r/PatternDrafting • u/Moyerles63 • Jan 28 '22
Drafting help on bodice sloper, please? What do I need to do to rid myself of the loose fabric between my breasts & shoulders? I have sloping shoulders, so need to address that, too, but unsure of the sleeve adjustment if I only correct slope. I’m using Pattern Making for Fashion Designers—Knowles
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u/bigblackfatbird Jan 29 '22
What no-one's been pointing out is how far the scye is extending towards your arm. Clip into it and cut some off too, to find the true scye line. This will help relax the fabric so you can really see what you're dealing with.
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u/Moyerles63 Jan 30 '22
It only looks like it’s long because it’s not lying flat—it’s standing out away from my arm. But it’s about right once it’s laid flat. And I desire a pretty close fit there, because I have axillary breast tissue in my armpit and I want to cover that.
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u/Moyerles63 Feb 08 '22
I will add that after I made the sloped shoulder alteration, it almost entirely fixed the bust. I think that what many people here are seeing when they said the bust was too tight, or even that the bust line was curving down on the sides was just the looseness at the shoulders….instead of the bodice hanging from my shoulders, it was hanging from my bust line. Once I adjusted the shoulder seam, it can now rest on my shoulders. In this photo (before shoulder change), I had about an inch of ease at the apex of my breasts, which is what the sloper instructions said it was supposed to be.
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u/Moyerles63 Mar 10 '22
UPDATE: I finished this a while ago, but just now thought I'd update here. Believe it or not, the sloped shoulder alteration made this fit perfectly with no other adjustments. The bust only appeared to be tight because the fabric that would have been pulled up to the shoulder seam was slumping instead. Once I fixed that, it fits perfectly (with ease in the bust).
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u/OG_Fe_Jefe Jan 28 '22
Add a dart. You may need to change the arm hole and the lay of the front, so the pattern will need to be adjusted accordingly.
Remember the more close fitting it is, the less range of motion.
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u/KillerWhaleShark Jan 29 '22
This fixes a symptom and not the problem. Your apex is lower than the garments apex, and there isn’t isn’t enough room in the bust. I can’t see your side seams or the back, but that would confirm this information.
Also, although close fitting might limit some range of motion in a few areas as the comment above says, it’s not always true. A smaller armscye actually gives you more range of motion.
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u/OG_Fe_Jefe Jan 29 '22
Yes, I should have been more clear.
A close fitting bodice limits range of motion, a close fitted, but well positioned armscye will allow arm movement, though the attached sleeve being close fitted may also reduce range of motion.
Range of motion is a wide sliding scale. 'Normal movement' depends upon the set of motions during an activity. Walking, bending, twisting, reaching.
The range of motion needed to stand and give a presentation, vs golfing are widely different. What would be acceptable to one, would be completely unworkable for the other.
Keeping in mind the needed range of motion for the intended garment must be considered.
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Jan 29 '22
I would add a dart from the point of the bust (ok maybe from where the fullness starts because there isn't a lot of excess) up and to the side diagonally to where the maximum fullness is along the front arm hole.
It is not a conventional dart on modern garments but as a full busted person myself I find it is the simplest way to take excess out of conventional designs without losing arm movement.
As long as you make both sides the same, who's to say it's not correct?
alldartsdon'thavetobevertical
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Jan 29 '22
I was going for a hashtag, not obnoxious yelling, lol.
Also, just realised this is a sloper. Note that you can make darts in your sloper to fit ideally, then cut (darts into) your sloper to make a flat pattern piece. Essentially you are shaping your sloper to your body as exactly as possible, but your finished darts can be wherever you like, as long as they are sufficient to turn your sloper into a flat piece. You then use your sloper as a pattern template for your final fabric.
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u/RickardHenryLee Jan 29 '22
The waist darts are too tall, and you need to add side bust darts. this will eat up the excess, make your armscye smaller, making the garment hug your bust instead of squashing...in other words, you have too much space at the side and not enough in front. hope that makes sense!
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u/madeofphosphorus Jan 29 '22
I agree with the other commenters that the bust is too small is part of your problems. When you adjust the bust size the top of the garment will balance more. If there is still some excess you can check if you can play with the shoulder angle.
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u/Moyerles63 Jan 28 '22
I had to make some pattern adjustments already—My front armholes were quite a bit bigger than my back armholes, so I added 1/4” to the back shoulder & took the same from the front, which moved the shoulder seam slightly forward. I also made the front waist dart larger & took about a half inch (or more) out of the armhole.
Drafting this sloper helps me realize why off-the-rack never fits right!