is said to be balanced. If you are sewing a dress, you must deal with balancing two areas of the garment: the skirt, whose balance is determined by the way it sets at the waistline; and the bodice, whose balance is established by the way it sets at the shoulders.
These directions focus on a simple, close-fitting bodice; they can be modified for more complex designs.
1. Add 1-in. seam allowances at garment centers, then cut the toile bodice front and back.
2. Mark all matchpoints, seamlines, and darts with a
pencil or tracing wheel. Mark the crossgrain at the cross-chest and cross-back lines, and the bustline. The cross-chest and cross-back lines are located at the narrowest part of the chest where the arm joins the body. The bustline is located at the base of the underarm and may not actually be at the bust point. I mark both sides of the fabric.
3. Baste the darts and assemble the bodice; don’t baste the sleeves into the armscyes.
4. Wrong side up, baste a narrow piece of selvage at the waistline, distributing the fullness as needed.
5. Put the bodice on, matching the center fronts, pin. Adjust the garment so the garment centers are centered on the figure.
6. Check the size. Is it too large or small? Too long or short?
7. Check the width at the front bust and waist, the back bust and waist, across the chest, and across the back. When fitting a basic bodice for a master pattern, there should be at least 2 in. of ease at the bustline and 1⁄2 in. at
the waist.
8. Check the center front and center back length. A large bust and rounded shoulders will require extra length on the bodice. If either front or back is too long, you will have horizontal wrinkles above the waist.
When fitting a strapless bodice, the center front is on grain and perpendicular to the floor; the crossgrain between the bust points is parallel to the floor.
(Photo by Taylor Sherrill, Author’s collection.)
Depending on the figure, it can be too long above or below the bust.
9. Check the shoulder seam length.
10. Check the front and back neckline width and depth, and look for diagonal wrinkles. For example, if the back neck is too narrow, the bodice front will have diagonal wrinkles pointing toward the shoulder point.
11. Evaluate the fit. The bodice should fit smoothly.
➤ The underarm seam should
be straight and divide the body pleasingly. For a large bust, the underarm seam will be too far forward. For a large back, the seam will be too far back. In both instances, diagonal wrinkles will point toward the problem.
➤ The shoulder seam should be
straight and inconspicuous from the front and back. On most figures, it will begin behind the ear
shoulder. The shoulder slope can generally be corrected by taking up or letting out the shoulder seams until the crossgrain line is again horizontal.
15. Another common fitting problem is rounded shoulders, but the same principles apply. If the crossgrain at the bustline curves upward at the center back, your shoulders are rounded, and you need to add extra length at the center back. After adding length to the center back, you’ll need to shape the fabric to fit the shoulder roundness. To do this, increase the fullness on the back shoulder by adding a shoulder dart, or increasing its size, or increasing the ease, or both until the crossgrain at the upper back is straight. For a very rounded back, add a yoke seam that can be fitted more closely at the armscyes.
16. Analyze the relationship of the front to the back. Look at the marked crossgrains and the lengths of the front and back bodice. When the garment fits the shoulders properly, it will not shift when the body moves, even when the garment is worn unbuttoned.
17. Once the bodice is balanced, check the armscye again.
18. Fit the sleeve (see p. 147). and end at the armscye on the
center of the shoulder.
➤ The armscye seam should be in
line with the front and back arm creases and extend ¼ in. to ½ in. at the shoulder. It should fit the body smoothly without gaping or binding, with the underarm about ½ in. below the armpit. Beginning at the cross-chest line, there should be a small fold of fabric extending downward from the armscye on the front, with a similar fold at the cross-back line.
➤ The darts should appear
straight and shape the fabric to fit the body smoothly. On the front, they should be an appropriate length for the bust and point to the crown of the bust.
12. Begin making corrections by eliminating looseness in the bodice or by letting out any seams or darts that are too tight.
13. Correct the length if necessary.
14. Use the balance lines as a guide to correct the bodice. Begin with the crossgrains at the cross-chest and cross-back to determine the slope of the shoulders. If the crossgrain droops as it nears the armscyes, you have sloping shoulders. If it curves up instead, your shoulders are square. If only one end of the crossgrain line droops and the center front seam swings toward the other side, you have one low
Making Toile Bodice
claire’s hint
The amount of fulling required depends not only on the weave and elasticity of the shell and backing fabrics but also on the width of the garment sections. Wide garment sections need more backing than narrow sections. To check, after I’ve pinned the backing, I hold the sides of the sections firmly and stretch; the added fullness should disappear. If it doesn’t, I repin with less fullness; if it is too tight, I repin with more fullness.7. Once the fullness is adjusted, use the thread traced seamlines on the bodice as a guide to baste the sections together on the vertical seamlines.
8. If you’re using a very crisp backing material, such as hair canvas, “hold it short.” To do this, cut the backing slightly narrower than the garment sections so it will not buckle under the
shell fabric. With the centers basted together, hold the shell and backing in the round with the backing on the inside to duplicate the way the layers will fit the body. Holding the layers this way, baste the vertical edges together with diagonal basting, then baste the vertical thread-traced seamlines.
9. Right sides together, pin and then baste the backing and garment sections on horizontal seamlines, matching them exactly.
10. Repeat for all sections.
11. Baste the garment together and put it on the dress form or figure. Evaluate the way the shell and backing drape together, making certain there is no tightness or buckling in either layer.
12. Assemble the garment, treating the two layers as one. When finishing hems and facings, sew the stitches into the backing, but not into the shell fabric.
Underpinnings
A distinguishing characteristic of many couture dresses is an underpinning especially designed to maintain the garment’s silhouette. For example, the underpinnings for each of the YSL for Dior trapeze dresses is slightly different. Some have a separate slip while others have the slip built into the dress. Each is designed specifically for a particular dress; but all have similar elements that can be adapted for other designs.
PreParing The Backing
Align shoulder seams fullIng a BackIng Shell fabric Align hemlines designed by pierre cardin in 1987, this silk dress had deep armholes. To conceal the wearer’s undergarments, an underdress was made from the same fabric and cut much higher. (Photo by Author.)
HoldIng SHort a very crISp BackIng
Shell
Backing
The base slip for the dress on p. 127 is made of plain-weave silk and closely fitted. It has several additional skirts of crinoline, net, and organza sewn to it. Each of the slip’s extra skirts is hand sewn to the base slip with a running stitch, and the raw edges are flattened with catchstitches. The organza top skirt is applied about 2 in. below the waist. Pleats control the fullness at the top of the skirt to create an A-line effect. The machine- stitched 4-in.-wide hem encases horsehair braid.
The first underskirt is made of net, gathered at the top and sewn to the slip 1 in. below the organza skirt. The second underskirt is made of silk organza and sewn about 2 in. below the top of the net underskirt. The fullness in the top of this skirt is controlled by long darts, with the balance gathered in between.
This slip also has two organza panels applied to the upper back to maintain the trapeze silhouette. The panels were first gathered, and then finished with a binding at the edge before being handsewn to the slip.
Sleeveless dresses and blouses tend to expose undergarments or the braless body underneath, especially when the armholes are deep. To solve this problem, some designers accompany these fashions with a camisole or slip that has side panels made from the dress or blouse fabric. One such design by Cardin is shown on the facing page.
These underpinnings offer some useful ideas, but you’ll have to create your own solutions. Before deciding on the construction specifics, decide the kind of underpinning needed. To do this, examine the design itself. What needs support? The bodice—all or just part of it? The skirt? The waist? Does the body itself need control to wear the design? Whatever the answers, there are probably several ways to create that support. To determine the best solution, experiment with a variety of ideas.
For a simple underpinning like the slip mentioned above, begin with a pattern for a slip, camisole, or even a simple dress. For more complex, body-hugging support, look to bra, bathing suit,
and evening dress patterns as well as to your own wardrobe for ideas or solutions.
For complex underpinnings, begin with a muslin to develop the silhouette. As you work with various support fabrics and underpinning designs, you’ll soon learn which combinations are most effective.