Be Your Own Dress Designer

How many times have you searched for just the right dress pattern and had to settle for something else? How much time have you spent poring over pattern catalogs, only to be disappointed? How often have you had to buy more than one pattern—so you could have the sleeve you want with the dressline that flatters you best?

By mastering a few alteration hints, you don’t need to be tied to commercial patterns; you can design your own wardrobe! All you need to begin with is a basic dress pattern and some white butcher paper for tracings.

Lay out your basic dress pattern on the butcher paper and trace it, marking in the dart. Then cut out the tracing.

Most patterns have a basic dart placement gauged to fit the average figure. You can make the pattern fit you better by taking two basic measurements: one from the point of your shoulder diagonally to the bust point, and one between bust points.

On your pattern, mark half the distance measured between bust points in from the center front edge of your pattern. (Shown in example A.) Then measure down on the pattern from the shoulder diagonally the distance you measured on yourself to intersect with line A. (Shown in example B.) Where the two lines intersect is the bust point.

Draw your dart line into the bust point on a continuum with line A. Measure the base width of the original dart, and measure down from the top dart line you have just drawn to that width. Draw your second line into the bust point. (Shown in example C.) Now, cut out your new dart.

You will use this pattern to form other new patterns, so cut several lengths of butcher paper in readiness to trace off new patterns.

The dart you will be working with is called a designer’s dart. Since it is approximately one inch longer than a dart used on a final pattern, a perpendicular line must be drawn through the bust point, and a half circle an inch deep needs to be drawn with the line as its base. (See example D.) The half circle will indicate where the tip of your final pattern dart will be.

To begin designing, one general rule should always be followed: Keep your figure in mind! Darts above the armhole are usually more flattering to a smaller bust, while those below the armhole flatter those with a larger bust. The base of a dart should vary, being made more shallow for the smaller bust, wider for the larger bust.

Begin with the single diagonal dart. Make a cut into the bust point diagonally. A diagonal dart should never go more than an inch below the waistline. (See example E.) Then rotate out your bust dart and draw in your new dart, remembering to draw the point of the dart no farther in than one inch from the bust point.

For a double dart, follow the same procedure, only partially rotate the bust dart. (See example F.)

The armhole dart is cut through the armhole, approximately halfway down, the armhole from the shoulder seam edge. Then rotate out the bust dart. (See example G.)

A yoke dart can be made by cutting the yoke off approximately halfway between the top and the bottom of the armhole (example H), remembering to add a half-inch seam allowance to each edge of the cut. Then cut the yoke dart in line with the bust point and rotate out the bust dart.

The yoke dart can also be combined with a seam down the front to create a slenderizing line and better fit through the waist. (See example 1.)

Rotate out the bust dart as you did in example H. Then cut the seam line from the point of the dart parallel to the center front line. Remember that a half-inch seam allowance must be added to both edges of the cut. The same principles can also be used to change the design of skirt and sleeve patterns.

Next, trace off a basic straight skirt pattern on butcher paper, marking in the dart. Then cut the dart out of the working pattern. For an A-line skirt, cut up the length of the pattern parallel to the center front edge, in line with the point of the dart. (See example J.)

A flared skirt basically follows the same procedure. Make the initial cut the same as for the A-line and make a second cut halfway between the center front edge of the pattern and your initial cut. A third cut should then be made between the initial cut and the side seam. (See example K.) Cuts should be made to within an inch of the top edge of the pattern. Do not completely rotate out the waist dart.

To vary the flared skirt, drop the waist by cutting off the skirt top the desired amount. Make cuts as you did in the flared skirt, leaving an extra half-inch allowance for seams on both edges of the cut. (See example L.)

Sleeves are a finishing touch to a dress or blouse and can change the whole appearance of a garment. A basic sleeve pattern can be varied in style from tailored to fluffy and feminine.

Use a basic long-sleeve pattern to work with. To make a bell or full-length gathered sleeve, simply make four cuts equidistant from each other to within an inch of the top of the pattern. Fan them out to the desired width and trace. (See example M.)

For gathered top and fitted bottom, simply reverse the cuts, using the bottom edge of the sleeve as the pivot. (See example N.)

For both a gathered top and bottom on the sleeve, make four cuts from top to bottom. (See example O.)

The gathered full-length sleeve can be varied by flaring the sleeve bottom from just below the elbow. Cut the pattern at the point the flare is to begin and make four cuts in the bottom piece. (See example P.) Then place both pattern pieces together and draw them without a seam.

These hints are used by the world’s greatest designers, and they can be your start into a world of creation all your own. Laurel G. Cole, Bountiful, Utah