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Skirt Pattern drafting - eliminate the front darts?
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Sat, 04/23/2011 - 18:28
I'm practicing the pattern drafting doing a half scale before moving on to the actual pattern.
When I was doing the calculation for the dart intake I got stuck.
Waist - 77.5 cm, Lower Hip - 92.1 cm 92.1-77.5 = 14.6 cm That divided by 9 = 1.62 cm dividing that by 2 for each side of the dart gives me .8 cm. That seems awfully small to make the dart sides. (for my half scale it was going to be 4mm)
So, I was thinking perhaps it would be better to eliminate the front darts since my shape is a little more convex (sticking out) and my back side concave (curving inward). If I did that, I would divide the 14.6 cm by 7 instead giving me 2.1 cm with each side of the dart being 1cm.
The other thing I was thinking of is eliminating the front and back darts all together and just using the center back and side. If I did that then I would divide the number by 5. I would divide the 14.6 by 5 instead giving me 2.9 cm (round to 3) giving me 1.5 cm intake on the two sides and the center back
What do you think?
~Suzkim
Mon, 04/25/2011 - 22:12
#2
Here are all the measurements
Here are all the measurements I took
Bust Distance 20.30
Waist Circumference 77.50
High Hip circumference 83.20 length 10.2
Lower Hip circumference 92.10 length 19.1
The pictures are slightly embarassing but I thought might help. It's like I got a belly, no hips and no butt.
Tue, 04/26/2011 - 16:31
#3
Re: Measurements I took
Dear suzkim,
Thanks for posting your pictures and measurements. Looking at your figure I can tell that since your buttocks dont protrude much, it is better for you not to add to the intake of the back waist darts.
All the waist darts should have the same intakes for you, just as you calculated. I sugget that you do conver the front and back waist darts into two each. This way the skirt will fall smoothly.
You can also shorten the length of the front waist darts by about 2 to 3 cm.
Happy sewing,
Nehzat
Tue, 04/26/2011 - 21:12
#4
Ok.. think I got it
So, I'm using 1.6 cm for my dart calcuation divided between two darts on the front and the back with the front darts shortened 2-3 cm.
I eliminate the 1.6 cm intake from A to E which means I do NOT draw the line from E to F. Correct?
Thanks so much for taking time to answer all my questions!
~Suzkim
Wed, 04/27/2011 - 14:55
#5
Re: Converting one dart into two
Dear suzkim,
You are very welcome.
The first step is for you to draw the front and back waist darts,
One for each pattern as I explained in the video.
Once this is done you can watch these chapters and follow the instructions to convert each waist dart of the front and back patterns into two darts.
Converting One Dart Into Two for the Front Shell Skirt Pattern
Converting One Dart Into Two for the Back Shell Skirt Pattern
Here we are not eliminating any darts, but we are narrowing the intake of the original darts and then creating another dart beside it towards the side seams.
Once you do this you will have two waist darts on the front and two waist darts on the back pattern.
However for your figure, you can shorten the front waist darts. You can shorten the front waist darts by 2 to 3 cm each, to fit them better to your body shape. What you do is measure up from the bottom of each dart, mark the new dart end and then connect the top of the dart to these new points.
This means when you sew the skirt you will have four waist darts in the front and four waist darts in the back.
I hope this clarifies it.
Happy sewing,
Nehzat
Sat, 05/07/2011 - 19:27
#6
I'm stuck again
I completed drafting the front/back patterns and am up to checking the upper hip measurements.
On the back pattern I get 9.9 + 11.2 = 20.9
Front pattern: 23.1
Total 44 cm
High hip circumference = 83.2 divided by 2 gives 41.6
41.6 - 44 = - 2.4 cm /4 = - 6 mm
Then my brain froze. The video shows how to add the curve and I'm stumped because it's like I'll have to go in from the lower hip and then back out for the waist?
Should I just make the lower and upper hip the same number and work it like that? That would give me 92/2 = 46 - 44 = 2 cm divided by 4 resulting in .5 cm to add to each side.
~suzkim
Mon, 05/09/2011 - 13:17
#7
Re: I'm Stuck Again
Dear Suzkim,
Sometimes we make mistake when taking the measurements. I suggest you take the upper and lower hip measurement again. Another thing to look out for is that you may have taken the upper hip measurement too high up or the lower hip to large. Check to make sure that the pattern measurements are correct as well. You may have drafted the pattern a bit off.
Looking at your body shape I can see that you may have raised the front of the measuring tape to high when taking the lower hip measurement. Since your belly is higher up, doing this has increased your lower hip circumference and caused the upper hipline on the pattern to become longer as well. So you need to bring up the front of the measuring tape when taking your upper hip measurements to your belly but not do so as much when taking the lower hip circumference.
If you double check and see that the pattern is still bigger along the upper hipline. You need to divide the upper hip circumference by 2 and compare it to your measurements from the pattern (those numbers you added together).
For standard body shapes we usually get a pattern that is smaller than the actual body measurement for the upper hip , once we divide the upper hip circumference by 2. In this case we divide the difference by 2 and add it to the pattern along the upper hip line. Then draw a curve there from the waistline to the lower hipline passing at the new mark on the upper hipline.
In your case assuming that you measured and drafted everything correctly, the upper hipline on the pattern is larger than half of the upper hip circumference measurement. This is possible as well since we all have different body shapes. So you need to deduct half the difference from the back pattern and half from the front. Based on my calculation your difference is 2.6 cm divided by 2 it is 1.3 cm.
So what you need to do is extend the dart points down by either 1, 2 or 3 cm and redraw all the darts, including the new shorter ones and the center back dart where the zipper will go. Extend the center line of the darts and mark alon ght center line measurng from the dart point. Then connect the top marks to the new dart point to extend the dart lengths.
This process increases the dart length and takes away more from the upper hipline area on the pattern. Then compare the length of the upper hipline with the half of the upper hip circumference and see what happens. It is preferable that you end up getting a smaller upper hipline on the pattern when you extend the darts. This way you can add a little at the side seams to get a curved line in this area. Its better if you can add about 2 mm to the front and back patterns at the side seams along the upper hipline.
Basically you shorten the upper hipline on the pattern just a bit more than the difference, by extending the dart lengths, so that you can add a bit to the side even though you could not do this before.
I suggest you extend and draw all the front and back darts by 1 cm first using a different color and see what you get. Then try extending by 2 cm if you need to again with a different color and so on. This way you will find out how much you need to lengthen the darts by to get what you need.
I have done this procedure a lot of times when sewing garments, or teaching live classes.
Hope this helps,
Nehzat
Quick Links:
Dear Suzkim,
I would like to have your upper hip circumference as well. However if your lower hip circumference is larger than the upper hip circumference, Then your first calculation is correct.
The dart intake you calculated to be 1.6 cm is perfectly adequate for someone who does not have a big difference between their waist circumference and lower hip circumference.
If you watch this chapter: Why do we Need Darts, you will notice that if the manikin had a larger waist circumference the dart intakes would be narrower.
So if your dart intakes are narrow this is fine. I recommend that you follow the instructions and draw all the darts with the original intakes as you calculated.
Once you sew a test skirt out of muslin to check the fit, you can make further adjustment. For example reducing the intake of the front waist darts and adding that amount to the intake of the back waist darts, if the buttocks protrude. If you do this, make sure to convert the back waist darts into two on each side. Converting One Dart Into Two for the Back Shell Skirt Pattern
Its better not to add to the center back dart intake, doing this will make the bottom of the dart stick out on the skirt, unless your lower hip length is more than 22 cm.
It is best not to eliminate the front waist darts completely, as they help give an illusion of a narrower waist, which is flattering. The intake of the front waist darts can be as little as 2 mm, for someone whose belly protrudes as much or more than it does at their upper hipline, when looking at their profile.
I hope this helps.
Happy sewing,
Nehzat