Video Transcript

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Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me
 Starlight and dew drops....
 Hi, this is Marie from Dresspatternmaking.com. 
 This is part 6. That is the final part of the Bodice Block Essential videos - Measuring for the Bodice Block. After this, I will be remaking the bodice instructions videos. This will take a few weeks, as I'm also finishing off the EPUB booklet to accompany the pants video and EPUB booklet for the bodice instructions.

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If you find my tutorials useful, please consider buying me a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi. Click on the link in my channel header. You can download the list of measurements from my website. I will put a link in the YouTube video description, but it won't be there immediately this video is published. It will be put up the next day.

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I will be showing you the measurements on Didi here and I'll give some suggestions or tips on how to take some of those measurements. The person being measured needs to wear something close fitting, preferably something in stretch fabric that has negative ease so that you are taking the body measurements and you do need a person to help you take the measurements.

00:01:07:14 - 00:01:26:07

This is a little bit confusing because for the rest of the video, I'm kind of talking to you as both the person who wants their measurement taken and the person who is taking the measurement. I will also bring in another form, my fiberglass form, to show how the Upper Bust looks on a larger bust because Didi has a small Bust Cup.

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If you have not watched the Bodice Block Essential videos, particularly the first one on the difference between Bra Bust Cups and Patternmaking Bust Cups, I suggest you do so as it is useful to know before taking your measurements. I would actually recommend that you watch at least videos 1 to 4. Now first I want to explain the toile that Didi is wearing.

00:01:50:16 - 00:02:10:03

I measured Didi- on the left hand side - and I made her a Moulage / Block. It is a block made to her measurements without ease. Now, the reason I made it without ease is because my focus is on not making a garment. It's on taking measurements. When you take measurements, you take the body measurements. The focus is on the body.

00:02:10:08 - 00:02:28:10

And I wanted this to fit her like a glove so we could see her body. Now, when I say a Moulage with no ease, I did actually add just a smidgen, a half an inch or so across the whole block, or I wouldn't have been able to close it up properly, but it certainly does not have anywhere near the three inches ease in the upper bust as a block would.

00:02:28:23 - 00:02:49:17

So I drafted that Moulage Block for her and that is shown on the right. All the colored lines on the block are measurements I used to draft the block. For example, the red line down the middle is the Center Front line. On this slide is the Front Moulage. And this is the Back Moulage that I drafted the D again.

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all the lines that are shown are the measurements used to draft the block. I then took the Bodice Front and Bodice Back and traced those blocks onto calico and transferred all the measurement lines from the block to the fabric with colored markers. Therefore, the lines on the toile that Didi is wearing is an exact replica of what is on the block.

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I'll be working through the list of measurements that I’ve previously mentioned, in the order they appear on the document, and that's basically the order theyre in drafting the Bodice Block. So the first measurement is the upper bust will be using the Arcs - that is the Front and the Back Arc to actually draft the block. But we need to start with defining where the upper bust is, and it helps to look at the whole circumference measurement as well as the Arcs.

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I have accentuated the original pink line on the toile to make it stand out, but in case anyone has a problem with colors, I will always put an arrow at at least one end of the measurement I'm talking about, to make it clear which measurement I'm talking about. Now, if you look at the front block on the right, the upper bust is indicated by the pink double headed arrow. On the block,

00:04:00:22 - 00:04:24:03

The Upper Bust line is a completely straight line at the armhole level, from armhole to armhole. However, on the body it does not look like a straight line. It is not horizontal to the floor, not front on, and certainly not when you look at the body in profile. Now on the Back Block, on the right hand side, it is again completely straight from armhole to armhole. On the body,

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it can look like a completely straight line when you are looking on it from the back, however, I will show you that if you turn it around sideways, it does curve upwards at the armhole from the back to the front. So here it is in profile. From the back to the front, it curves up on an angle. Now look at my form on the right hand side.

00:04:46:23 - 00:05:16:01

Compare and contrast my upper bust to Didi's. The upper bust line on my block looks much more curved and it looks higher up than it does on Didi There is also a lot more distance between the upper bust and the bust. The blue line is the bust line on both of those toiles. Now, just to be clear, my Upper Bust line on my block is completely straight also, but on my body it looks much more curved than it does on Didi.

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Okay, so now looking at my upper bust in profile on my body form, you can see how moving from the back to the front is not a smooth curve. There's an angular join. Now the toile looks quite baggy on my body form, but if you look on the right hand side on me, it is actually well-fitting. It would be better,

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it would actually be much better if I show you my toile on my body in profile rather than on the body form. But I put on a lot of weight since the beginning of COVID - I've done a lot less exercise since last year - and I've put on a lot of weight. While it doesn't bother me on my bottom, hips, bust, legs, etc. I really hate my fat arms at the moment.

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I have tuck-shop lady arms and I'm not showing you me in my toile in profile. So two things. Firstly, we're still talking about the Upper Bust at the moment, not the bust. But let me mention in passing that the Bust line (the blue line) should be parallel to the floor and on my form it isn't. Just ignore that I'll be using Didi when I talk about the Bust line.

00:06:16:23 - 00:06:39:03

Secondly, the upper bust. When you measure the circumference, you would measure it as per on the right hand side. So in actual fact, the whole circumference is likely to be a little bit different to the value of the two Arcs added together, but it won't be a huge amount. So you take the measurements as per the right hand side around the whole body at the underarm level when you are taking the circumference measurement.

00:06:39:18 - 00:07:16:24

Now just to note, although with the Upper Bust, the two Arc won't necessarily add up to the exact Upper Bust circumference - it might be a tad out - the 2 Bust Arcs definitely should add up to the Bust measurement. So again, just for comparison purposes, my upper bust on the left to Didi's upper bust on the right. Now, I suggest that after you take your upper bust measurement, you take a piece of elastic that's about two inches smaller than that measurement, and you sew up in a circle and put it around your body at your Upper Bust .. And in a minute, I'll cover how to determine that it is at your Upper Bust.

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You will leave it there for the rest of the measuring because it's a key point, a key level that you will need to take other measurements. You want to make sure that it stays in the same place for the rest of measuring. So make sure it's firm but not too tight so that it’s painful or uncomfortable. Now, I'm telling you this for the Upper Bust, but after you've taken your Bust measurement, I want you to do the same thing for the Bust.

00:07:38:21 - 00:08:06:03

In the case of the elastic for the bust, you want to make sure that it is parallel to the floor from the front, back and side. Now, after you've put the elastic on in the first instance for the upper bust and then later for the bust, retake the measurement. The reason for that is when the elastic is on, you can actually check that you've got it at the right place, for example, for the bust that it's level to the floor, parallel to the floor at the Upper Bust, that it is at the right level.

00:08:06:08 - 00:08:25:18

Once you've made sure that you have that right, then you retake the measurement to make sure that you did take it correctly the first time, or if you didn't, that you had the correct measurement after you've put the elastic on as a guide. But it's essential that you leave the elastic there because it is key to taking the other measurements correctly.

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Now I said to put the elastic at the Upper Bust at the underarm level when I say the underarm level, I don't mean jammed right up against your underarm flesh. So get a narrow ruler. If you have one about one inch wide, that's perfect. And put the ruler right up against your flesh. The bottom of the ruler, if it's one inch wide, is where the elastic should go.

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So you use the bottom of the ruler as the guide to place the elastic around the Upper Bust. So if you line at the elastic up with the bottom of the ruler at the side seams, then it will be at the correct level at the front and the back. Measurement number two. So now we know where the Upper Bust is and we put some elastic around at Upper Bust at the correct level.

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We're going to take the Upper Bust Front Arc and the Upper Bust Back Arc measurements. Basically that's from side seam to side seam for the front, and side seam to side seam for the back. So how do you tell where the side seam ends and begins? How do you tell where the front ends and the back begins or where the back ends and the front begins on?

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On Didi it's very easy to tell because she very helpfully has the seam right down the middle of her body to say that it's the side seam. But for a person, how can you tell? Okay. So just to clarify, we're doing measurement number two, Upper Bust Arc Front, which is the front block from side seam to side seam, at the underarm level.

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Now if you have a well-fitting underwire bra, that is one that fits correctly in the band and in the cup. It's quite easy to tell where the side seam is. If you've watched my previous videos, this should make sense because the whole point of using the Front Arc is to get the right angle for the side seam. Now the right angle is about bringing the fabric around the bust so it meets at the side seam.

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Now if you don't have a well-fitting bra and you do what I suggest to get the side seam, chances are that you'll end up with a pattern making bra cup that's too small and I'll cover why that is. Now on the left is a bra that fits Did quite well in the band. It's not too tight and the side seam of the bra actually matches up with her side seam. On the right,

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It's a bra that's too small in the band that because the back band is the bit that stretchy rather than the front it is stretching to accommodate her width and it's ending up too far forward. I'm sure if she was a person though, she would realize that this bra does not fit her. So here are three bras on my body form and the side seam of the bra ends up being on the side seam that I use for my block.

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The band is the right size and the cup encompasses all of my breast tissue correctly. In this slide, all the bras a badly fitting because the bands are too small or too large. For Didi the band is too small, so the side seam of the bra is too far forward because the band is the stretchy bit and is doing the work.

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For me in the middle, the band is actually too large yet again. It's still doing the same thing as it is in Didi’s case; the side seam is pulling forward because the band is too large. Now the bra on the right has a band that is too small and yet again, the side seam is pulling forward. So if your bra band is too tight or too loose, chances are your side seam will end up being too far forward.

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And likewise, if your bra cup is too small, chances are that your band will be stretching forward and your bra side seam will be too far forward. So basically if you've got a well-fitting bra with a side seam in the band, then you have a perfect guide for the placement of the side seam for your block. So what if your bra doesn't have a side seam?

00:12:16:05 - 00:12:33:04

A lot of bras don't have side seam in the band at all nowadays. They have the bra cup and then the band is one full piece. Well, except for the back, the back where you tie it up. Now, all of these bras that fit well in this image do have side seams and the distance between the bra cup and that side

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seam for me is about 1 and 1/4, or 1 and 3/8 of an inch. Now I actually went today and had a look at a lot of bras in a variety of sizes here in Australia and in smaller to mid sizes, that seems pretty consistent. It's like between 1 inch and 1 and 3/8 of an inch. Larger sizes are up to 1 and 1/2 inches.

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So I suggest using either the side seam of a well-fitting bra as to the guide where your side seam is, or measure one and a quarter inches from where the cup ends and use that as your side seam. Now let me be clear; we're talking about the Upper Bust here. So we're talking about the top of the bra where the underwire ends under your armpit.

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We're talking about using that as the guide, measuring from there one inch out from there towards your back and using that as your side seam point. Now, if you don't have a well-fitting bra, that's another issue. You'll have to make a guess. You have to determine where your breast tissue ends and then measure one and a quarter, a one and a half inches from there towards your back and guess at your side seam.

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Maybe it's best to go out and buy a well-fitting bra. And I suggest you use some painter's tape. Draw a line down the middle of the painter's tape, place it at the point at the underarm so that when you measure the Front Arc and the Back Arc, you are measuring from and to the exact same point. And place that tape down the center of the body so that you have a straight line to the waist.

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Ah... painters tape because it won't damage clothing. It pulls off really easy and it won't leave sticky residue. So measurement number three is the Upper Bust Arc Back. It is the Upper Bust Back from side to side seam, making sure that you're using the same point at the side seam that you used for the Front Arc. And if you've marked the points as per the previous slide, this should be straightforward. Measurement number 4 is the Bust circumference around the fullest part of the bust.

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Don't forget to tie a piece of elastic around the bust and then afterwards take that measurement again. And it should be around the bust, parallel to the floor. At the front, he tape measure should cross the apex of both breasts. Measurement number 5: the Bust Arc Front. ff you've marked the side, same with a painter's tape, you've marked the Upper Bust side seam point.

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Then this should be fairly easy. It's from the side seam, around the front to the other side seam, at the Bust level. Here, I'm showing you the Front Bust Arc on the block, the blue double headed arrow. Notice that the bust line isn't straight across the block like the Upper Bust is. Just compare my Bust line on the right what my Bust Arc looks like compared to Didi.

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The larger the bust, the greater the distance between the upper bust and bust. Now that bust line is looking very angular. In reality, it would be a curve. And here that's shown on the toile. Measurement number 6 is the Bust Arc Back. Again from side seam to side seam but around the back this time, at the bust level, parallel to the floor. It should cross the fullest part of the bust at the front and this should be fairly simple.

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If if you've got that piece of elastic around there and you've checked it and it hasn't moved, then it's just from side seam to side seam. Assuming you've marked those side things correctly with the instructions I've given you before. And here is the Bust Back Arc shown on the block. Measurement number 7 is the waist around the smallest part of the torso.

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This is another place where you need to tie a piece of elastic around your waist. Or when I say tie, it's better to sew it up and leave it on because it's a reference point. You'll need it for the length measurements later. Measurement number 8 is the Shoulder Length. It's from the High Neck Point to the Shoulder Point, and I'll give you some information about how to designate those points on your shoulder.

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The high neck point can be found by putting a necklace on. Where the chain touches the neck, that's the High Neck Point. To find your shoulder point, lift your arm and where the joint is, you should find a little indent there that you can put your finger in - that's the shoulder point. Again, I suggest you use some painter's tape that doesn't stick and won't damage clothing.

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Draw a line down the middle of the tape and use it for the shoulder and side seam lines. You have reference points on it and so you're always going to measure from and to those same points. So for example, when we later measure the Full Length Front and the Full Length Back, you need to make sure that you use the exact same point at the High Neck for those two measurements.

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And likewise, when measuring the Shouler Slope Front and the Shoulder Slope Back, you use the exact same point at the shoulder. Measurement number 9 - Side Length from the rmhole depth to the waist. We have previously determined where the underarm point was when we placed the elastic around the upper bust. So from the upper bust elastic down to the Waist at the side seam.

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Now if you put the painter's tape there when marking the side seam for the Upper Bust Arcs, then you don't have much to do. Now if their person has to move their arm back a little bit so you can measure properly at the side seam, make sure they don't lift their shoulder when they move their arm back. Measurement number 10: Full Length Front - from the High Neck Point to the Waist in a straight line down the front.

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This is the same High Neck Point you used to measure the shoulder length and that point needs to remain consistent for all the measurements that use it. Measurement number 11 - Center Front Length - from the hollow in the neck to the Waist in a straight line. You should have a piece of elastic around your waist. It doesn't matter if you use the top of the elastic or the bottom of the elastic as the reference point, as long as you're consistent.

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So you always use either the top or you always use the bottom when you're measuring down to the waist. Now, I have not actually drawn this line, this measurement on the toile. It's not one of those colored lines on the calico. The measurement is taken for most people from the Center Front Neck to the ShoulderPpoint, the same one used previously for the Shoulder Length.

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Now, for some people, taking the measurement this way may be a little problematic. And I'll show that in the next slide. Now on the silhouette on the left is how the measurement is taken and how it works with the Standard Figure. Because if you measure across from the Center Front Neck to the Shoulder, you know, you can do that in a straight line.

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But if you have a rounded upper back and your neck juts forward a lot, your center front may be actually quite a bit lower than your shoulder. So when you measure from the Center Front to the Shoulder, it isn't a straight line but rather on a downward angle. And it could actually end up quite a bit longer than the width that you're trying to measure.

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So you'll end up with a measurement that's too long. So in that case, you need to kind of measure down a little bit, down a bit on the body, down a bit on the chest, but measure out further than the arm to where the shoulder point is. So if you have a look at that image, hopefully that some gives you an indication of how you could do it.

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Measurement number 13, Shoulder Slope Front. from the Shoulder Point to the Waist passing over the Bust. In this case, the cross crosses right over her bust point. But that won't always be the case. So here, for example, is that shoulder slope on my toile and on my block. It doesn't cross the bust point. The bust point is to the left, a couple of inches or so.

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Measurement number 14, the Bust Depth. We will measure the Bust Depth three different ways, just to be sure. The first way is on the Shoulder Slope line. So put the tape measure on the body as you would, to measure the shoulder slope - so one end at the shoulder tip and the other end at the waist and look at the measurement where it crosses the bust line.

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So from the shoulder tip to the bust line elastic, but making sure you are holding the other end of the measuring tape at the waist as if you were taking the Shoulder Slope measurement. Measurement number 15 is the Bust Depth again. But measuring this time from the Center Front Neck Point to the Bust line. So where the Bust elastic is, making sure it's in a straight line.

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So this is really part of the center front measurement. So if you were splitting the Centre Front measurement into 2: from the Center Front to the Bust and then the Bust to the Waist. Measurement number 16, again, the Bust Depth, this time taking it on the Full Length Front line. So from the High Neck Point to the Bust line elastic. Measurement number 17 is the Bust Depth at the side seam.

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Now if you have your painter’s tape at your side same and if you've got elastic at your Upper Bust and you've got elastic around your Bust, then it's very simple. At the side seam, measure from the Upper Bust elastic down to the Bust elastic. Measurement number 18 - the bust span, from apex to apex. Basically for most people, from nipple to nipple, take the whole measurement on the measurement chart.

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It shows that we will divide it by two to draft the half block. <easurement number 19, the Front Armhole Depth from the High Neck Point to the Upper Bust line elastic. Measurement number 20 - the Front Armhole Depth. Again, we're just checking it a second time from the Center Frotn Neck to the Upper Bust line. Measurement number 21, the Front Armhole Depth again, the third time, from Shoulder Point to the Upper Bust Line, but making sure the tape measure is placed from the shoulder point to the waist as if you're taking the shoulder slope, but measuring from the shoulder point to the upper bust elastic measurement number 22 across chest from armhole to armhole.

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This measurement helps to get the right armhole curve. Now what depth do you take that measurement? For Didi here I measured down half the (Center Front Neck to Upper Bust). So half of that measurement., measured down. And that's where I measured the Across Chest. That's a good place to start. Either 1/2 or 2/3 of the Centre Front Neck to the Upper Bust is what I suggest.

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Now, why can't I give you a definite number? It can be different from person to person, and I'll give you an example. A block making instruction that I used early on said to measure down from the Neck Point to the Bust, and then use half of that measurement. If I use that, I would end up where the red line is, so my across chest would end up below my armhole.

00:23:19:11 - 00:24:00:04

My point being sometimes a hard and fast rule doesn't suit everybody, but I would suggest that you measure your across chest approximately a half or two thirds of the distance between your Centre Front Neck and Upper Bust. Measurement number 23, Full Length Back - from the High Neck Point to the back Waist. Now with the full Full Length Front and Full Lenth Back, it's a good idea to double check them by taking the whole body measurement - that is from the front waist up through the High Neck Point to the Back Waist and making sure that the front and back measurements add up to that full measurement.

00:24:00:09 - 00:24:27:24

Just to double check those measurements. Measurement number 24 - Centre Back Length from the Back Neck to the Back Waist. Again, you can use a necklace to find that back neck point like you used it to find the, um, the Side Neck Point - the High Neck Point. Measurement number 25 - Across Shoulder Back. Measure from Shoulder Point to Shoulder Point across the back.

00:24:27:24 - 00:24:51:06

We will actually only use half of this measurement, but there are a number of measurements where we take the whole measurement and in my measurement chart I show that we will divide that by two to draft the half block. Measurement number 26, Shoulder Slope Back: from the Shoulder Point to the Back Waist. And again, like the Full Length Front and Full Length Back measurement, I suggested that you could do the whole measurement to double check it.

00:24:51:13 - 00:25:13:03

The shoulder slopes are similar. You can measure from the Front Waist through to Shoulder Point to the (Back) Waist and make sure that the full measurement does equal the back and the front together. Measurement number 27 is the Back Armhole Depth. Now the next three measurements are taking the Back Armhole Depth three different ways, like we did the front.

00:25:13:14 - 00:25:49:23

This measurement isn't actually used or needed in drafting the block because the armhole depth works out based on what we do with other measurements. But it's useful to have this in case you end up with the result you're unsure of. And you can use these to check. Measurement number 28 another Back Armhole Depth - from the Center Back Neck Point to the Upper Bust line. Measurement number 29 - the final Back Armhole Depth, from the High Neck Point to the Upper Bust line. Measurement number 30 - the Back Neck. You actually measure from the center back mic to the high point.

00:25:49:23 - 00:26:31:13

Or you could alternatively measure from the High Neck Point on one side of the body around to the High Neck Point on the other side of the body and divide by 2. However, when you're measuring, make sure you don't hold the tape measure above the neck line, make sure it is below the neck line. So looking at the two images to the left up the top, it saying if you held the tape measure above that neckline, you would get a different and a smaller result than if you held and measured the with the tape measure below the neck line. Measurement number 31 - Across Back - from armhole to armhole across the back. The depth at which you

00:26:31:13 - 00:26:55:01

measure that is about half the Back Neck to the Upper Bust distance. Measurement number 32; the final measurement is the Back Waist Dart Placement. So measuring from the Center Back Waist to the desired placement and the key word is ‘desired’. What works? One person will be different for another. If you know where you prefer your back dart to be, then use that measurement.

00:26:55:08 - 00:27:16:00

If you don't, then I'll give you a starting place. However, when you draw for your toile, you might find it doesn't suit you there , for whatever reason, and you could move it right or left as it suits your body. In the next slide, I'll show you with mine. I prefer to place mine where it creates the easiest princess shoulder line.

00:27:16:17 - 00:27:40:14

So we've come to the end of our measurements and next time we can start drafting the Bodice Block. So here's what I'm doing next and what I plan for the rest of the year. First, I'll be redoing the bodice block videos with the improvements to the system. Then an EPUB booklet on pants to accompany the Pants videos on YouTube, an EPUB booklet to accompany the Bodice Block video.

00:27:41:03 - 00:28:05:13

Then I'll be moving on to some patterns. So doing a video and having booklets. So step by step, various patterns, jeanss, dresses, etc. and interspersed with the patterns are some theory videos, contouring, manipulating darts, stretch blocks, etc. And if you find my tutorials helpful, consider supporting me by buying me a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi. Click on the Ko-Fi link in my channel header.

00:28:05:20 - 00:28:45:00

That money goes to that money goes towards my website expenses, hosting plugins, etc. and also to the subscription I need to pay for the Adobe Creative Suite, which I use to create all the graphics and the videos. 
 Okay, this is Maria from Dresspatternmaking. Chai.
 Beautiful Dreamer, wake upto me
 Starlight and dew drops are waiting for thee
 Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day

00:28:45:06 - 00:28:51:06

Lulled by the moonlight, have all passed away.