Drawing A Bodice (Again)

Yesterday was nice but cool until the afternoon. It then warmed up. Today is cloudy and we could see showers.  

I did my PlayWork yesterday morning and my knee ached until after I got home. Then it quit hurting. I hate that. Next run is the Boogie tomorrow morning. Looking forward to all the energy that will be flowing.

I spent the morning working on the bodice of the little girl’s dress. I had all the measurements in hand and started working.

Child’s Measurements

 

Back  11.5”	Shoulder to Chest  6.25”
Chest  24”	Shoulder to Waist  12.5”
Waist  22”	Shoulder to hem  33”

I cut the first bodice and it was too short so I cut one longer and trimmed it back to the correct length of 13.5”. The width of the fabric was 36”. I turned under the center back an inch and pressed in place. The center backs were folded in to the center front and the whole thing was pressed well and was 8.5” wide. That is wider than what Chinelo asks you to do but I am still learning and like extra fabric.

I was ready to go on to the second side of my worksheet. You can see I made a few corrections in blue.

Following Chinelo’s directions, I started to measure from the center fold. I am drawing on the wrong side of the fabric.

Here is how it went:

Measure from the center front/back 1/2 of the back measurement at the top of the fabric (5.75”)

At that dot, measure down the distance from shoulder to chest plus 1/2” (6.75”)

At that mark, measure from the folded edge 1/4 of the chest measurement plus 1” (7”)

At the bottom of the fabric measure 1/4 of the waist measurement plus 1.5” (7”)

At the neck, measure across 3” and down 3.5”. I used my Sure-Fit ruler to draw the neckline. It was perfect.

To draw the armhole, I used this ruler and fiddled around until I got what I wanted.

I trace what I need on to my pattern tracing pellon. At the under arm edge, I drew a bit of a straight line (3/4”) and then started to draw what I wanted as I wasn’t pleased with the scoop that the ruler drew on the fabric so I worked at fixing it. I do put down numbers on the ruler for future reference. The drawing becomes invaluable.

At the top of the armhole, measure down 1/2” and join that dot to the neckline for the shoulder seam. Ready to cut out.

And cut out ready to draw the darts.

The darts are fairly easy to do following Chinelo's directions. From the center front, measure 3.5” and draw a line 4” long vertically. Fold on this line and draw a dot 1/2” from the fold at the bottom of the bodice. Draw a line from that dot to the top of the fold line. Stitch. Do one on each side of the center front of the front bodice and one one each back half using the center back to measure. The backs darts are just over 4.5” long.

I measured the waist and the chest at the under arms and the measurements are looking good. I will be using 3/8” seam allowances. If this works perfectly, I will add 1/4” to each of the chest and waist measurements so I can make 5/8” seam allowances.

I am ready to start the skirt. I did the template after I measured the waist on the bodice.

The distance down from the point is 3 7/8” and I used the handy tool I showed to draw my line. The curved edge is 6” for a 24” waist line. Perfect!! I will show the skirt as I do the drawing for it.

This morning we have Kid’s Gardening. I have to get a few more pots and a couple of plants as we have 12 children and their parents coming. In the afternoon, I have to get ready for Boogie tomorrow and I may get some sewing done. If I do sew, it will be the skirt on this dress.

Until tomorrow…………………….