Torf the Kiltmaker

Sloper Magic
Torf the Kiltmaker
A Sloper is a basic pattern with no
seam allowance.
• You want a sloper that
fits you.
• It can have no ease – a
moulage.
• It can have fitting ease.
• It can have wearing
wearing ease.
• It seldom has Design
ease.
• Make one from a basic
pattern.
• Make one from a well
fitting garment,
• Draft one from body
measurements.
Sources for Sloper design
1
2
3
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5
6
7
8
College textbooks
Dress Kit (Sure-Fit Designs)
Bodice Patterner (Bonfit America)
The web (www.pinterest.com)
The web (www.trantanphat.com)
The web (www.madalynne.com)
The web (www.dressmakingpattern.net)
Web tutorials (www.craftsy.com)
Development
A development is a three dimensional surface made from
flat material such as paper, cardboard or sheet metal.
Not all surfaces are developable. Singly curved surfaces
may be developable.
Cylinders are formed with straight line generators which
remain parallel. They are developable.
Cones are formed with straight line generators that intersect
at a point – the apex of the cone . They are developable.
Doubly curved surfaces such as sphere, torus, paraboloid,
hyperboloid and the human figure can only be approximated.
A plane is defined by 2 lines, many lines, or 3 points.
A plane can be folded on a line in the plane to make 2 planes with a line of intersection.
A plane can be rolled so it’s generators remain parallel
to form a cylindrical surface.
The plane can be rolled so it’s generators intersect at
a point to form a cone.
A sphere can be approximated by a series of cones or cylinders,
A cone by a series of planes
A torus by a series of cylinders,
A paraboloid by cones,
A hyperboloid by cones or straight folds,
But the human figure is more complex.
Fit of a Garment
For a garment to fit a person three measurements must match:
1 Length,
2 Width or circumference,
3 Depth.
Garments are basically cylinders and cones, both developable surfaces.
People, however, are not cylinders and cones. They have lumps and curves
That the designer has to march. This is done by creating cones with darts
in the fabric.
A front bodice sloper has one or more darts to accommodate each breast
while the shoulders , neck, waist and arms are formed with seams.
The shape of the back is created with one or more darts define the
shoulder blades with seams to adjacent pieces.
Developing a pattern of the human body
The body is not a developable surface but it can be
approximated closely enough to be clothed by an easily
machined material such as fabric. Steel body armor was
made in a similar way.
The body is marked at the extreme points
and the seam lines.
A triangle or plane can be drawn from
The nape of the neck to the apex of the
two breasts.
A second triangle intersects the first on the breast line to the
center of the waist.
Two more triangles attach the upper
Triangle to the shoulders
Two cones connect the lower triangle and apex
to the waistline.
The apex I joined to the side seam by
A cone.
The side of the pattern is completed with
A cone from the apex to the armscye.
Finally the neck seam
Is connected to the rest of the
pattern by a cone with apex at the point of the shoulder.
The pattern of the sloper is made up of shoulder-to-neck cone
attached to an upper front plane, a lower front plane and three
bust cones to the waist, side and armscye seams.
These surfaces are plotted to form
the sloper (moulage).
The final plot will have an opening
at the apex. This is closed in a dart
forming a cone producing the three
dimensional shape (depth) for
the breast.
I suggest making a moulage with
no ease. Make a muslin and adjust it to fit like skin.
Correct the plot and add ease to make your sloper.
The sloper is cut from tag or poster board.
Typical ease for a sloper is 2 ½ to 3 ½ inch at the bust,
1 to 1 ½ inch at the waist,
1 /2 at armscke and shoulder.
This ease is distributed through all seams.
Dart Manipulation
A dart in a development changes the plane into a cone. The
position of the dart has no affect on the shape of the cone.
The sloper as plotted has one bust dart, a waist dart.
This results in a bodice with darts as shown
here. Waste darts are sometimes a problem
as they should be aliened with darts in the
skirt. We may, therefore, want to move the
Dart somewhere else on the top.
We can position it anywhere
As long as the apex is in the
same place and the angle of
the dart is unchanged.
Moving a dart can be done in several ways. The easiest to follow
is the cut and rotate method. To produce a French dart we trace
the sloper onto pattern paper , cut it out, draw a line from the
side seam where we want the dart to be, and cut along the line
to the apex of the Dart. If you leave the last 1/8 inch uncut it will
act as a hinge. The part below the cit is then rotated about the
hinge at the apex to close the waist dart. The resulting dart has
the same angle and apex as the original dart.
Horizontal under arm bust dart
A horizontal under arm dart is created in the same way as the
French dart. A horizontal cut from the side seam to apex and the
part rotated to close the waist dart.
Cut and rotate to
make an armscye
dart.
Cut and rotate
to make a dart
from the shoulder
point.
Multiple Darts
You may want to have more than one bust dart. To do this the
waist dart is manipulated into several darts such that the sum of
the dart angles is the same as the original. The two bust dart
top is started as the side dart was with a horizontal cut to the
dart apex. The segment is then rotated as before but only part
way leaving some of the waste dart. The sum of the two darts
is unchanged.
The darts cannot be sewn
to the same point so one
or both are made to end
at a bust circle drawn at
the apex. The circle radius
is 1 to 4 inches depending
on cup size.
Multiple Darts
More darts can be added with successive cut and rotate actions.
1 dart
2 dart
3 dart
4 dart
Princess Seams
Darts can be combined into a seam called a princess seam. We
start as we did for a 2 dart top. Cut where we want the seam
and slide one section away to make 2 parts.
Careful choice of grain lines
Makes this different than a
one dart top.
Princess Seams
Princess seams are made by joining two darts and separating
one pattern piece into two. Darts then become seams allowing
curved as well as straight connections. Also color blocking is
easy to do, almost inviting.
Dart Manipulation on Bodice Backs
yoke
back
Slope back
cut
rotate
cut
Slide
This is the back
Of a classic shirt
The back is not as dramatic as the front but is probably more
important for comfort. The shoulder dart is easily moved to the
arm with the cut and rotate technique. The top part can now be
cut off and Slid up to form the yoke and back of the classic shirt.
The classic shirt
can be cut from
the top of the
back dart to the
top of the piece
to give the
pattern for a
denim jacket.
yoke
Center
Back
panel
Side
Back
panel
Cut to dart rotate & true top cut princess dart & slide. This is the
princess back seam that’s been used in formal wear for 200 years.
Tools of the Pattern Maker