Don McCunn's Blog

Book Review: Expecting Style

December 17, 2011 on 6:32 pm | In Book Reviews, Fitting Issues, Sewing Techniques | No Comments

This year my model Alex has become pregnant with her first child. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to observe how her body changes during this time and to help her with a few garments to wear.

One of the first things I did was to research the available literature for books on how to make maternity clothes. There is not a lot written and most of them offer pretty dreadful styles. When I checked them out of the library and showed them to Alex she said “I’d never wear any of those.”

There was however one book that I consider to be absolutely brilliant expecting style by Lauren Sara. Lauren has designed her own line of maternity wear and dresses celebrities during their pregnancy. She has also had children of her own.

I was so impressed by how stylish this book is that I purchased a copy as a reference for when we have discussions of styling clothes for plus sizes in my group “How to Make Sewing Patterns.”

Lauren offers a wealth of helpful information for pregnant women about how to style a wardrobe. She talks about how to go through your wardrobe and select garments that can be worn during pregnancy and garments that can’t. She doesn’t give rules so much as helpful advice because as she points out, every woman will experience unique changes to her body. And what might happen during one pregnancy can be different from the next.

The book is richly illustrated with examples of a variety of women during different stages in their pregnancies. One set of illustrations I was particularly intrigued by showed which shoes would be appropriate for the first, second, and third trimester. She even indicates how long you can wear each style. That is just one indication of the kind of detail this book provides.

In another section she shows how to modify a pair of jeans so they can be worn during pregnancy. This is the only section of the book that includes actual sewing instruction. The technique she uses follows very closely to what I discovered needs to be done to create pregnancy pants for Alex which I will be describing later.

Perhaps the icing on the cake for this book is that she talks about the emotions a woman experiences going through pregnancy. She talks not only about her own experience but she has stories from other women as well. The book is strongly geared toward professional women who are adding motherhood to their career lives.

Creating a Pixie Halloween Costume

November 1, 2011 on 2:35 am | In Favorite Designs, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

A Pixie Costume

My background is costuming. So when I worked with my model Fallon Niedzwiecki on Wed, Oct. 19th and she mentioned she tried to find a pixie costume for Halloween but none fit her–how could I resist? On top of that I had just received an email from Mood Fabrics saying they were running a Halloween Costume Contest. Mood is the fabric store in NY and LA that the designers from the TV show Project Runway go to for their fabric. How could I resist participating in that contest.

The following is a description of the creation of this costume.

• The Design Concept
• Finding the Fabric
• The Wings
• The Dress
• Checking the Design
• The Corset
• Head Band
• Arm Band
• The Conclusion

The Design Concept
When I work with a model I really like it to be a collaborative process. So the first thing I did was to do some Google image searches for pixies and forest nymphs. I recorded the links I thought looked interesting and asked her to tell me the ones she liked. The image below from Fancie Dress was the one she liked best–except for the color. Fallon wanted forest colors and a shorter hem.

Fortunately, unlike the designers on the TV series Project Runway, I have time to mull on a design before I commit to fabric selection, notions, etc.

One of the key issues was what to do about the wings. When we were talking initially Fallon said she did not want wings because when she went to a party it was too easy to whack someone. On the other hand I was intrigued by the idea of making wings and there were wings in the image we settled on. Making wings is a project I had never undertaken and I was really looked forward to it. So I decided to make her a costume that had interchangeable wings, one for parties and one for photo shoots.

I mulled on several ideas about how to attach removable wings to the costume. Most of the ideas weren’t very good. I’ll spare you the details. Then a light bulb went off and I realized I could leave a long vertical pocket in the corset at center back (down her spine).

The next thing I had to do was to determine what the wings would look like. I did more Google searches and really liked the look of dragonfly wings. Each side has two wings and each wing comes to a single junction where it joins the body. I realized that this type of wing could easily be adjusted after the costume was made. This would give it a lot of flexibility. So it was off to find the fabric.

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Finding the Fabric
It is common to find solid colors but I really wanted a variegated green for the dress. I was afraid I was going to need to dye fabric to get the effect I wanted. Fortunately the fabric store I went to had variegated green chiffon. It has been my experience as a costume designer that sometimes you have to do a lot of shopping to find the right fabric. Other times you are walking along and the fabric just jumps off the shelf and into your arms. This was one such occasion.

My second happy fabric search was to find a green organza fabric that was iridescent. Once again there was no choice to make. The idea of having translucent dragonfly wings made my heart sing. The other principle fabric I need was for the corset. But I had made myself some swim trunks out of a crushed brown velvet that had a wonderful tree bark like look. So it was off to start the construction process.

While I was in the store I found some wonderful artifical flowers and a cute butterfly pin. I couldn’t resist.

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The Wings
I realized the wings needed to come first. If I couldn’t make the wings I envisioned, then I might need to change my entire design concept. How were the wings going to work with the rest of the costume and I needed to make two different sizes. To create the shape I opted for 14 gauge solid electrical wire. I had printed out an image of dragonfly wings I liked so I knew the shape I wanted to create. I took the wire over to a body double (aka dress form) I had of my model Alex to determine the proportions.

The other decision was how to treat the fabric. Initially I had intended to use a double layer so I could sew the two layers together, turn it and just pull it over the wire frame. But I really liked how fragile the organza as a single layer would work. I felt this was so appropriate for dragon fly wings. Below are the steps I followed to create the wings.

The photos below show the various steps of this process.

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The Dress
For the dress I wanted a strapless dress with an uneven hem. I opted for the concept of a handkerchief hem. I figured if I wanted more of a petal effect, I could add it later.

To avoid a closing device I knew I needed to make the center circle larger than the hips so the dress could be pulled on. I could then enclose the waist in elastic to reduce it to the size of Fallon’s above bust dimension. I used the wonderful pattern-making calculator from String Codes to determine the radius I need for the circle from the full hip measurement. I used just the hip measurement because I knew when I added the elastic I would be rolling it to create an even larger circle. If you haven’t tried the String Code calculator, I recommend you do. It is free and does too much for me to describe here.

I cut the center circle and all edges of the fabric with a hot knife working for a freehand jagged around the outside edges. I then used a Swimsuit Edge finish to add the elastic. Fallon is allergic to latex so I was careful to roll the elastic a couple of times.

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Checking the Design
About this time I was thinking “Okay enough for the theory. Let’s see if it works.” My model Fallon was out of town on an extended modeling gig. I knew she wouldn’t be back until it was time to shoot her wearing the finished garment. Fortunately I had worked out custom-fitted bodice, skirt, and bra slopers for Fallon so I was able to construct a custom dress form for her as I describe in my book How to Make Sewing Patterns. To keep it simple I just taped this dress form to a stool that was a good height. It took about three hours to make the dress form which I now have to use for other projects. And it saved me a lot of anxiety wondering about whether the costume would fit or not. The photo on the left shows the dress form. On the right you can see how I could check the drape of the dress.

When I saw the dress on the form I realized the front was too long. Fallon wanted it knee length. I think the error I made in my measurements was that I doubled the above bust to knee measurement for the overall length. I forgot to factor in the height of the center circle.

They say there is a silver lining to every cloud if you can find it. I liked the idea of the back hem being longer than the front. So I pulled out my trusty hot knife and shortened the front.

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The Corset
The corset was a relatively easy pattern as I already had my fitted slopers for Fallon. So I just traced them to create center front, side front, side back, and center back patterns. I started it just under the bust and carried it three inches below the natural waist. I extended it below the natural waist because that contour of the body makes great support. Particularly because I wanted adequate support for the wings.

For the front lacing I shortened the front pattern by an inch which left a total opening of 2 inches. I first cut the pattern out of some stretch denim I had around the house. When I tried the initial denim on the dress form of Fallon, I felt so secure in the fit that I decided I would only need boning at side back to support the wings and center front to support the lacing. If you haven’t tried lacing, you need the boning or the lacing will squeeze the height of the corset down. The following is the sequence I used to create the corset.

Initially I was considering adding a second skirt to the bottom of the corset. But during the process above I kept checking the corset on the dress form. I liked the simplicity of the single layer of skirt so I abandoned the idea of additional layers.

When I was figuring out the spacing for the grommets I eyeballed how many looked right to me. Six grommets looked right to me so I knew I needed to divide the space equally in fifths. I whipped out my Scale Rule and used the 1/5th scale to establish the distance–no head math or calculator needed. The dimensions are right there in front of your eyes–whew!

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Head Band
I thought adding head and arm bands would be nice. It would give me a chance to use the artificial flowers and cute butterfly pin I had found.

I had not measured Fallon’s forehead but I know that head sizes vary between 20 and 22 inches. I figure Fallon had a smallish head so 20″ should work. I used a strip of my Lycra and a band of 1-1/8″ elastic to make the head band.

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Arm Bands
I use a palm measurement to verify a sleeve will fit over the hand. I did some testing and determined that the palm measurement would be a good dimension for an arm band. I wanted some of the chiffon at the bottom of the arm band to echo the appearance of the dress and corset. So once again I opted for a handkerchief hem with the 8″ opening. I decided that 3″ was a good length for the short side of the chiffon. So here is how it came together.

Initially I had planned to add elastic to the top and bottom of the armband to further secure the edges. But I found with a trial fitting that the stretch in the Lycra was adequate and no additional elastic was needed.

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Conclusion
If this had been a complicated costume to make, I could not have explained the process as easily as I was able to. My wife thought I was crazy to take on this project. But when she saw how quickly I was able to create this costume, she was surprised. I guess this was a big surprise because I spent a full month creating my Quorra costume and I completed this in less than a week from start to finish.

I am pleased to say that when Fallon tried on the costume for the first time, no fitting adjustments were required. She wore it for a full afternoon of photo shoots, dinner at a local restaurant, and she even drove home in it instead of changing back to her street clothes. She said that the corset was the most comfortable corset she had ever worn. I attribute this to the custom fit and minimal use of stays. I also asked her at dinner if the headband she was still wearing was comfortable. She said it fit her so well she didn’t even feel she was wearing it. To me that is one of the goals I pursue for custom-fit clothes. When they fit, they are comfortable and a pleasure to wear.

To see more images, visit my Flickr photos.

If you have any additional questions about how I made this costume, I would be happy to answer them through my Yahoo group How to Make Sewing Patterns.

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Creating a Custom Quorra Costume

May 18, 2011 on 12:54 am | In Favorite Designs, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

The movie “TRON: Legacy” (2010) has inspired an interest in the costumes worn by the principle actors. In February of this year I had the opportunity to create a Quorra lookalike costume for an Equity actress I have worked with, Alexandra Matthew. She used the costume for a corporate gig in the Silicon Valley.

When I started researching I was intrigued that the costumes were created using high-tech body scans. Even so Olivia Wilde, who played Quorra, said it took 11 fittings to create a costume that fit her and could do the required stunts. This in itself was enough to make me want too take on the challenge of creating this particular costume.

I knew some adaptation to the costume would be required. Olivia had wardrobe experts to help her into the costume and the batteries that lit the suit lasted only 12 minutes. Alexandra needed a costume that was wearable for at least 4 hours. The first decision the producer and I made was that we would use black light technology for the glow in the dark feature. This was instead of the electro-luminescence technology used in the movie. I also decided to use a combination of pleather, buckram, and Tricot bonded foam to create the “armor” like appearance of the costume. This was instead of the latex foam and spandex used in the movie.

It was extremely tricky to determine the lines of the costume because the movie was so dark. Fortunately, using a Google Image search, I ran across a woman, Briana Lamb, who had seen the movie a number of times and created wonderful annotated line drawings of the costume.

From these drawings I could see a princess line sloper would be the best approach. Fortunately I already had such a sloper for Alexandra. From a pattern perspective there really wasn’t much to do except draw in the design lines on the sloper.

The challenge came in trying to figure out how the costume was to be taken on and off. There was no indication of any opening device. Also the neckline was so close fitting I knew that an over the head pull on would not work. I ended up using hook and eyes and velcro straps on the shoulders and under the arm. It also required a velcro closure at center front to achieve a neckline that was close to the original design–but not exactly the same. During one of the initial fittings we established that some on the closing devices I used could be eliminated.

Then there was wrap around skirt, leggings, and armor for the arms and legs. The final challenge was getting the black light paint to adhere to the pleather. I ended up using an undercoating of acrylic under the black light paint. In retrospect I think a regular paint primer would probably have required fewer coats. I was primarily concerned that the paint would not crack with movement.

The producer purchased the “identity ring” from Toys’R Us and Alexandra purchased the boots and wig.

Adjusting the Sleevecap and Armscye

February 8, 2011 on 8:12 pm | In "How to Make Sewing Patterns" book updates, Fitting Issues, Online Classes, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

My current thinking about sleeve caps is a little different from what I have in my book How to Make Sewing Patterns. I have used the approach I described in my book for a long time. But since I have been teaching my Online Classes, I have had some additional thoughts and observations which I want to share.

Background First:
The reason for ease in sleeve caps is a little different than the reason for ease in other parts of the slopers. A minimum fitting ease is added so you can move comfortably in a garment. If your design calls for additional fullness beyond the basic comfort factor, this is design ease.

The ease in the sleeve cap is to adjust the fabric of the sleeve so it can be shaped over the shoulder. This ease, unlike other ease factors, can be referred to as “sewing ease.” The sleevecap needs to be worked into the armscye (aka armhole) during the sewing process. I show why this is required in more detail in my blog entry “Sleeve Caps – The Reason for Ease.”

When I was researching my book I found the sewing ease that seems to be not only a “standard” but something that actually works on most bodies is to add 3/8″ of ease to both the front and back of the sleeve cap making the total sleevecap 3/4″ larger than the armscye, see page 74 of my book.

Always Fit the Bodice First:
Before you start to develop a sleeve sloper you need to have the fit of the armscye worked out for the upper torso (aka Bodice).

Adjusting Side Seam and Underarm Ease:
Once you have drafted the sleeve as I show in my book you need to verify that the length of the sleeve cap has the necessary sewing ease as described above. It has been my experience that for a lot of bodies, the sleeve cap drafts very close to the appropriate length. I show how to make any necessary adjustments on page 73.

Caveat: After listening to the issues of the people in my online classes it has occurred to me that the “standards” of ease for the bodice and sleeve may not be appropriate for the proportions of some bodies. It may be possible that some people have a smaller or larger arm than is accommodated by standard ease measurements. If this is the case, ignore the “standards” of 4″ of ease for the bodice and 3″ for the sleeve. Adjust your sleeve cap or bodice to which ever is the largest length required, see Figure 150 on page 73.

Use the following steps to create a fitting shell to determine if you have the correct amount of ease for the comfort and fit you want.

Bra Issues

November 1, 2010 on 8:25 pm | In Bust Sling Bras, Custom-Fit Bra Making, Fitting Issues, Online Classes, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

For the last four years I have run the Yahoo group How to Make Custom-Fit Bras. During this time I have listened to the issues women have with the design of conventional bras. The result is the concept for a different type of bra based on a suspension structure rather than the cantilever structure of conventional bras. I call this alternate type of bra a Bust Sling Bra. I was pleased by the response of one of my early testers, Becky Hess. One of her first experiments was to wear it for 9 holes of golf. An exercise that requires a lot of upper body movement.

I made one of the test bra slings. I am happy to report that it is the most
comfortable bra I wear. I wear it every chance I get. My girls are on the large
side and the bra sling gives me great support, and lift.

There are a variety of issues I have responded to with the design of this bra as I describe in my online class How to Make Bust Sling Bras and Variations.

Underwires
Bra underwires are problematic for women for several reasons.

• Underwires are not the right length poking the underarm area
• The left and right breasts can be different sizes
• Some women need an underwire that is flat on the bottom. No commercial underwire is shaped like this.
• Underwires ultimately poke through the channeling with time.

The conventional bra uses an underwire to hold the bra cup close to the body, particularly at the breast bone in front. The Bust Sling Bra eliminates the need for an underwire by using a suspension structure that follows the natural contours of the body.

Separation between Breasts
Some women have no separation between the breasts at the full bust level. This means that the underwires of a conventional bra can not go high enough to provide adequate control of the bra. The Bust Sling bra only requires the thickness of the fabric to fit between the breasts to provide appropriate support. I trust that this fabric riding between the breast will improve comfort in warm climates where perspiration and other issues can be a factor.

Front Opening
The largest clasp for a front closure for a conventional bra is 1-3/8″. This is not tall enough to reach the full bust level which is important to prevent East/West drift. The Bust Sling Bra removes the tension around the rib cage allowing for a variety of different kinds of front closure devices including separating zippers. This should be of special benefit for women with mobility issues who find it difficult to use a back closure for a bra.

Bra Strap Width
The largest readily available width for bra straps for conventional bras is 3/4″. Conventional wisdom is that these straps should not support more than 10% of the weight of the breast. When the bra strap is narrow it can pinch nerves and result in other serious health issues. After consulting with a friend who is a doctor, he said that the issue is not placing weight on the shoulders but the width of the strap. He pointed out that back packs use a wide strap.

The width of the strap for Bust Sling Bras can be up to the full width of the shoulder–even wider than that found on back packs. For women whose breasts are smaller or self supporting, the straps on a Bust Sling can be as small as 1/8″.

Support from the Back
Given that the Bust Sling relies on a suspension style, the support from the back up to the shoulders is an important issue. But like the width of the strap this will vary with the needs of the individual. For this reason I show variations for the back that include a halter style around the neck, an “X” back, a racer back, and a hybrid that uses the same kind of band around the rib cage as found in a conventional bra.

East/West Drift
An important issue women have with bras is the East/West drift. Large breasts can tend to spread to the sides. The Bust Sling uses two means for controlling East/West drift. First the position of the Bust Slings can be adjusted at the rib cage. But for many women additional support can be added to the full bust level using a bridge between the two Bust Slings. As mentioned in the topic of the front opening, this bridge can incorporate a zipper. If desired the bridge can even be carried above the full bust level.

Rib Cage Elastic
Some women have trouble with conventional bras because the elastic band under the bust rolls up and becomes uncomfortable. For the Bust Sling Bra you can use any type of elastic of any width including the wide non-roll elastic used in waistbands. I have even made a dress for my model that uses no elastic at all around the rib cage. Depending on the body, this could be an important consideration for women who have scar tissue from surgery.

Life Expectancy of the Bra
I have heard comments from women who say a bra will only last them three or four months before it looses it’s tension and is unusable. The structure of the Bust Sling is such that it does not depend on tension around the rib cage. As mentioned above it may even be possible to make a Bust Sling garment with no elastic. This means a Bust Sling Bra should have the same life expectancy as any other garment that is laundered regularly.

Support for Fluff
I have heard for women refer to their soft tissue around the rib cage as “fluff.” This is a fun term but obviously can be uncomfortable when it is pinched by a tight band around the rib cage. With the Bust Sling Bra the support comes over the shoulders minimizing the tension around the rib cage. In addition by offering different styles for the back such as the racer back and the hybrid, there is an inherent ability to support this fluff in a comfortable way.

Profile Enhancement
The Bust Sling can include a pocket for either one side or both to include a bra cup for profile enhancement or a prosthetic device.

Styling Concerns
One issue that seems to come up pretty frequently is that conventional bras designed for large breasts are ugly and institutional looking. Fortunately I don’t consider that an issue for the Bust Sling Bra because it can be used with any type of fabric and any type of elastic. The lines can be changed to create different designs as long as the underlying structure is maintained. Furthermore the structure of the Bust Sling can be used to create Empire style tops, dresses, and gowns that do not require an additional undergarment.

Heat Sink Cord Finish

July 10, 2010 on 10:47 pm | In Bikinis & Bandeaus, Sewing Techniques | No Comments

One of my frustrations has been to have a nice finish to the ends of elasticized cording for swim suits. For some time now I have been meaning to try heat shrink tubing. I finally did it the other day and was very pleased with the result. It is very similar to the finish on shoe laces. Heat shrink tubing comes in a variety of sizes and colors, even clear. It is available form hardware stores and Radio Shack.

Here are the steps I followed:

In the example below I tied the cording to the ring, then slipped a length of heat shrink tubing over the elastic and did the heat shrinking. I like the way it encloses the entire elastic. Had I wanted to I could have used a longer length of tubing and enclosed the elastic all the way to the ring.

Preparing for Red Dress Day

June 3, 2010 on 12:50 am | In Events, Fitting Issues, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

Bill Rivers		Raj and Susan Walia
To see a larger version, click on an image. More Photos on Flickr

Awhile ago a friend of my wife and I, Bill Rivers, mentioned he was going to celebrate his 50th birthday by doing the AIDS/LifeCycle 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles from June 6-12, 2010. We got to talking and he told us about the special day when everyone, men and women, wear red dresses.

Somehow the discussion veered on to the idea that he would like a red tutu. I had acquired instructions for making tutus back in the 70s and had always wanted to make one. So the die was cast. I started as I always do by researching images of different styles of tutus. Boy are there a lot of variations. I saw one that I really liked because it reminded me of the cartridge pleated Elizabethan Neck Ruffs that I had made before.

So when Bill came over for measurements I showed him the images of what I was thinking of as well as the other variations. We got to discussing how to make the tutu so that he could wear it all day long. Bill also expressed an interest in wearing it for the entire 7 days of the ride. So the challenge became how to make a tutu that you could wear with different clothes that were going to be exposed to some serious exercise.

I came up with the idea of building the cartridge pleats on a wide elastic waistband that could be worn over just about any garment. I pulled some waistband elastic from my stash of elastic and put it around Bill’s waist so we could adjust it for the comfort factor. This was the easiest measurement/fitting session I had ever done.

Then I was off to my favorite fabric store in San Francisco, the Fabric Outlet on Mission street, to buy the yards and yards of fabric that were going to be required. One of the reasons I love this store is I can always find fabric that surprises me. I was not disappointed. I found a red net fabric that had a metallic sparkle to it. They also happened to have some wonderful red ribbon trim that sparkled as well and was a wonderful complement to the fabric. From my research I knew I needed to bulk out the fabric to achieve the effect I wanted so I also bought some regular red nylon netting. It was not nearly as lustrous as the metallic netting so I used it as an inner lining for the tutu.

Then all I had to do was to sew it up–Ha, Ha, Ha. Cartridge pleating is interesting to do. But to stabilize it so it would stand up to vigorous wear was a major challenge. But I persevered with the results you can see.

Part II

In the middle of this project my computer died. Fortunately I live 5 blocks from a wonderful business which builds custom computers for me, Castro Computer Service. I lugged my dead computer down to them and cried “Help my computer died.” They took it in and checked it out and told me sadly that the motherboard was a goner.

As I was talking to them about building me a new computer and having them save my life by transferring all my data and programs to the new computer from the old one the topic of the AIDS/LifeCycle came up. It turns out that my computer guru, Raj, was doing the ride for the second year and was being joined by his sister, Susan, the woman who manages the business end of Castro Computing Services with a firm hand–don’t try to put anything over on her. It turns out their mother is going along as a roadie.

Susan and I talked about the Red Dress Day and she told me how much she wanted to wear a cape. I got intrigued by the idea because I have worn a cape and know how hard it can be to keep them on when you are just standing around, much less riding a bike. Once again the die was cast. By knocking our heads together Susan and I came up with a cape that was a full circle of fabric with an opening for her head.

I put one together and when she road tested it, she came up with the idea of adding straps to keep the fabric from flying up in her face so she could see where she was going. It sounded like a good idea to me so I made the addition.

And of course we couldn’t leave Raj out of the picture. He is a very masculine kind of guy so I envisioned him with a vest. Thinking of my conversation with Bill I wanted to create something that could be worn over any other garment. When he came by for measurements and a quick draping fit I could see he was disappointed in not having more. We talked back and forth and decided a frilly skirt would be a nice addition. Strong masculine from the waist up and nice and feminine from the waist down.

Back to my favorite fabric store where I found a lovely crushed, panne velvet with nice frilly lace for the skirt. You gotta love a fabric store that so consistently delivers the goods. They have a fabric and notion selection to die for.

But enough of me talking. Check out this YouTube where you can hear about this ride from Bill, Susan, and Raj and this wonderful venture they are participating in.

To see more of their stories and contribute your support, if you should so desire, check out the pages below.

• Bill Rivers
• Susan Walia
• Raj Walia

Marking for DIY Fittings

April 20, 2010 on 12:38 am | In "How to Make Sewing Patterns" book updates, Fitting Issues, Online Classes, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

Back in the 1970s I wrote in my book How to Make Sewing Patterns about how you could fit yourself using typewriter ribbon to mark those hard to reach places. Who would know back then that typewriter ribbon would become so hard to obtain.

Fortunately I have found a product that works as a wonderful substitute for typewriter ribbon. It is called Chaco Liner from Clover Products. This product comes in a dispenser that allows you to draw lines on fabric using a device with a spoked wheel. The video below shows how to use the Chaco Liner Refill to mark the hard to reach locations such as the top of back darts and seams like the neck curve.

How to Make Sewing Patterns — book update

March 9, 2010 on 12:50 am | In "How to Make Sewing Patterns" book updates, Fitting Issues, General Info, Online Classes, Pattern Design Guides, Sewing Techniques, pattern making | No Comments

I wrote my book, How to Make Sewing Patterns, back in 1977 and have been asked if I had plans to revise it. There are only two things I do differently today than when I wrote the book 33 years ago. So I am focusing my time on teaching my online Patternmaking Classes and developing supplemental material to my book as Pattern Design Guides rather than taking the time to revise the existing book.

The two things I do differently are I use gingham for fitting the bodice and skirt. And I have revised how I draft the woman’s front bodice pattern.

Gingham for Fitting:
When I was teaching Pattern Design at San Francisco Community College Adult Education Division back in the 70s I would stress the importance of looking at the grain of the fabric to determine whether the fit was correct. As we were using muslin, I would carry around a magnifying glass so that people could clearly identify the direction of the grain.

Then one day I was in the fabric store. When I walked past the display of gingham, I did a double take. The woven pattern of the different colors of threads in the gingham made the grain jump out. It was so easy to see what was happening to the grain as it is shaped on the three-dimensional human body I knew I had found the perfect fabric to achieve super accurate fittings. When I teach my online Upper Torso Sloper (aka Bodice) and Lower Torso Sloper (aka Skirt) classes I can use student submitted photos to help them achieve accurate fits within an 1/8″.

Woman’s Front Bodice Pattern:
Throughout my book I show how to draft the initial patterns without any darts. I do this because nature never repeats the same shape twice. So it is my contention you will never be able to determine the size, location, or length of darts accurately from measurements. If there were corners and sharp angles in the human body, maybe you could take accurate measurements. But the human body is a series of continuously changing contours. From what I have heard even body scans using sophisticated equipment cannot accurately create a two dimensional representation of an individual’s body from the measurements they take.

The one exception to “no darts” in my book is that I show how to draft a woman’s front using a dart. Once again when I was teaching back in the 70s I had large class sizes and lots of bodies who were willing to helping me develop data. So I came up with a chart for how to adjust the woman’s bodice pattern based on the difference between the full bust and above bust measurements.

But the chart does not cover the full range of possible bust sizes. But more than that, it creates a pattern that has a bust to waist side panel that is tricky to design from. It is essentially off grain. So what I do now is draft the woman’s front pattern without a dart. It creates the size you need so that you can establish a very accurate dart in a fitting.

I have a PDF file with the two revised pages for this draft which you can download and print out to revise the drafting procedure in my book: Women’s Front Bodice Pattern Draft.

To fit this pattern I use a dart into the armscye for the above the bust shape, the “A” Dart, and a dart to the waist to establish the below the bust shape, the “B” Dart. What this fitting procedure does is it allows you to use the horizontal grain around the full bust to create a very accurate “A” dart. You can then adjust the “B” dart to ensure that the vertical grain of the fabric is correct at both the center front and on the side of the body.

With the sloper designed in this way, whatever design lines you draw for the side of the body can be envisioned as they relate to the horizontal grain.

The Joy of a Custom Made Garment

March 4, 2010 on 6:18 pm | In Bikinis & Bandeaus, Fitting Issues, Online Classes, Pattern Design Guides, Sewing Techniques | 1 Comment

Previously I wrote the post “Tyranny of Standardized Sizing”. I am pleased to be able to follow that up with the results a student in my “Swimsuit, Lingerie, and Empire Dresses” class had. With Deborah’s permission I thought I’d share this experience. But first…

“The most comfortable panties I’ve ever worn!” — Deborah Castle

I use my eBook How to Make Bikinis and Bandeaux as a text for my Swimsuit and Lingerie class. In this eBook I describe how to make fitted briefs. The idea is to create the design lines on the body using bias tape and velcro, measure key places, then draft the pattern.

When Deborah said “The most comfortable panties I’ve ever worn!” I wanted to follow through so I asked Deborah the following.

Theoretically I thought that should be the case. But I’d be very interested in knowing if you can pin point the reasons.

• Fit at Waist?
• Fit at the Leg Opening?
• Custom-Fit at Side Seam?
• Cotton/Lycra Material?
• Plush Elastic in the Leg?
• Lace Waistband?
• All of the above ?

Deborah very graciously responded (and again she gave me permission to share this).

Don:

To answer your questions. For the first series, I’d have to say “all of the above.” Everything is where is should be and the cut is like I wanted. (They actually sit below the waist, the legs give full coverage but with a little bit of rise on the side seam.) The material is baby soft. Because they are made to fit me, nothing digs in, nothing pulls, nothing rides up, nothing slips down, and I can’t even tell I have them on!

They look big compared to store bought panties. That was shocking at first because I’m used to the smaller look with more stretch to fit multiple bodies (although not fit all that well.)

The body is a single layer of fabric, with a double layer for the crotch piece.

The “elastic” I used for the waist is the stretch lace. It is 2-1/4″ wide. I just sewed the stretch lace on at the seam line, stretching as I went. (putting the bottom edge of the lace about 1/4 inch below the seam line, and thus the lace itself adds two inches to the height of the panties — that is, when deciding where my waist would be for drafting the pattern, I considered the width of the lace in the calculations and lowered the waist location on the pattern for cutting the material.) Then I trimmed the seam. So that seam under the stretch lace is “unfinished.” But since it’s a knit, that’s not a problem. In addition to the zig-zag for adding the stretch lace, I stitched a row of the lingerie top stitching. It doesn’t show, but adds some more reinforcement to the seam. The stretch lace has a plush backing. It’s lovely.

I think that when all was said and done, I had taken in about 2 -1/8″ to 2-3/8″ on each side seam, according to comparing the measurements I wrote down, and measuring the latest version of the pattern which I used without taking it in any further on the side seams. The stretch lace is a length about 5 inches shorter than the measurement around where it attaches to the panties. It’s pretty stretchy, so that holds the panties in place without stretching the lace out of shape or having it dig in at all.

I made some significant changes to the crotch piece to get the fit I needed. I narrowed it both in the front and back, and shortened it in length. Shortening it allowed me to lengthen the material over the buttocks without distorting the shape of the leg opening too much. I’m getting the coverage over the cheeks, and it is fitting perfectly. I played with this a lot until I had it so that it fit the way I wanted. I had a fantastic time working on these panties (I’ve made four pairs so far, each a little better fit than the one previous.)

I got all four pairs out of the 1 yard of fabric, 5 yards of the stretch lace and 5 yards of the picot-edged elastic. The only thing I ran out of was the plush-back, picot-edge elastic for the legs. I might have had enough to do the fourth pair of panties, but it was a close call. I have enough of the stretch lace for another pair. I pre-shrunk everything, and did lose a bit of fabric length that way. But nevertheless, I got four pairs of very nice, extremely (and increasingly with each pair) comfortable panties (with a bit of leftover lace & elastic) for $15.50, plus the cost of thread. I know cost is not the focus of our group, but you can’t beat that for quality panties. And I had a lot of fun doing it and can’t wait to make some more.

Anyway, on the final pair, I used a knit elastic and enclosed it in a fold over seam allowance, and then added my lingerie top stitching. That leg treatment looks fine on the outside, but not as pretty on the inside. Also, it’s thicker around the leg opening due to the layers of fabric. Still comfortable, but I like using the plush-backed elastic better for a thinner layer around the leg opening.

Well, I guess this is more than you asked for.

Absolutely you may use my quote. I greatly appreciate your missionary zeal and your passion for teaching, your creativity and your patience in helping all of us learn.

Deborah

Susan at the Fabric Depot has been wonderfully helpful as a fabric and notion consultant for this class. So I asked her to provide the information about the fabric that Deborah used. Here is that information with links to the appropriate ordering information.

• #FL600 Cotton Lycra (Suntan) @ $10.00 yd.
• #E270 3/8″ Picot/Plush Elastic (Nude) @ $.50yd (minimum 5 yds)
• #LTS0246 2 1/4″ Stretch Lace (no plush back) @ $.75 yd

Susan also made the following comment:

Since this panty is made with cotton lycra, you can make the crotch out of the same cotton lycra. If using nylon lycra, then it is recommended to use #FL675 T-shirt Knit Lining for the crotch pattern piece. (Or you can even take one of husband’s old t-shirts and cut the crotch pattern piece out of it.)