the side piece can be a little bit shorter than the seam line on the center front, because you gain some bias stretch on the side piece, but I think it's just safer to make them the same length and ease them together with the help of the notches and other sewing techniques.

00:17:30:08 - 00:17:51:11
You can get the extra length by either opening the side piece up at the bust point, as shown in example A or adding it to the bottom of the seam line at the waist, which means you'll need to redraw the waistline. They end up with a slightly different shape as shown here. Probably opening it up at the bust point is better practice, but I've seen pattern makers in textbooks saying it's fine to add it at the bottom too.

00:17:51:17 - 00:18:09:15
So I've opened mine up at the bust point to get the extra length I need, and I'm now going to walk the seam to check the length. I'm also going to mark my notches in the corresponding places on the side piece. So I'll start by matching them up at the armhole, and I'll walk the side piece down until I get to the first notch, and I'll mark this notch on the side piece.

00:18:09:17 - 00:18:27:11
I'll continue walking and mark the bust point on the side pattern piece. Continue walking and mark the third notch and the last bit of walking will take me down to the Empire line waist. So my lengths match and the front pieces are done and moving on to the back pattern pieces. Now I'm going to redraw the shoulder line without the dart.

00:18:27:11 - 00:18:49:02
The way I'm going to do that is by extending the line A to B, so that A to C equals the shoulder length. You can either measure either side of the dart to get the shoulder length, or you can bring in your front block and use the shoulder line there as a reference. So the pink line is my new shoulder line, and I can erase the shoulder dart. I then have to redraw the armhole as shown by the blue dashed line.

00:18:49:04 - 00:19:10:06
I can erase the original shoulder line, but I won't cut it yet because I may need to finesse that armhole curve. And for those of you who are wondering why we aren't manipulating the back dart correctly, this is the basic equivalent of moving the shoulder out into the armhole. So this is what I have after I have redrawn the armhole and erased the shoulder dart and the original armhole.

00:19:10:08 - 00:19:32:11
Now I'm going to use the center front pattern piece to get the shoulder width of the pattern and finesse the back armhole curve. For those who may not remember, the original neckline was drawn from the shoulder’s edge, so I'm going to match up the front and back at the shoulders edge. That armhole curve isn't right and it needs to be redrawn, so I am redrawing the armhole for a better flow through from the front to the back.

00:19:32:13 - 00:19:53:10
I drafted a back neckline, depth of six centimeters or two and 3/8 of an inch, shown by the pink downward arrow, with a front pattern piece still matched up at the shoulder. I can also draw in the neckline curve that works from front to back, shown by the green arrow. However, if I were to make this dress again, I would draft the back neckline higher as shown by the dashed blue line.

00:19:53:12 - 00:20:09:00
Now I'm going to add the center back pleat. I'll measure out two centimeters or three quarters of an inch at right angles from the center back neckline. So I'm measuring out from point A and marking point B, then I'll do the same at the waistline, measuring out for two centimeters or three quarters of an inch and mark point D.

00:20:09:02 - 00:20:28:19
Then I'll draw a line from point B to point D. So moving on to the princess line in the back bodice. I'll draw the princess line from the across back line at the armhole through the dart point, and down to the waist. Again, there is an option of drawing that curve bowed out from the dart point to the waist, but I'm going to do a straight line following the dart leg.

00:20:28:24 - 00:20:51:06
Note that for me and it might not be for you. The across just line happens to be the halfway point on the armhole. Again, the placement on the armhole really is a matter of design choice and what looks good. But the across back placement is a suggestion. I'll put a notch mark at the dart point and marker on both sides of the design line, so it will be on both pattern pieces and add another notch up towards the armhole.

00:20:51:08 - 00:21:14:18
Then I'll cut along that line. I'll also cut along the other waist dart leg and discard the dart value. Now I'll do a bit of truing. That is, making sure that the side seam lengths match before finalizing the pattern pieces and adding seam allowance. So now I'll place the front side pattern piece against the back at the side seam to check that the side seam lengths match, which they do for me. Now,

00:21:14:18 - 00:21:34:11
best practice also, which I didn't actually do in this case, is to redraw a smooth curved line at the waist. If you look down at the bottom, at the waist level, the pink shaded piece is what I could have should have added in to the side piece. Bottom line is that I don't make patterns for the industry, and I don't always do things perfectly.

00:21:34:13 - 00:21:50:00
You can feel free to follow best practice and add in those bits to the pattern if that happens to you. While that side pattern piece is still there, I will also check that there is a smooth curve flow through from the back armhole to the front. So these are the final bodice pattern pieces that need to be labeled.

00:21:50:06 - 00:22:10:18
I have a grainline placed on them and seam allowance added. If you do want to make adjustments to this pattern to put a zip in the back - instead of marking the pleat as a pleat, you can mark gathers over towards the armhole. So then I'll add seam allowance. I almost always add only one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch seam allowance on all seams.

00:22:10:21 - 00:22:34:21
And I will also add cutting instructions and the name of the pattern. Now as I said, this is not the dress name. This is my bodice name. So I'm going to mark this as my Amaranth bodice. I never cut anything on fold. I draft half pattern pieces to print out on paper, but after that I trace the pattern onto Vilene or Trace and Toile, and I create full pattern pieces and ALL pattern pieces to place on one layer of fabric.

00:22:34:23 - 00:23:02:06
I'm showing the cut on fold here because that's the pattern at this point to print out. Now a point regarding seam allowance. When adding the seam allowance below the waistline, it needs to be squared down from the waist. It doesn't follow the angle of the seam So let me get up closer to show you what I mean. So rather than following the angle of the side seam below the waist as shown by the incorrect gray lines, it should square down at right angles from the waist as shown by the red and blue arrows.

00:23:02:08 - 00:23:27:21
So that is so that the measurement at the cutting line is not less than the measurement at the seam line. The grain line needs to be marked on the pattern pieces. I'm cutting them all on the straight grain, though I could put the side pieces on the bias if I wanted. If I was using stripes, for example. For the center front I’ll mark the grain line on the center front line, the center back I’ll mark it as shown parallel to the center back cut-on-fold line, and for the side pieces I’ll mark it in the middle of the pattern.

00:23:27:23 - 00:23:52:05
So measure the waistline and draw a line up in the middle of that waistline. The grain line is drawn at right angles to the waist. So here are the final bodice pattern pieces with the grain line marked, labeled and with cutting instructions. Now, as I said before, I put one centimeter seam allowance on everything and if I were to put a zip in the back, I'd still only add one centimeter because the invisible zips I have used are one centimeter in width.

00:23:52:07 - 00:24:11:09
If you are drafting your own patterns, you add the seam allowance you prefer. I might add 1.5cm to the waist. If I'm not sure about adding a lining to the skirt, and I want to make that decision later, after the seam is sewn and overlocked or serged. Having that extra little bit helps in that case. So when I say one centimeter, that’s 3/8 of an inch.

00:24:11:11 - 00:24:15:09
So here are my final Amaranth bodice pattern pieces.

00:24:15:09 - 00:24:36:09
So now on to drafting the Lantana Skirt. As I said earlier in the dress description section of this video, I started with my basic A-line Gardenia Skirt, which can be seen here in my Waratah Dress. And from that pattern I drafted the Lantana Skirt. So here are the pattern pieces showing that. Now having said that, that's not the whole story.

00:24:36:15 - 00:24:57:14
There was actually a step, or rather a skirt in between. And that is the Wilma Skirt. So the Wilma skirt was just the Gardenia skirt with a design line put in to match up with the princess line in the bodice, but the pattern pieces are obviously different. There are four pattern pieces rather than two. So the skirt got a new name, and then from the Wilma Skirt I then drafted the Lantana Skirt.

00:24:57:16 - 00:25:11:04
And I'm telling you this because I will actually be first drafting the Gardenia Skirt, then making the modification to draft the Wilma Skirt, and then from the Wilma Skirt, drafting the Lantana Skirt. So let's get started with the Gardenia Skirt.

00:25:11:04 - 00:25:31:17
So drafting the gardenia skirt, the first thing I need are some measurements. From the bodice pattern pieces already drafted I need four measurements. Measurement number one is the front waist total. Measurement number two is the center front to princess line measurement. That's to place a notch. Measurement number three is the back empire waist total. Measurement number four is the center back

00:25:31:17 - 00:25:50:09
To princess line measurement, again for a notch. Measurement number five is the hip depth - the empire line to hip, not the natural waist to hip. Measurement number six is the body hip circumference and measurement number seven is the skirt length. I'm going to start with the skirt that has the smallest waist measurement, and for me that's the skirt back.

00:25:50:09 - 00:26:10:12
To draft the skirt I'm going to start with a piece of paper and draw a rectangle. The height of the rectangle is the Empire line to hip measurement shown by the blue arrow. And the width of that rectangle is the body hip measurement times 130% divided by four. You should use the pattern making ruler and make sure that all corners are at right angles.

00:26:10:14 - 00:26:25:24
Now just a note for those of you who may be drafting your front skirt rather than your back skirt, because it has a smaller waist measurement. It is standard practice to have the front and back blocks, which are half blocks, for the same side of the body, and this follow through to the pattern pieces when you use that block to draw a pattern.

00:26:25:24 - 00:26:53:19
So looking at these blocks, my blocks, they are for my right side as I'm wearing the garment. So the skirt pattern pieces should be for the same side of the body. Therefore, the skirt pattern pieces should face the same way as the bodice pattern pieces. What this means is, for those of you who are drafting the skirt front, because that's the smallest waist measurement and you are following my directions exactly, you will end up with the skirt center front of the skirt on the left hand side of the body, but this is not a problem.

00:26:53:19 - 00:27:16:18
In the end, you just flip your pattern over and consider that the right side up. So here's my rectangle to the dimensions given before. Before I continue with the instructions though, here's a five second overview of where I'm going with this rectangle and how it's going to turn into my skirt.

00:27:16:20 - 00:27:33:20
So I'm going to do some calculations, cut it up into sections, overlap it at the top and in the process get a curve for the waist. Then make it the length I want it. So the width of my rectangle, which is the outcome of the calculation I did earlier to draw the rectangle is 35.1cm, or ten and 5/8 of an inch.

00:27:33:21 - 00:27:53:18
I'm going to divide that amount by four to make four sections. If you have a much larger difference between your hips and waist, so you have really large hips and really small waist, divide it by five instead of four. So then measure out for that measurement and draw a vertical line and repeat two more times. As always, make sure that the vertical lines are at right angles to the waistline.

00:27:53:18 - 00:28:11:00
I'll cut along those lines from the waist down, leaving small hinges at the bottom or tiny little hinges at the bottom. So I've colored those sections different colors just for reference. Now I need to do another calculation. I need to calculate the difference between the hip measurement that is the rectangle width, and my pattern empire line waist measurement.

00:28:11:04 - 00:28:32:18
And the difference between those, of course, is the amount that I need to reduce the top of the rectangle. So the resulting measurement is the total that I have to reduce the top rectangle. And then I'll divide that by three because it will be spread between the three designated sections. So for example, in metric, my hip minus my waist is 35.1cm minus 20.5cm.

00:28:32:18 - 00:28:50:05
I have a total of 14.6cm, but that has to be spread over the three sections. Now, given that it's kind of like a difficult measurement to work with in centimeters, I've split it up a little unevenly, feel free to do that. It doesn't have to be exactly the same over those three sections - a little bit out is fine.

00:28:50:07 - 00:29:13:11

So in looking at the inches - hip minus waist 13 and 13/16th of an inch, minus eight inch waist is five and 13/16. Divide that by three. Each section needs to be reduced by one and 15/16 of an inch. So using that final measurement of 4.75cm or one and 15/16 of an inch, I will measure from the Empire Line point one.

00:29:13:13 - 00:29:46:05
This is the pink arrow - if you look at the pink arrow. From the Empire line Point 1 - inwards to the center back, and then I'll mark a point and name it point A. I'll then draw a guideline from the hip line point 1 to point A, and that's shown by the dashed pink line. I will keep the center back panel, the green one in the same place, then pivot the other three panels together as one, so that the line number one aligns with the pink guideline I drew on the green panel. So that has to be taped down with sticky tape or Sellotape or Scotch tape.

00:29:46:11 - 00:30:06:18
So the tape is sticking down the orange panel to the green panel. I'll then measure from point two at the top towards point one for 4.75cm, or one and 15/16 of an inch shown by the pink arrow and mark point B. Then draw a guideline from point two at the hip line to point B, indicated by the pink dashed line.

00:30:06:23 - 00:30:28:15
I will then pivot the blue and yellow panels together, turning them so that the blue panel line number two matches up with the pink dashed guideline drawn on the orange panel and stick it down with tape. Rinse and repeat. Measure from point three at the Empire line, this time five centimeters because it was distributed unevenly, but still one and 15/16 of an inch and mark point C shown by the pink arrow.

00:30:28:17 - 00:30:51:07
Then draw a guideline from point three at the hem to point C, shown by the pink dashed guideline. And finally pivot the yellow panel so it lines up with the guideline previously drawn and tape it down. So now measure the waistline and compare it to the measurement that it's supposed to be. If it's not quite correct, you can make some adjustments by pulling off the tape of the final panel and closing it up, or opening it up as required.

00:30:51:09 - 00:31:17:11
When you have the waist measurement correct for the skirt length. So using the desired skirt length measurement, in my case it's 63cm or 24 and that means it's tenths of an inch. I'll measure down from the Empire line waist straight down the center back seam and also down the side sean for the same measurement. To draw the hem curve, it may help to draw a few more lines, so measure down from the waist along each of the dashed guidelines using the same skirt length measurement.

00:31:17:13 - 00:31:38:08
And so then that will help you draw the curve. Place a notch in the waistline to match the placement of the princess line seam in the bodice. So in my case, 10cm or 4in from the center back. So measure along the waistline for 4in or 10cm and place a notch. Mark. Place a second notch in the side seam at the hip line.

00:31:38:10 - 00:31:54:16
So this is what I've ended up with for my back skirt, and I'll be starting my front skirt. Some of you may have just finished your front skirt, and you'll now be working on your back skirt. On the right hand side is what I've finished up with the skirt back, and I will cut that shape out from the paper. To create the skirt front,

00:31:54:21 - 00:32:13:23
I'm going to flip over the back skirt and trace it. I'm going to trace it from the center back waist. So point A along the waistline, down the side seam and the hem to point B, but not trace the center back line. So I'm going to transfer the hip notch but not mark the waist notch. So the blue dashed line is what I've ended up with.

00:32:13:23 - 00:32:36:08

And that's the starting point for the front skirt pattern piece. First, I need to work out the difference between my waist measurement of the skirt front and back. My front waist measurement is 1.5cm, or 5/8 of an inch more than my back waist measurement. So using that I will measure out from point A at the waist and B at the hem for that amount and

00:32:36:10 - 00:33:00:24

Mark points C and D. Then I'll draw the center front line from point C to D, shown by the blue dashed line. The reason that I'm adding it here is to keep the side seam angle the same as the back, so both the front and back skirt will have the exact same side seam angle. Referring to the front bodice pattern pieces, I will mark a notch on the waist to match the princess line of the bodice front.

00:33:00:24 - 00:33:26:16

So for me, I will measure in the 9.25cm, or three and 5/8 of an inch from the center front, and mark the notch. Now, regardless of how you drafted these pattern pieces, in the end, the center front of the skirt front should be facing the same way as the center front bodies and likewise for the back. So if you've drafted them so they end up different, then just flip them over and make sure that you label and continue, and that in the end they are the correct way up.

00:33:26:18 - 00:33:49:10
I'm going to label my pattern pieces. You can write any information that you know that you'll find useful. I’ll write the information that I find useful. Now I'm going to line up the skirts at the side seam to do some truing, to check that the lengths are the same, and to check the flow through of the curves. If there are dips or points where they meet, instead of a smooth curve, then those dips or points will need to be smoothed out. Because of the angle of the side seam.

00:33:49:10 - 00:34:13:23
You will get some bias stretch when you sew this up, which will mean that the side seam will end up longer than you drafted. One way of dealing with it is to make a bias adjustment, but the problem is you don't know exactly how much it will stretch. It will differ from fabric to fabric. Some people deal with this by hanging the skirt up for a few days before doing the hemming, and then making an adjustment, Because I'm a bit lazy in this regard and in this area, I am not a perfectionist.

00:34:13:23 - 00:34:31:18
I tend to always make the same adjustment, and I do it here when I put the side seams together so I can find a curve that flows through. I tend to use an adjustment about two centimeters or three quarters of an inch, always making sure though, that the center front and center back hem are area is squared off for about 3 or 4cm, or 1.5in.

00:34:31:20 - 00:34:57:05
As I said before, with the bodice, I add one centimeter seam allowance to all seams. Now, having said that, you should use the seam allowance that is good for you. If you're adding a skirt lining and you're adding it afterwards, you could add more to the waist seam allowance to make that a bit easier. Now the grain line. I don't have zip in my dress, so when I trace my pattern onto the Trace ‘N Toile ’fabric’, I will put my grain line on the center front line and on the center back line.

00:34:57:07 - 00:35:19:15
If you are putting in a zip, you need to add seam allowance down the center back seam and the same amount that you use for the bodice. You'll also need to add a notch for the end of your zip, and that will depend on your zip length, so you need to measure and place that notch. The grain line will be placed parallel to the center back seam, and likewise, if you are cutting on the fold, you draw your grain line parallel to the center back and center front seams.

00:35:19:17 - 00:35:29:11
Now, again, to be clear, this is what I draft and print. But when I actually go to cut the fabric, I always create a whole pattern piece because I never cut on the fold.

00:35:29:11 - 00:35:47:19
If you find my content useful and appreciate the work put into these instructions, please consider supporting me by buying me a cup of coffee from my Ko-Fi Shop. The link can be found in my channel header and in the video description box. You can also buy my downloadable PDF drafting block booklets from my Ko-Fi Shop.

00:35:47:19 - 00:36:09:04
So now on to making the changes to the Gardenia Skirt to create the Wilma Skirt. I'm going to start with the pattern pieces that I just ended up with. If you are drafting this for yourself, you may have a center back piece that looks slightly different to mine. If you are inserting a zip rather than cut one fold, you will have seam allowance down the center back, but I'll be using mine for the rest of these instructions.

00:36:09:06 - 00:36:30:19
Now, as I said, the Wilma is just the Gardenia with a panel line inserted and the panel line is placed to match the bodice princess line. And I have notches here, so I know where the panel start at the Empire Line. But where does it go to in the hem? In a nutshell, it's a percentage calculation. So this measurement here, the center front to Empire Line notch is a certain percentage of this measurement the front waist.

00:36:30:24 - 00:36:56:09
So I work out that percentage which happens to be 42% for me. And then I apply the same percentage to the hem. So the four measurements that I need are the total front Empire line measurement, the center front to Empire line, the total back Empire line measurement, and the center back to Princess line measurement. And to work out that percentage, I take the center front to princess line and divide by the total waist and multiply by 100 and I get 42%.

00:36:56:10 - 00:37:18:16
You can see on screen the metric and imperial amounts it is a basic percentage calculation. So as I said 42%. I then measure the hem of the skirt front. Work out 42% of that measurement and draw a line from the princess line to the hem. Then I repeat that for the back. My back proportion is 45.5%. So again I measure the hem and work out 45.5% of the hem measurement.

00:37:18:22 - 00:37:35:10
Make a mark and draw the new seam line. Now before I actually cut and separate it and add seam allowance before I do that, I will draw the grainline on the side pieces and the grain line will be parallel to the center front. So the same grain line as the center front piece. It might look a bit odd.

00:37:35:15 - 00:37:57:03
Reason that I do that is I'm keeping the same side seam angles on those adjoining pattern pieces, and those adjoining seams will be on the same angle on the fabric. Now I do actually mark the left hand side and right hand side as worn on the pattern pieces, because although you should theoretically be able to match them up correctly, without that, I have got it back to front once and it did seem to matter.

00:37:57:07 - 00:38:16:05
I flipped the pieces over somehow when the right side of the fabric wasn't obvious. So to be on the safe side, I do mark those side pieces so they are clearly matched up to the correct side of the center front piece. Otherwise you get this kind of thing happening. So these are my four pattern pieces. If you are inserting a zip, your center back piece will have a center back seam allowance.

00:38:16:07 - 00:38:32:07
I need to place some notches. I need to place one notch between the front and side pieces, two notches at the side seams, and three notches between the center back and side pieces. So here all the notches are marked. And of course where I have cut and spread, I need to add seam allowance so I can join those seams together.

00:38:32:12 - 00:38:49:09
I have already done that. I'm just drawing your attention to it with the pink shading. I will create full pattern pieces and all pattern pieces because I'm cutting on one layer of fabric, not folded fabric. So here are the front pieces, the back pieces, and the second option to the back skirt with the center back seam for a zip.

00:38:49:11 - 00:39:04:13
And here are all the pattern pieces for my Wilma skirt. And here are two dresses where I have used this skirt as is. Because of course I'm going to be changing this to the Lantana Skirt, but this Wilma Skirt as is has been used in these two dresses.

00:39:04:13 - 00:39:24:02
So now to drafting the Lantana Skirt from the Wilma Skirt. Here are my Wilma Skirt pattern pieces front and back. And there is a second option for the back, if a zip is required. Now I am going to cut off the bottom one third of the skirt, of course front and back, because that bottom one third will be discarded and replaced with a flounce.

00:39:24:06 - 00:39:45:13
So that's what I'm going to do in a little bit. But first I want to give you an overview and some information about the flounce. This flounce is drafted as a circle and there are actually eight circles that make up this flounce on the Belle Dress. So to be clear, the inner circle here shown by the pink arrows that length multiplied by eight is attached to the skirt edge.

00:39:45:15 - 00:40:05:24
The flounce length is the same amount and has been cut off the skirt. So if you don't understand how the flounce works, I'll try to explain it. Show it to you in 2D. This circle will be cut as shown just on one side so that it opens up. Note that there is actually a seam allowance built into that circle, and we have to incorporate that seam allowance when we do the calculation to draft the circle.

00:40:06:05 - 00:40:24:24
I want to point out that this pattern piece I'm using as an example does have the seam allowance. So the inner circle, the very inner circle is the cutting line. And the pink line with arrows is the seam line, the stitching line. So this circle which is one of eight, has been cut and opened. Now please let me point out that these circles are not to scale at the moment.

00:40:25:01 - 00:40:50:06
I have made them smaller so I can fit them all on screen. Usually I try to keep everything to scale and try to let you know when it's not. So all the eight circles are cut on one side and sewn together. So what I do is sew seam line A to seam line B, then seam line C to seam line D, E to F, G to H, and so on and so on until they are all sewn together with two open edges as shown.

00:40:50:12 - 00:41:08:15
One open edge sound to the hem of the front and under skirt, and the other end goes up to the empire line of the over skirt. So all these circles are sewn together and you get a shape like this. The top edge that is sound to the skirt is much, much shorter than the hem edge. The bottom edge, which is much, much longer.

00:41:08:21 - 00:41:29:04
So when it's held by the shorter edge, the hem edge drapes into cone like shapes. And actually in real life, it wants to curl in circles. I don't have the artistic ability to show you that curling into circles in 2D, and I didn't take a photo of the flounce at the time before I sewed it onto the skirt.

00:41:29:06 - 00:41:55:11
As I said earlier, one edge, one open edge is attached to the front skirt, the front Under Skirt, and it is sewn all around since it's a wrap. Around the back and right up to the Over Skirt up to meet the Empire line. So why eight circles? Why not 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7? Where did 8 come from? I actually did see instruction somewhere for the eight circles, but I went and did some testing for other amounts.

00:41:55:16 - 00:42:12:00
And I'll show you some results of that testing. So this dress here, this dress is not a wrap dress, but it does have the same skirt. So it's got the Wilma skirt and the same flounce length. So proportionately the flounce is one third of the skirt. But in this case I've used two circles which results in less flouncing.

00:42:12:06 - 00:42:42:01
And here is a comparison of the two circles in my Charley dress and the eight circles in my bell dress. The more circles you use, the smaller the circles become and the more flouncing you get. Just be aware, though, that in this case, I'm not comparing apples to apples, because the length of the skirt edge where the flounce is being attached is far smaller in my Charley dress, because it isn't a wrap, it doesn't have that extra length of the under and over, but it does indicate the general rule that the more circles, the smaller they become, the more flounce you get.

00:42:42:07 - 00:43:01:11
So more circles smaller, more flounce. So this dress is a wrap dress. Everything is the same as the Belle, but I've only used three circles, so this is just to show you a different amount of flounce. You may choose to just go with a smaller amount 3, 4, 5, 6.. rather than the eight. The eight is an amount that I tried and I liked.

00:43:01:14 - 00:43:26:04
You can choose to have more or less flounce. It's up to you. Now this dress has only one flounce. Again, it's not comparing apples to apples because it's not a wrap dress. But the same general principle applies. Less circles, bigger the circle, less flounce. However, this dress has another significant difference in that the flounce is half of the skirt length rather than a third of the skirt length, and this is the circle pattern for that dress to scale.

00:43:26:05 - 00:43:56:19
Now, if you make the flounce longer, you need to keep in mind that the difference between the inner circle attaching to the skirt and the outer circle which becomes to the hem becomes greater. So for this dress, if the flounce was one third, the hem is significantly smaller than making the flounce a half of the skirt. So basically, even though this skirt has only one circle creating the flounce because the flounce length is longer, the final effect is flouncy than if I had made it a third of the skirt length rather than a half.

00:43:56:21 - 00:44:15:06
I actually would like to make another version of this dress with the flounce two thirds of the length of the skirt, with the skirt to the ankle. I think that would end up with a very nice look, and the hem circumference would end up being five meters or so. I think that's five and a half yards. And the final effect I think would be really interesting.

00:44:15:08 - 00:44:33:24
So here's that same dress made in linen. And just to show you that due to the different draping properties, you get a different effect that this has ended up accentuating the cones or the fluting, which I think is a kind of nice, interesting look. And the final comparison, as far as the length of the flounce goes, is this dress with a very narrow flounce.

00:44:34:03 - 00:44:53:16
This flounce is only one fifth of the skirt, but the skirt is longer also. This has been drafted with eight circles. So onto the instructions for drafting the skirt and the flounce. First I'm going to cut off the bottom one third of the skirt. I will measure the skirt length, excluding seam allowance, and mark up from the seam line.

00:44:53:18 - 00:45:13:18
I'll draw in the new seam line, then measure down one centimeter to add the seam allowance, then cut off the portion below that. If you're wondering why I don't measure up from the cutting line, which would give me the final cutting line. The reason is that I want to see the seam line. I want it marked in, so I would still need to measure up one centimeter to get the seam line.

00:45:13:19 - 00:45:29:04
So much of a muchness. I want to see the seam line for when I draw in the curve of the Over Skirt. So I'm going to measure that and cut it off both front and back. Now in actual fact, the back skirt is finished as is. Of course, if I'm inserting a zip my back pieces will look like this.

00:45:29:04 - 00:45:49:08
Slightly different, but the front pieces now need some work. I'll discard the bottom third and I continue with this. Two of the pieces don't need anything done to them at all. The center front and the left hand side as worn, are the two pieces for the Under Skirt as is. Now having said that, if I made this again, I would actually add a third piece to the Under Skirt.

00:45:49:10 - 00:46:16:05
I would include the right hand side as well, but I would remove a couple of inches or so, five centimeters, seven centimeters from the side as shown by the shaded area. Now, the reason I would include this piece, I would add some to the Under Skirt, is that if it's a windy day, having that extra bit under the skirt is useful, and generally it's just safer to have more of an under skirt, but I won't want it to go all the way to the side seam as it would add bulk to the side seam.

00:46:16:05 - 00:46:33:04
So that's why I would cut some off. But I will continue to draft it as I did originally as it's good enough. Now I need some Over Pieces, so I need a copy of the center front and I need the right hand side pieces. I'm going to overlap them to match at the seam line and then draw a curve like this.

00:46:33:06 - 00:46:53:01
And in this case, I've measured up about 20% of the length of that skirt piece and drawn a curved line going through that point. Then I'll add my one centimeter seam allowance. You can use the seam allowance you prefer. I like one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch. So these are my front over pieces. And here are all my front pieces.

00:46:53:03 - 00:47:21:14

Now I need to measure the hem on these skirt pieces to create the flounce. I need that measurement for some calculations. My total front hem, excluding seam allowance, is 145.75cm, or 57 and 3/8 of an inch. I also have to measure the back hem. I get 86cm or 33 and 7/8, so my total hem measurement front and back on the skirt pieces is 232cm, or 91.25in.

00:47:21:20 - 00:47:44:09
Now I need eight circles, where tge inner circle, as shown, adds up to this 232cm, or 91.25in, and the width of the circle is the length of the flounce, which is one third of the skirt. So the calculation for the inner circle, I'll take the total hem measurement and divide by eight. Because I want eight circles, I get 29cm or 11 and 3/8 of an inch.

00:47:44:12 - 00:48:00:23
I then add two centimeters or three quarters of an inch to that, because I need two lots of seam allowance in that circle. I get 31cm or 12 and 7/8 of an inch. I then divide by pi to get the diameter of the circle, and I round that up a bit to get ten centimeters or four and one eighth of an inch.

00:48:01:01 - 00:48:17:04
So a note round up always not down, because it's better for the flounce to be a bit longer. You can cut some of them be too short. So this line is the diameter of the circle at the midpoint. I've drawn another line the same length vertically. So now I have a center point to draw the circle using that diameter information to do so.

00:48:17:10 - 00:48:49:11
That is the stitching line of my flounce. The measurement from the inner circle outwards is the length of the flounce. For me, 21cm or 8.25in plus seam allowance needs to be added to that. So I will add that seam allowance before drawing the final outer circle, because it's not essential for me to mark the stitching line here. I've done so because it's easy on the computer, but if I were doing it by hand, I wouldn't bother marking the stitching line and I would only draw the outer circle, which is the length plus one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch seam allowance.
00:48:49:13 - 00:49:08:05

You could use a pin, a piece of string, and a pencil to draw in those circles, the inner circle and the outer circle. That's just a way of making a nice neat circle. Seam allowance is also needed on the inside because at the moment we've marked the stitching line. You need to draw a seam allowance on the inside and create the cutting line.

00:49:08:07 - 00:49:28:09
The pink line is the stitching line here and the green line is the cutting line, so make sure you add seam allowance on the inside. I'll mark the green line as shown on half of the circle, as well as the line to cut the circle open on the other side. Those lines do need to go through the very center of the circle. I’ll label the pattern piece and include cutting instructions.

00:49:28:15 - 00:49:45:23
Now just a couple of notes here. You may want to round off the edge of the starting point of the flower that joins to the under skirt. It may give a better look. Here's an example of how you might draw that. The pink arrow is the rounded edge, but I suggest you cut a circle out of test fabric and see how you can make that rounded edge.

00:49:46:04 - 00:50:04:24
But here's an example of a neckline flounce that narrows to nothing at the edge. So look at the orange flounce piece. See how that is drawn? Now on the other end of the flounce where it meets the Empire line waist, you could do the same. But what I do, what I like, is turning it under and sewing the flat line of the edge up on the waistline turned under.

00:50:05:04 - 00:50:24:21
So there are there will be in the end, three layers at the waist, the under skirt, the line of the flounce turned under, and the over skirt. The reason I do this is that it acts as a kind of facing, so the flounce doesn't flip over and show the underside when it flaps about. So I turn the flat side under and sew it to the waistline.

00:50:24:23 - 00:50:42:21
And this is what it looks like on the dress. It's a bit hard to kind of give you a very clear picture with these photos, but hopefully you get an idea. So here are all my pattern pieces, my back pieces, my front pieces, and my flounce. And here are them all together. And I've also given each one a pattern piece number.

00:50:42:23 - 00:50:46:23
And that is my Lantana Skirt with flounce finished.

00:50:46:23 - 00:51:14:21
So now drafting my Celestina Sleeve. I will start with my fitted sleeve block that has two inches ease in the bicep. So first I'll trace around my block from 5 centimeters or two inches below the bicep line, around the sleeve head and down the other side, transferring the shoulder mark and front and back notches as well. So using a ruler, I will then draw a line across the bicep so that I have a horizontal line that I can then use to square up a line to make the shoulder point.

00:51:14:24 - 00:51:37:18
I will also draw another line connecting the open ends of the bicep. I will then cut along the vertical line so that it separates into two pieces. I'm going to add fullness and that fullness will be added evenly throughout the piece from top to bottom. I will draw a horizontal line on some other paper, and then place those two pieces on that new paper, matching the bicep line with the line that I've just drawn.

00:51:37:20 - 00:51:58:08
I'll stick those pieces down securely with Scotch tape. Now I am adding seven centimeters or 2.5in ease. So I will measure that out. The top and the bottom and draw a line in the middle, smack bang in the middle of that section I've just opened up. So the top of that line that I'm drawing is the new shoulder point, and that actual line will end up being the grain line.

00:51:58:12 - 00:52:16:18
So this is what I have now, and I want to redraw the sleeve head curve. In separating the pieces, the sleeve head has become a little squarer, so we'll shave off some of the top of the front and back to restore it to something closer to the original curve. So this is showing you what I want to remove. Using a French curve ruler,

00:52:16:23 - 00:52:34:02
I'll remove the bit from the top of the back, ending up at the shoulder mark and doing the same on the front side, cutting a little off the top of the front sleeve head. So this is what my final curve looks like. I went up to the top. That's the shoulder point. I will also notch where the fullness was added.

00:52:34:04 - 00:52:51:00
Then I'll measure up from the base of the bicep for two centimeters or three quarters of an inch, and draw a curved line from the underarm point to that point. But I'll keep the last little bit at the underarm squared off. So when I joined the seams there, I don't have a little pointy bit. Then I'll add my one centimeter seam allowance.

00:52:51:02 - 00:53:13:14
I will now create the facing piece using this completed sleeve, keeping in mind that the seam allowance is already included. So I will measure up 5cm or 2in from the base. So this means that the final facing will be three centimeters because there's one centimeter seam allowance. And then at the top I will turn back the facing down for a clean finish.

00:53:13:14 - 00:53:44:15
So the final width of the facing will be three centimeters. I'll put two notches at the back. And this will help make sure that I am attaching the facing the correct way, because the sleeve is not symmetrical, While I have them both together, I'll put in the grain line on the facing piece as well as the sleeve. I must mention that in the Lina Dress, the arrow would be only in one direction because the fabric has a nap, but I use the sleeve pattern in other dresses, and I just remember to keep all the pattern pieces in one direction if I'm using it on fabric with a nap.

00:53:44:20 - 00:54:00:14
There are a lot of rules that are essential in a factory setting. In a garment manufacturing situation where the people in the factory aren't going to guess what you want, you've got to tell them exactly what you want. When you’re drafting your own patterns, I think a lot of these things can slide, and certainly for me they do.

00:54:00:16 - 00:54:16:20
Because, for example, I know, I always know that if there's a nap that I've got to place them all in one direction. And finally I'll label the pattern with a pattern name. And here I have written on these pieces Cut 2, but I only label that for printing it out because I would create all the pieces for cutting.

00:54:16:20 - 00:54:24:06
I always cut on one layer, never on the fold. So these are actually my final pattern pieces that I lay on the fabric.

00:54:24:06 - 00:54:43:17
Here are all my pattern pieces laid out on my fabric. My skirt pieces are shaded blue, green and gray. The flounce is shaded pink. My bodice pieces are shaded yellow and my sleeves are shaded purple, just to make it easier to see. They're all there. I actually make a list of the pattern pieces and check them off when I lay them down on the fabric to make sure I don't miss any.

00:54:43:23 - 00:55:01:10
I am sure there's enough fabric for lots of bias strips also. Now I prefer to cut my fabric into sections so I don't have to wrangle 3.5m all at one time on my table. I just can't manage that. So this does mean I use a little bit more fabric, but as I save a little bit of fabric by cutting on one layer, I'm fine with that.

00:55:01:12 - 00:55:15:04
I needed 3.5m or close to four yards - for fabric for this dress. The fabric was 145cm, or about 57in wide. As I've said before, this flouncy skirt really needs a very drapey fabric.

00:55:15:04 - 00:55:32:00
My next pattern will be my Ynes Dress. It has a lot more ease in the under bust than my previous dresses. It's a loose fitting pull on dress with lots of gathers. I will try really hard to get it up as soon as I can. After this dress I will do a top or jacket or pants. So that's that.

00:55:32:02 - 00:55:34:02
And it's chao from me.