Dissection: Busts on Paper

12/30/2014

Now we can get that bust panel on paper. For this step, you'll need all of your pattern pieces from before. These are the back pattern and the tummy pattern, also called the lower front. You also need a pen or pencil, a ruler and paper scissors.

Get a specific pair of paper scissors. Plastic handled ones are perfect. Paper will dull your scissor blades fast, making them useless for cutting fabric. If you use someone's very expensive fabric scissors on paper, expect a screaming fit.

Here are all the steps in photo format:

Pattern for a bust panel partially drawn out onto brown pattern paper.

Lining up a ruler with cross marks on the pattern paper.

Comparing back and front shoulder seam lines on two separate pattern pieces.

Folding along the drawn shoulder seam of one pattern and lining the folded edge up to the other pattern's shoulder seam.

Drawing a line extending across the folded edge to correct the shoulder seam pattern and make them both match.

Drawing a smooth armhole curve on the pattern.

Using a ruler to draw the bottom edge of the bust panel.

A drawn in v-shape on a pattern. This is a dart. There is a dot and an arrow pointing at the dot 1/8" to the left of the top of the dart.

Lining a ruler up with the bottom of the dart and the new top point.

Using the ruler edge to draw a new dart line.

New dart line drawn in on the pattern with the old lines crossed out.

New dart lines redrawn in blue over the old black lines.

Drawing in the rest of the bottom edge of the bust panel. Crossed out lines indicate that the old lines are not to be used.

Adding a bracketed arrow that is labeled ON FOLD to the front edge of the bust pattern.

Pattern labeled in the center. The text reads BODICE, CUT 2 ON FOLD, and 1/2" S.A.

Using a ruler to draw a perpendicular line from the front edge of the pattern.

Perpendicular line labeled MOST STRETCH.

Scissors cutting the bottom edge of the pattern, stopping at the beginning of the dart.

Cutting along one side of the dart on the new blue line.

Pulling the cut edge of the dart up to the uncut edge to check the dart length.

Both sides of the dart cut out and held together to form a shaped bust.

The cut out bust panel pattern lying next to the tummy pattern.

Lining up the bottom edge of the bust pattern with the top of the tummy pattern to see if they match.

Redrawing the side seam of the tummy panel to match the bust panel.

Lining up the under bust seams to figure out where the center front line will be.

Stuff I Left Out:

1. I usually don't add seam allowances to my patterns. That's because I was trained to make costume patterns. Costume patterns generally don't have seam allowances added, because you want to be able to add different seam allowances to different areas (like side seams and center backs). This makes the finished costumes easier to alter to people of varying sizes, and means you can rent out the costumes later and help cover your expenses. Fashion patterns do have seam allowances, because they get bulk cut in large quantities and no one wants to spend the time adding allowances.

Why is this important?

2. Technically, I should true up my patterns by lining up the actual seam lines, not the edges of the seam allowances. That means I'd need to draw in my seam lines on all my pieces and overlap them to get an exact match. And I didn't do that. It takes a lot of time. And you know what? For this pattern, it doesn't matter.

Why is that not important?

3. This is a stretch knit fabric pattern. It is very forgiving. The final fabric will stretch enough to make it fine. And since there's only a 1/2" seam allowance, it won't be off in any significant way.

Thanks for following along! Now you have all of your pattern pieces for a knit surplice top.

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