I have been really fixated on the 18th century silhouette for at least the last year.
And I know it seems complex, because of how foreign the patterns look, especially if you’re
used to modern sewing and the basic, generic modern pattern shapes.
But I’m convinced that there has to be a much more simple root to it.
Most people made their own clothes, and buying patterns wasn’t really a thing. If everyone
was expected to come up with their own patterns, it logically can’t be as hard as it looks.
And so, the entire thesis I’ve been working towards, is trying to figure out how to boil
these pattern shapes down to the simplest format possible.
I know that there are books of patterns, there are big box patterns, and smaller pattern
companies which strive for the best blend of accuracy and user-friendliness.
But, when it comes to the available patterns, I’ve had another struggle.
And that is my body type.
I don’t even think I have an extremely unique body, but nevertheless, the more I learn about
properly fitting things to myself, the more I realize that any pattern I try is fairly
incompatible with my shape.
Probably the easiest solution for this, would be to make or invest in a dress form of myself.
Then I could just learn pattern draping.
But that is not the best solution when it comes to my thesis.
Because I want to simplify these patterns not just for my own sake, but in a way that
is most useful and easiest for you to replicate from home.
So draping them from an expensive or elaborate dress form is not going to be super useful
to most of you.
And that is why math exists.
I think I figured it out.
Not only that, but I think I boiled it down to a single, simple geometric formula, and
if you plug in your own measurements, you can make a conical base shape to fit you.
And I know, the Micarah’s of the world are hissing and clutching at their barbie skateboards
and candy bars.
Technically, you could do this entirely without numbers, if you just used a string to take
measurements and then knotted the string in specific places.
But I’m just going to use numbers.
The pattern is quite simple. It’s a curved shape like a fan.
To draft this shape you need to take three measurements.
You need to measure your waist, the apex of your bust, and the distance between these
points.
Now I think it’s best to measure these with no bra.
On me it doesn’t make enough of a difference to be sure, but I know that larger bust measurements
can differ drastically between wearing or not wearing a bra.
It makes sense not to wear one though, because historically that’s how they would have
been taking measurements.
My three measurements are 34 inches for the bust, 27 for the waist, and 6.25 for the space
between, though I am short-waisted, so 6.25 is not exactly average.
Since we will only be drafting one side of the bodice, the bust and waist must be halved,
bringing us to 17 inches and 13.5.
The cheapest and easiest patterning paper to find is plain old wrapping paper.
And a lot of wrapping paper nowadays has a grid printed on the backside, so bonus.
First I need to mark two points at the edge of the sheet, 6.25 inches apart.
Then I need to measure across the paper and mark a point 17 inches in, and 13.5 inches in.
Now line up a yardstick, and depending on how close your bust and waist measurements
are, a yardstick might not be long enough.
You might need a stiff tape measure.
Line it up between the two points, all the way to the edge of your paper, and make another
point where it intersects.
Think of this point as the horizon point, like if you’ve ever learned perspective
in a drawing class.
Now you need to use this horizon point to draw your curves.
Historically this would be done by hammering a nail into your table and tying a string
to it.
I taped a string to the table instead.
I wrapped the string around my my marker a few times, which helped to keep it stable.
Starting at the waist point, drag out a line well past the original waist marking.
Then repeat that with the bust point.
Now I’m lining up a flexible measuring tape to find the 13.5 and 17 inch points on the
new curved lines.
Then use your yardstick, and line it up between the two new points and the horizon point.
You’ll know you did it right if those three points line up pretty much evenly.
Draw a new line between the bust and waist point.
And that is the completed shape.
*Michaela interrupts*
So when I was working on this, I put out a call on instagram,
and a ton of people sent me their measurements. I took the first 15 responders,
and tried out this formula with the smallest set, and with the largest set.
Then I calculated all of the measurements together, and I found that a 38.5” bust
and 32” waist was both the average and the median set of measurements.
I also plugged these measurements into the formula.
And they all worked.
Now 4 isn’t enough to guarantee the formula, but it does seem to be consistent.
Now there is one more alteration I want to make on this base, before I even start to
make a pattern from it.
I’ve noticed that I am short waisted, but I’m even shorter waisted in the back.
I finally figured this out after reading the Keystone guide, particularly the sections
explaining the difference between a stooping form and an erect form.
I disagree with Keystone that these variations have much to do with posture though.
I really think is has more to do with just your skeletal structure.
On myself, the top of my hip bones just curve higher than any pattern allows for.
And it’s not just me.
I don’t often fit bodices to other people, but of those I have, two have been short waisted.
Using modern bodice patterns, we had to shorted the back by an extra half inch or more, to
make the bodice fit smoothly instead of wrinkling up.
Now one of those people was my sister, and it’s possible that we just have similar
structures.
But the other was a sewing student of mine of no relation, so I’m theorizing that this
is possibly common with short waisted people, and if you are short waisted and you struggle
with fit, maybe you should look into this.
I really want an X-ray of myself now.
Also, I don’t make pants very often, but when I do I’ve also found that I need to
shorten the crotch in the front.
Which, if you’re taking wedges out of the back above the waist, and out of the front
below the waist, that means that you’re essentially angling, or tilting the waistline.
Can your hips be tilted?
Is that a thing?
So, it will be much easier if I account for this proportional off-kilterness before even
starting my pattern.
How I’ll do this is I’ll draw out another curve, midway down my fan shape.
Then I’ll cut the fan out, splitting it along this line.
I’ll tape it back together, overlapping the pieces in the back by about 3/4 of an
inch.
I’m essentially taking a pie-wedge out of the shape, but making it curved.
And this way I should’t have to alter the waistlines of the individual bodice pieces
later.
To finish it, I can just trace out the altered shape, using a ruler to straighten the center
front and center back lines.
Now, I want to get on illustrator and show you some of the patterns you could extrapolate
from this base shape.
If you start with a shape like this, here is how it could be turned into a stay pattern.
You trim one inch from the back, to give it a 2” gap.
For the top edge, I’m just going to freehand it, and that’s the type of thing that you
would want to adjust through a mockup.
You extend the lines and add another curve a couple inches down, to mark the length of
the tabs.
Then add the seam placement, either making it up or basing it off a historical design.
They can curve inward to the waist, creating space for the waist reduction.
Then I must curve them back out past the waist point, and mark the tabs.
Then the pieces can be separated and further adjusted.
It is very simple, very basic, and working with a mockup of this pattern would allow
you to further fine-tune it to your body.
The important thing is you are starting from you, rather than from a tracing of a garment
with years of wear warping it to fit another person’s unique torso, plus a couple centuries
of decay.
But how would you turn this fan into a bodice?
The top edge will be a little trickier, and will definitely require a mockup.
You could even cut out the mockup with an extra 2-3 inches, so that when you try it
on you have plenty of room to draw the neckline and underarms right on your body.
It will still take a lot of trial and error, but at least you have somewhere to start.
Then you place your seams, deciding how many back panels you want, and where you want them.
These seams will need to curve, like the stay seams, and you can guesstimate that and adjust
it through the mockup.
And this is a basic bodice pattern, which could be chopped up differently and customized
for each project, if you want.
You can change the seams, cut it away at the front for a stomacher, add tabs, change the
shape of the bottom edge or neckline, add a pleated jacket skirt, any of that could
be done from the same basic, but well-fitting bodice pattern.
And I haven’t done the experiments yet, but logically, looking at the shapes, I think
this basic fan shape could be used to draft almost any conical bodice.
All the way from a kirtle, through Tudor bodices, elizabethan, 18th century, right up to Regency
short stays.
And more, I think that you could use it to draft yokes or collars or ruffles, or any
similar curved shape on any scale.
Since coming up with this formula, I have used it to draft an Outlander bodice, which
I made just in time for Halloween.
It was a bit of a rush job, and the pattern didn’t turn out perfect, mostly in the sleeves
and one part of the hips where I actually mixed up the pieces when I was cutting them
out.
But, despite all of that it is still one of the best-fitting bodices I’ve ever made,
and I really think it’s because I started from this shape.
But a breakdown of making that pattern and that bodice will be the next sewing video,
so stay tuned.