In this blog post I am going to show you how to draft a basic bodies block pattern.
Now that you have an idea of what pattern drafting tools are .
And you have also learnt how to do proper and accurate body measurement .It is now time to put this experiences to test.
There are a lot of videos on YouTube on how to make basic bodies blocks. Some are Simple ,Some are a little bit complicated.
I like simplicity!
I’m going to make this simple enough for any beginner that has interest in sewing to understand.
Before I get into the real method of how to make basic bodies blocks let us first understand a few things.
WHAT IS A BASIC BODIES BLOCK PATTERN
A basic bodies block is a pattern that is made to fit your body shape perfectly.
You can then derive all other pattern styles from this block pattern
This means that the basic block is only altered if your body shape changes.
You should never use them for manipulations.
Most times, basic body blocks do not include seam allowances.
This is so that the pattern manipulations can be accurate.
If you do not know what pattern manipulations are, don’t worry we’re going to cover it in the course of this Blog.
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A BASIC BODIES BLOCK
A basic bodies block consist of five simple pieces.
A front and back darted body
A sleeve
Front and back skirt
All of this you can combine to make a full bodies block.
You can decide to create your basic bodies block pattern from scratch or buy a commercial one.
HOW TO USE COMMERCIAL BASIC BODIES BLOCK PATTERNS:
Commercial block patterns are very easy to use because they save a lot of time.
Each of the body blocks components are separated with colored markers.
You can buy your commercial block Patterns from companies that sell commercial patterns.
All you have to know is the size you need before buying one.
Commercial block patterns are however produced with large seam allowances.
Commercial block patterns are the basis from which all other patterns are derived from.
HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR COMMERCIAL BODY BLOCKS
Before I can talk about the process of upgrading the commercial body blocks, you will first download the commercial blocks I have for you.
I have scaled down pattern blocks in 7 sizes free for you to use.
You can use this to make your own personal blocks
TAKE YOUR BODY MEASUREMENTS
The very first step after downloading the free commercial body blocks ,is to take your burst,waist and hips measurements.
To make this supper easy for you, you can watch this video on how to take proper body measurements.
After getting your body measurements, you can record them on this measurement chart.
Once you have your body measurements recoded,you are now ready to choose your costom basic bodies block size to upgrade.
Bare in mind that you might need two custom block sizes to upgrade to your real life size.
For example I use US Size 16 commercial block size to upgrade for my top back and front blocks .On the other hand I use US size 18 commercial block to upgrade my front and back skirt.
Everything depends on your burst, waist and hips measurements. If every measurement falls under the same US Size then you might not need two commercial block sizes.
Choose a size that is closest to your personal body measurement. For tops, use your burst and high burst measurements.
And for skirts ,use your hip girth measurement.
SCALING UP THE BODY BLOCKS
Once you choose the commercial block sizes to work with, then you are ready to start your upgrade.
First of all you need your own grid paper. You could either buy a dressmakers grid paper,
or Draft your own grid paper with 2.5cm squares.For the video illustration below, I drafted my own grid paper.
This video takes you through the whole process.
On your grid paper, label all the columns with letters and the rows with numbers.as seen in the video.
Each grid square on the commercial pattern, is equivalent to 1 grid square in your grid paper. Label small x points on your grid where lines in the commercial block diagrams are positioned.
Please refer to the above video to do this properly.
Once you see the outline of the pattern, you now use your rulers to join the points.
CONCLUSION
Once you are done ,trace each of your body blocks on single pattern papers.
label everything thoroughly with the name and date of the block. That is Front top ,back top, front skirt and back skirt etc.
Remember that these patterns are without seam allowance.
When using it to sew, remember to use a seam allowance of 1.5cm.
That’s all for now .
Let me know how it goes for you. If you have any challenge please comment below. Dont forget to follow me on Pinterest for more DIY sewing projects
