After half term we will be creating our own bodice pattern (also known as a block or a sloper) to fit your own individual measurements. Creating a pattern block that fits you perfectly will then allow you to use this as a basic guide for creating an endless amount of patterns for your measurements.

Taking accurate measurements for a bodice pattern It is important to have extremely accurate measurements in order to create a perfectly fitting pattern. To begin with you need to define your waistline… this can be done by tying a piece of wool or string around yourself (tight – but not extremely tight) and letting it fall to your natural waistline. During all of your measurements use this as a guide for the waistline. Next you need to choose whether you will be measuring in cm’s or inches! You will need to stick to the same unit of measurement throughout creating your pattern. TASK 1 Take your own body measurements for creating a bodice pattern!

Truing a Pattern To ‘true’ a pattern is the process of checking and correcting all of your measurements, adding seam and hem allowances, adding darts and checking all of your pattern pieces match up. A good method of adding seam allowance is to use the width of a tape measure as a guide (about 1.5cm). If you were adding an allowance for a hemmed edge to a garment you would first have to determine what sort of hem you were using and then again add around a 1.5cm allowance (or double if it was for a double hem).

Hems! A hem is a method of edging or finishing off a garment to avoid leaving the fabric with a raw edge. Hem’s will stop the fabric from fraying and your seams from unravelling. There are many different methods of hems. A plain hem… This is a basic hem used on most garments. The fabric edge can be folded over one or twice and then is simply stitched down using a straight stitch.

A blind hem… A rolled hem… A blind hem creates an edging where the stitching is barely visible. This is often used on trousers and jackets where a nice crisp edge is required and you do not wish to see the stitching. A rolled hem… A very narrow hem that is often used on lightweight and floaty fabrics. It is very secure and will stop edges from fraying.

Bias Binding Bias binding is another method of finishing off a piece of fabric. Bias binding is a thin strip of fabric which covers the fabric’s raw edge. It is called this because it is cut on the ‘bias’.