Bodice sloper/block thingy

Today I made a bodice sloper/block thingy! Having my proportions laid out at scale on paper should hopefully help with my zero waste experiments.

I couldn’t be bothered watching videos to learn how to do this, so I followed the bodice block drafting article on the @inthefolds blog. I started with a tiny scale version just to be able to play with my zero waste sketches (see last photo), but this morning I decided to make it for real. I got some weird results at the armscye, but I just ignored the reference points and drew in an armhole to be able to make a toile (see photo 3).

It’s probably not perfect, but the first fitting was surprisingly good to my untrained eye (see photo 2)! For the final version (first photo), I added some length to front (and adjusted the darts and back bodice accordingly), shifted the bust points slightly, and smoothed out both armscye curves. Even though it was drafted to measure, I was pleasantly surprised by how close the shoulder slope and back shaping turned out. Usually I get weird wrinkles and gaping in those areas, so now I’ll be able to compare patterns with my block!

If you know about this stuff and see something that I should fix/alter, please let me know in the comments! I’m just a beginner figuring stuff out 😅

EDIT: I did go back and make a few more toiles to perfect the fit some more. I made the neckline slightly wider, moved the shoulder seam to compensate for my forward shoulders (that I didn’t know I had), and squared off the bottom front edge.

#patterndrafting #bodiceblock #petitesewing #beginnerpatterndrafting #patternmaking #beginnersewing #patronage