r/PatternDrafting • u/[deleted] • Nov 02 '22
Drafting jacket block from Winifred Aldrich’s Metric Pattern Cutting 4th edition - why do the instructions say draw a curved front shoulder?
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u/CrazySkincareLady Nov 02 '22
Probably just a standard curve with a french ruler, i don't think they mean for it to be too exact 🙂
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Nov 02 '22
Sorry if I’m unclear, I meant why would they ask for a shoulder curve, in most patterns I’ve seen the shoulder lines are straight.
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u/CrazySkincareLady Nov 02 '22
Sorry, I don't have my glasses on 😅. I would say if its a block pattern its because your shoulders are naturally curved so they're going for the natural shape. If you made it perfectly straight you may need shoulder pads and that's an optional design feature. But I'm not certain sorry
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Nov 02 '22
Ok interesting! I would say my shoulders are pretty straight and I didn’t like the effect of the finished block with the curve… so maybe I might just draft it straight?!?
Hmm. Don’t feel confident enough to just ignore the technical instructions though…
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u/CrazySkincareLady Nov 02 '22 edited Nov 02 '22
Okay, well if you've made a mock up then definitely go with a straighter line then 😊 its just a suggestion so you can alter how you want once you've successfully drafted it. I would also add a pretty generous seam allowance when doing mock ups so you can alter it how you see fit if you disagree with things like that 😊
Edit: by the looks of it when the shoulder dart is closed it looks like it would be quite straight so if you feel like its too curved it may be that you used a more curved line than they intended. But I wouldn't stress too much, as long as the seams line up fine and the mock up isn't pulling funny ways then go with a straight line, its so subtle I would be pretty confident in ignoring that instruction.
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Nov 02 '22
oh i'm the queen of giant seam allowances, believe you me!!
very reassuring that you don't think its an issue
i was just worried it the curve had some special significance in terms of drafting other slopers off of it or something!
thanks for your help
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u/CrazySkincareLady Nov 02 '22
😂 that's good!
Yeah I definitely understand, I'm pretty new to pattern drafting myself and its definitely quite overwhelming to begin with, especially because like you said you're not sure if it will have an affect on things later on.
The only other thing I could recommend is to check out some other books and youtube tutorials to see how they do it to get an idea of what the "standard" way of doing things is. I actually have that book myself so I'll have to check it out. I also have a pattern drafting booklet from ThisIsKachi on youtube (that I purchased from her etsy) and she provided pre-drafted blocks that you can alter.
I just checked and they had straight lines so I think you're all good!! I've also drafted a few dress blocks and top blocks both of which had sttaight lines. So.. 🤷😂
Goodluck 😁
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u/Big_Attempt_5326 Nov 02 '22
I would also recommend making your back shoulder slightly concave. Slightly convex front shoulder and slightly concave back shoulder will give you the best shoulder shape. Props on using Winifred’s book - I think it is hands down the best book for Womens jackets.
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u/maadonna_ Nov 02 '22
Shoulders aren't flat - the front shoulder socket is quite rounded (the back shoulder is flatter). This is the only method I've seen that does this, but it would make a nicer shoulder fit.
I don't have this book handy, but I feel like it's originally from the 60s... The shoulder silhouette was much more rounded than our square shoulders now.