Process: Summer Assignment #1 Drafting and Draping

I started drafting the pattern for the final dress by covering the entire dress form in plastic wrap and then again in blue painter's tape. Afterwards, I pulled up some anatomical reference photos, grabbed a paint pen, and drew on the individual style lines of the garment based on the muscles of the human body. Although this technique would be frowned upon in a couture house, it helps ensure that the garment fits to the body as perfectly as possible. With so many complex pattern pieces, notably the abdominals, I didn't want to take any chances with fit.

From there, I made a "mock-up" of the pattern using a cheap cotton to ensure that all the pieces fit together nicely. After double-checking the pattern, I cut out each piece twice (for both sides of the body) in the final taffeta fabric. Sewing the bodice together with the taffeta was a struggle, as the fabric tended to fray and pucker. In attempt to fix these issues, I used French seams to sew parallel and perpendicular lines together and ironed the fabric multiple times before and after sewing.

Although I drew pattern pieces for the pectorals, glutes, and biceps on the dress form, they didn't transfer well onto paper due to their steep curves and volume in comparison to the other, flatter pieces. I tried adding darts to force the fabric into the right folds, but unneat folds and wrinkles persisted. In the end, I decided to just drape these three sections of the dress directly onto the bodice, using the taffeta.