Making a dress form pt. 5 : Finished!

When I started this project, I assumed it would be rather simple. Draft a pattern with no ease and stuff it. Instead, I had to adjust my pattern many times. Plus I had to solve problem of creating an inner structure and stand. Wow, it was a lot of work!

I am generally pleased with how my form turned out. As in all experiments there are many lessons learned. The first, the form companies are charging a fair price. I saved money in materials, but it took me a lot of time and two attempts to get my form right. Second, my form may have a short life. Not all of the materials are the most durable. I imagine I will have to do repairs in the future. Just in case I decide to do this again, I am keeping my patterns!

Earlier I had posted about Aldrich's neck-base measurement being too big. I ended up not altering my form pattern - forgetfulness on my part. I still think her measurement is still a little too big, but as you can see my dress does fit. My earlier problems were from over-stuffing. I kept tight control of the stuffing of my final form.

Someday, I will purchase a real form. For now this one works well. It matches my measurement requirements fairly close. And it does fit my dress!

Making a dress form pt. 3 : Starting with a good base

I hit upon a bit of inspiration while searching the net for info on how to make a dress form. I kept running into the terms papier mache. The professional forms have a papier mache center. At Vintage Sewing (link no longer works) there is a demonstration on how to pad your own form.

Papier mache is a simple medium to work in, just messy. I bought an all vinyl doll to use as a base. It has smaller measurements than I need - which is perfect to later pad it out. I pulled the doll apart, sprayed it with oil and wrapped plastic wrap around the body. Next, layers of paper and glue. I then cut it off the body and slashed and spread it apart to get better proportions. More layers of glue and paper....

I have the body, done and I am now working on the legs. No pictures yet, but soon. Hopefully, I can start doing the padding next week!

Making a dress form pt. 2 : How to suspend it and checking measurements

I made some more progress this week on my infant dress form (sized 3mo). I created a stand from bits and pieces from the hardware store and spray painted it to make it uniform. I love my stand! The form, on the other hand, has presented some problems - ones I am not quite sure how to work out.

From the front, the form actually looks ok. The dress is one of my Hawaiian dresses, sized 3 mo. I know this dress fits because I have tried it on children. It may be hard to tell in these pictures, but my first problem is the neck size. I drafted my pattern from Aldrich's measurements. Her neck base is at least 1" larger in circumference than all of my other size charts. IMO, it is too big and I will be making it smaller in my next draft. The neck of my dress is on the small side, however, and I will be adjusting it in my next line, although not much. When I did my fittings, the moms actually commented on how the neck fit better than most RTW (which are usually too big!).

In these pictures, you can see how my form swings out from the bottom. The only adjustment I can think to make is to drop the back of the neckband at least 1/4", thus pulling the form into a straigher line. You can see how this may cause problems with checking the skirt.

You can see how large the neck size of my form is in comparison to my dress in this picture.

Another BIG problem is my measurements are all off. The girth measurements match a 12mo. The vertical trunk measurement matches a 6mo. I drafted my pattern in a 3mo with no ease. I can only assume that my measurements were thrown off from the fabric stretching while stuffing. This is probably why the professional forms use a heavy-weight linen fabric.

I think this project still has potential, but it is back to the drawing board. Plus, I need to try and find a medium/heavy-weight linen. I would appreciate any suggestions that you patternmakers may have out there?!

My other big project is designing my Fall/Holiday dresses. I am thinking about some red silk holiday dresses, just need to order some fabric and try not to fall too behind...

The golden mean and pattern making for children's clothing

After studying measurement charts until my eyes about popped out of my head, I finally took the plunge and drafted my first bodice using Aldrich's method. After working for many years in the childrenswear business, I have never actually drafted my own blocks. There was never a need - I just used whatever the company had. I drafted the flat infant blocks and immediately it didn't look right. I have been a bit confused by her use of flat, jersey, and woven bodices. Later in the book, she has a classic bodice. I picked the flat bodice block because it was in the front of the book.

The problem I encountered with the flat block is it looked too long in the length, especially the scye depth. This is partly where art meets technical design. Most infant bodices are drafted intentionally above the waist. Proportionally it just looks better. Until about age 3 a child's waist falls half-way on the body. Interior designers, architects, fashion, etc., use the golden mean or 1 to 3 proportion. This is something that is almost never mentioned in any pattern drafting instructions for childrenswear. The instructions always have you draft the back neck to the true waist I am sure they neglect to mention this because every designer decides where exactly their waist line will fall. Generally speaking this waistline can fall anywhere from 1-2" above the natural waist. This practice is used on nearly all childrenswear up to age 16, especially on any infant casual clothing and girl's dresses. Casual boys wear mimics the proportions of adults as they get older. Confusing, huh!

When drafting the basic blocks it is important to decide on what kind of product you are going to make. Who knew so many decisions have to made so far ahead in product development?!

I don't really like Aldrich's flat blocks. Even with adjusting the waist line, the scye depth is too long, IMO. Instead, I flipped ahead and drafted her classic block. The classic block is drafted to fit closer to the body and is used in formal wear. To me this is a better place to start. The armhole and neck shapes look better. The flat block can later be extrapolated from the classic. If I understand Aldrich correctly, the flat block is a method used in the children's business where the front and back bodice pieces are essentially the same shape, except for the necklines. By starting with the classic block, you can then add your own additional ease and modify the neck and armhole shaping that makes sense to you.

My next project is to draft the classic block without ease and make my own children's dress form. I read about a similiar proceedure at Vintage Sewing. With the cost of dress forms, I thought this might be a more economical solution and I would have a form with my measurements. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Children's Sizing and Measurement Standards Vary by Company

After studying and comparing all of my size charts collected from various sources I have come to realize the search for a good standard may be in vain. Here is just a brief example of one meausurement and how it varies among pattern drafting manuals and retailers.

Size 8 child: Major US Retailer
Bicep (inches) : 7.75
Recommended Ease : 1.5-2.0
Draft Line : 9.25-9.75

Size 8 child: Armstrong
Bicep (inches): 8.125
Recommended Ease : 2.875
Draft Line: 11

Size 8 child: Mortimer-Dunn
Bicep (inches): 8.75
Recommended Ease: 1.5-2.0
Draft Line : 10.25-10.75

Size 8 child: Dressform Co.
Bicep (inches): 7.75
Recommended Ease : 1.5-2.0
Draft Line : 9.25-9.75

As you can see there is quite a range in measurements. To fit the most average child, it is best to fall in between the range. But it still begs the question of who is correct? The Armstrong measurement is especially suspect because she recommends far too much ease in her drafting measurement.

For my new blocks, I have decided to use the Aldrich charts. She has statistical data to backup her charts. The US retailer and dressform co. charts are based off of the 1977 study and have been adjusted/updated over the years. I don't know where Armstrong and Mortimer-Dunn got their measurements, but their numbers seem odd. As far as I can tell, Aldrich is fairly close to the Major US Retailer. I am currently in the process of converting her measurements over to inches, to the nearest 1/8". This introduces an error into her measurements, but I am most comfortable using those units. Once I fine tune and tweak the numbers so they look right and are easy to work with, I will then compare my charts to those above and make sure I fall somewhere in the range. And I am still toying with the idea of working in metric anyway. I am unsure how my US customers would respond...

The next step is to draft some basic blocks and sew-up a fit sample.

My sources:
Major US Retailer - Kept confidential. Their size charts were last updated in 1981.

Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong (5th edition) - her third edition has an even larger measurement for a Size 8 bicep and still too much ease. I have no idea about the fourth and fifth editions.

Pattern Design for Children's Clothes by Gloria Mortimer-Dunn - the book shows basic pattern drafting skills but her size charts are a bit odd.

Dressform Co. - kept confidential, but they have one of the better charts I have seen for infants.

Metric Pattern Cutting for Children's Wear and Babywear (4th edition) - the best book by far. I have not cited her bicep measurement because I am still studying her charts.

A brief review of Metric Pattern Cutting for Children's Wear and Babywear

I finally received a copy of Winifred Aldrich's book on pattern cutting for children. I have never created my own blocks for children as I relied on my employer's existing pattern blocks. In college and in my first employment, I used Helen Armstrong's patternmaking book. The Armstrong book completely skips over infant sizes - at least in my edition of the book. Just about any patternmaking manual will give basic instructions on how to draft a pattern. The problem is the drafting instructions do not give you the correct measurements or proportions for an infant. Aldrich's book is an exception and starts off with basic drafts for infants. So now that I have this book, I finally feel like I can make progress on developing my own pattern blocks for children.

I am accustomed to American sizing and Imperial measurements. Aldrich is from Great Britain and she uses British fashion terms and metric measurements. I have to read things very closely and study the charts carefully to understand the things she is talking about. Despite that, the book is excellent. I can sit at the feet of a master pattern cutter and learn from her years of experience and wisdom.

I have yet to decide on making my blocks using the metric system or not. I may use her drafting methods and substitute my own imperial measurements. I have one measurement chart based off the US measurement study done in 1975 and I keep going back to it. Plus, I like the way she has broken down infant/toddler sizing to reduce redundant sizing. I will blog more about this topic later.

The book includes data from Aldrich's own measurement study on children's sizes. And surprisingly, her measurements are not dissimilar from a British government study released in 1988-1989. The British (and really the EU)  designate children's sizes based on height with age being a reference. There are many advantages to such a system. Again, more about that later.

2019 note: Links are Amazon affiliate links. When I wrote this, I referred to an earlier edition of both Winifred Aldrich and Armstrong's books. Links are to newer editions for the reader's convenience.

Sizing Up Children pt. 2 : How to find size charts for children

"The problem is children’s clothing manufacturers cling to their 30+ year old size charts. They protect their sizing information like a trade secret (not uncommon in every segment of the fashion biz). And while major studies are being done on men and women, they are not being done on children. (If I am wrong, please let me know)."

After doing some more reading at fashion-incubator, I discovered I am only half right. The 30 year old study on children's measurements done in 1975/1977 is publically available here: Anthropometric Data of Children. This is the data that most manufacturers continue to use. Since it is freely available, there is not much incentive to change. I have been using size chart information based on this data for at least 10 years because this is what the companies I worked for used. To be fair, it is still fairly good information.

Another source for sizing information is available from ASTM International. Kathleen Fasanella at fashion-incubator.com lists the documents to search for at her blog: How to obtain sizing and grading info. This data set is updated about every five years or so. Even though the data information is priced fairly, you still need to buy 3 charts to cover all children infant through teenagers, a price of about $90. The other thing to consider when purchasing from ASTM is that you only license the information. Be sure to read the license agreement! You are given permission to download on one computer and print out only ONE copy of the charts. You also give permission to ASTM to come and inspect your company computer and materials at any reasonable time to ensure you are complying.

As a small company, I do not like this license agreement. What if I have two or three technical designers who need access to this chart? My costs for this information multiplies! Plus, who wants to allow some other company/organization to come in and inspect your premises at will?! I wonder if ASTM has ever tried to enforce their license?

I also don't like the propriatary nature of the data. The only way to get cooperation from businesses to standardize is to make the information available for free. I realize as an organization they need to make money to support a needed role. But they could take a hint from other opensource projects and raise money by donation or some other model.

Because of the difficulty with ASTM, I now understand why companies continue to use 30 year old data.

Sizing Up Children and shopping difficulties

In the March 2006 issue of Redbook magazine, Melissa Schweiger attempts to explain the difficulty of creating women’s fashion. The disparity in body shapes, weights, and sizing is an evolving and complex task. Fashion companies each create their ideal customer and manufacture clothing based on specific sizing. But all too often women fall in between sizing or have different proportions. Many women have to try on a mountain of clothes to find something that finally fits.

Schweiger makes some interesting points about the changing shape of American women. Many of these ideas also apply to children’s fashion and sizing. Below, I highlight some key points:

Arbitrary Sizing

Each manufacturer develops their own sizing system. In women’s fashion the sizing numbers are relatively standard. For example, the sizes run 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and so on. In infant clothing, the sizing varies from label to label. One place will size 0-3, 3-6. 6-9, 9-12, 12-18, 18-24. Another will size 0-9, 9-12, 18-24. Some simply place a label with corresponding weight such as 19-26lbs. Stores like the Gap hand out info cards to help the consumer determine the right size.

After determining one size for one label, you will be out of luck at the next store. A 6-month-old baby can easily wear any size labeled 6-18mo. The added difficulty of fitting a baby is that they get fussy. If you can’t stand trying on 10 pairs of pants, imagine an infant after one pair.

Changing Shapes

According to this article, American women have changed. They are a bit taller and heavier. American women are more ethnically diverse. The challenge for manufacturers and designers is to design a product that fits a more diverse range of people. Some are making attempts, some refuse.

The general consensus among children’s fashion professionals is that children are changing along with their parents. They are taller and heavier, and more ethnically diverse. Childhood obesity and inactivity play a part in changing shapes.

The problem is children’s clothing manufacturers cling to their 30+ year old size charts. They protect their sizing information like a trade secret (not uncommon in every segment of the fashion biz). And while major studies are being done on men and women, they are not being done on children. (If I am wrong, please let me know).

Shopping for children who fall outside of the norm has tremendous difficulty. Plus sizes for children are not stocked in many stores, despite the apparent increasing demand. And if there is truly a demand for children’s plus sizes, it is hard to gauge. Children in this category move to adult sizes much more quickly.

Overall, this magazine article was an interesting review of the difficulty faced by clothing manufacturers. Well worth the read if you have wondered why you can’t find anything that fits.
Additional ideas and fitting information can be found at http://www.fashion-incubator.com.

Hawaiian Paradise Line

About six months ago, I had worked on a design project for a friend of mine, Scott, to be placed in his store Blackpearl Designs. His store specializes in Hawaiian products such as pareos (sarongs or lava lavas, jewelry, Tahitian candles, etc.). I had fabric left over from that first project sitting in my design studio. It has been staring at me for months.

The fabric is truly special. Scott, also a graphic designer, custom designed this fabric for his pareos. The fabric is first dyed and then screen printed by hand in Indonesia. It is exclusively available from him. Scott's fabrics are the blue and gold on the left below. He also has a red and green shown further below. I bought some additional Hawaiian prints that are pretty too.



Nothing is more dangerous than leaving really cool fabric laying around in a design studio. It practically screams at you to do something with it. Since I design children's clothing, I didn't think the fabric would be suitable for my customers. That is until I tried it anyway. What has come out is a line of really fun girl's sundresses in 6 colors and sized 0-3M to 24M. Each colorway is limited in quantity and sizing.

Here is a sneak preview:

As you can see, we are still in the middle of production and we are working as fast as possible to have them ready by April 1st. The dresses will have flower pins or headbands as accessories. You can currently buy pareos or fabric in Scott's store (hurry, they are selling fast!). These dresses would make a great mother-daughter combo for your Hawaiian vacation.

And if you can't get enough pictures, here is a sneak peak at one of our cute models wearing our red dress:

Springtime Lilacs Dress

The story of this design is rather simple. I picked up the fabric in New York city in April 2001. I was in love with lavendar at the time, but lost interest when I got home. Five years later, I finally was inspired to turn this into a baby sundress. I had developed a line of beautiful baby clothes with hand embroidery at my last employer. Unfortunately that line was dropped. I am now bringing it back with the embroidery design on this dress. I added a matching hat as an accessory.

Dress description: One of a kind. Size 3 mo. Bias ties for straps. 2 inch deep hem (can easily be lengthened). The skirt has a full 60" sweep. 100% Linen. Dry Clean. The dress is exactly the same in the back, minus embroidery. Made in USA.

A close-up of the embroidery on the dress and hat.

Fitting Frustrations

Sitting in one of my pattern drafting classes in design school, my professor tried to explain common fitting dilemmas.

"No one is a perfect pattern size!" said Dr. S, referring to the measurements on the back of a pattern envelope from one of the big pattern companies.

And yet, I was an exception. I could pull out a pattern and a tape measure and my measurements would match up exactly with one of the sizes. I did not pay too much attention to my measurements because I could make up any pattern and have it fit relatively well. I only paid half attention to what Dr. S. said. After all, I "was" a perfect pattern size.

That was until ten years later. After frustration and disappointment, I have had to rediscover patternmaking and proper fit. I can no longer just make up a pattern and have it fit properly. Seams do not lay straight, hems are uneven, darts are in the wrong place. It has almost been enough to stop making clothes for myself.

Working in the fashion industry, I could rely on standard size patterns and dress forms. What’s more, I have been designing children’s clothing. Children’s bodies are relatively straight. No need to worry about bulges and curves. I could whip out a pattern and sew up a sample in an afternoon. Tweak and grade it a couple of hours later. It was a breeze.

Now I am attempting to sew for myself again. It is amazing that I could even find the occasional hour to re-explore a personal hobby. But somehow my body has changed. I am relatively fit and thin and have been most of my life. And yet, I have more curves. My clothes fit differently. I have gained and lost the typical weight that comes with the holidays. A few wrinkles and gray hairs later, I have realized that I am a different person.

I should have realized this when I have had to go shopping for jeans. I used to be able to try on one pair of jeans, just about anywhere, and have it fit. Now I have to travel to about 8 stores and try on several pairs of jeans. The discount stores never carry my size - the jeans are usually too short for my tall frame or are sized for thin teenagers. The department stores either sell out of my size or want $150. It is a hit or miss with catalogs, but I have had more success ordering pants that are long enough. Yes, I am a different person.

Now I face a sewing dilemma. If I make something for myself, using my time and money, it has to look good, fit, and last a long time. That means I can’t gain or lose weight. Curves have to stay where they are. What if I have a baby and my body shape changes again? What if by some miracle I motivate myself to start my exercise regime and my body changes shape again? And so goes the debate about sewing for myself.

As I pull out Dr. S’s book on fitting and pattern alteration, I admit I am a fitting neophyte. With trepidation, I am relearning and refining a lost skill. Things I had learned in theory actually have direct application to me. With my measurements falling all over the map, I realize I am no longer a "perfect" pattern size. And yet, all of this is a "perfect" motivation to keep on stitching (and fitting!).