Pattern Making
The first skill I learnt for my Witcher costume was how to make patterns. Patterns are important because it is a template for the different sections of the garment. The pattern is traced onto fabric before being cut out and assembled.
01
How I started
The pattern I made was personalised to my size. To get our measurements we worked in pairs and used a tailor tape measure. We worked through the list of all the measurements I needed. The measurements, were in centimetres. The required measurements that were the most vital for making my pattern were the bust, waist, hip, across back, point to point and height. My measurements were important because my costume had to fit to my body size.
02
Tools used
When drawing out my patter I used:
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Pattern paper
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Pencil
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Pattern master
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Rubber
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Scissors
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female block worksheet
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female measurements form
03
When drawing out my pattern
I started by cutting a piece of pattern paper long enough to fit on a single desk. To draw out my pattern I followed the instructions on the female block worksheet chronologically. I had to read it carefully and made sure that I calculated the lines that had to get drawn onto my pattern paper correctly. After I worked out the length of my line I used the diagram as a reference, drew on my line and plotted on my numbers. I repeated this process until I had a completed bodice pattern.
04
When my pattern was made
After I did the change, I labelled my pattern. I included:
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my measurements
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The parts onto my pattern (such as the waist)
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I labelled where the front and the back were.
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The grain line
I also learnt that the more detail you add to your pattern the better, so I added on the date I made it and my height. This meant I'd have all the details if I decided to use it in the future.
The Pattern For My Costume and adapting it
The bodice
Rather than drawing out a new pattern for the bodice of my costume, we found that the pattern from the Queen of hearts dress in the Alice show was very similar to my design.
The pattern was too big to fit my measurements, so I had to alter it to fit me. To do this I calculated the difference between the my measurements and the original patterns measurements for the waist and bust:
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bust: 111 - 87 = 24 cm
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waist: 89 - 77 = 12 cm
Then I halved both my new measurements and this gave me 12 cm and 6 cm- to allow for more comfort and flexibility with my bodice I took off 8 cm in total.
On my bodice side pieces, I took 2 cm off the bust and 1 cm off the waist. Then with the front and the back pattern I took 1cm off the waist and bust.
The sleeve pattern
After I altered the bodice pattern, I drew out a pattern for my sleeves. The pattern use was for a straight arm sleeve. I added a flare to it by extending the elbow out 2 cm on both sides and made the bottom 40 cm wide.
Extra patterns I used and adapted :
When making my bodice, the back wasn't big enough to fix this I used the back pattern and cut it down to 5 cm and added it onto the back of my bodice .
My design also included a hood so I used a already made pattern for the hood.
