Making your own clothes and patterns ticks so many boxes: creating something unique, using up the mountain of fabric in your stash and refusing to buy into fast fashion, to name a few. I started making my own clothes when I was a child. My main reason for doing this was because I was a bit obsessed with Vogue patterns, fabric and sewing and we couldn’t really afford to buy the clothes I coveted. Also being a very tall girl meant that a lot of things didn’t fit me that well. And on the note of fitting, do you also love making your own clothes because it enables you to wear something that fits you perfectly? Dressmaking patterns and pattern blocks have been developed in such a way that allows the maker to adjust them to suit their particular body type. However, it isn’t always that easy to make the more difficult adjustments without some detailed instructions. The simple adjustments such as lengthening and shortening at the waist or hip are relatively straight forward. The more advanced adjustments such as the FBA (full bust adjustment) that accommodates bust cup sizing larger than a B or C cup, is a little trickier. And let’s not forget the full bicep adjustment that will give you more room around your bicep. For the next month or two I’ll be posting a series of blogs that will help you to make adjustments to blocks and patterns for tops and dresses. They’ll cover the full spectrum of necessary adjustments you’ll need to make so that your clothes fit perfectly. In this weeks post I’m going to show you how to lengthen or shorten the flat block patterns that are included in the Cut & Spread ™ Pattern Making Kits. This tutorial also applies to the Chameleon dress patterns which you can find here.
Blocks
Pre-made dress blocks are a great choice for developing your own patterns. Not only can they save you time when you consider the effort that goes into drafting blocks from scratch, but with the addition of some simple adjustments they can be altered to fit your figure perfectly.
Our pre-drafted size layered dress block is perfect for developing working patterns for tops, skirts and dresses. We've created an integrated block to save you time and money. It includes a bodice that finishes at the hip and enables the creation of mini, midi and maxi skirt or dress styles by extending vertically from the side and back seam lines. Drafted to conform to standard UK measurements it is graded from UK size 6 to size 24.
About our Block:
• Remember the NCUB rule: never cut up the block. Simply trace the correct size
• Blocks do not include seam allowances. Add seam allowances to your finished patterns
• Drafted for use with woven, non-stretch fabrics
• Graded from a UK size 6 to 24
• Reduce the position of the true bust point by 2 - 3cm for a softer less pointed silhouette
• Includes a front and back dress block
• Includes a straight one-piece sleeve
• The block includes a 5cm ease allowance
The block pattern is the starting point for creating perfectly fitting clothes. With it you can create patterns for tops, dresses, jackets and coats; manipulate darts to create design lines, add fullness in the form of tucks, gathers and drapes; formulate collars and various neckline designs, and create one-piece or two-piece sleeves. It is used as the basis for all adaptations and is traced by pencil or wheel onto pattern cutting paper to produce the working pattern. This second working pattern is used to mark out basic style lines and design features. Any sections that are applied to the working pattern can be traced off and worked on for further adaptation. The third and final pattern is the finished pattern that is used to cut out your garment. This pattern will display all the relevant terminology and includes notches and drill hole markings.
Lengthening the Block
Lengthening There are two positions on the block to consider for lengthening - the waist line and the hip line.
Waist line lengthening
A. At the centre back, measure from the nape of your neck to your waist
B. Next check the measurement in the same position on the dress block
C. Cut through the waistline on the front and back and increase the length based on the difference between your nape-to-waist measurement and the dress block measurement.
D. Cut a strip of paper the same width (plus two centimetres) as the measurement from number 3.
E. Tape the paper to the gap.
F. Trim away excess paper and maintain the curve at the waistlin
Hip line lengthening
A. At the centre back, measure from your waist to your hip.
B. Next check the measurement in the same position on the dress block.
C. Tape some paper to the bottom of the block at the hip line - front & back.
D. Mark the new hip length onto the paper following the natural curve.
E. Trim away the excess paper
Shortening the Block
Shorten at the waist line and the hip line.
Waist line shortening
A. At the centre back, measure from the nape of your neck to your waist.
B. Next check the measurement in the same position on the dress block.
C. Cut through the waistline on the front and back.
D. Decrease the length based on your body measurement.
E. Tape into position.
Hip line shortening
A. At the centre back, measure from your waist to your hip.
B. Next check the measurement in the same position on the dress block.
C. Mark the new hip length onto the block following the natural curve.
D. Trim away the excess to shorten the hip length.