The Humble Beginnings of a Sloper

I finally have been inspired to draft a sloper.  For those of you who do not know, a sloper is a basic pattern block of 5 pieces (front bodice, back bodice, front skirt, back skirt, and sleeve) without seam allowances.  From this perfect shell of your body, you can draft ANYTHING! I love my pattern drafting class and I thought, "What better way to practice than to draft my very own sloper."  The back of my book, Patternmaking for Fashion Design (5th Edition), has a personal measurement chart to fill in with every possible measurement!

I followed the directions from the book and started by drawing CF and CB lines down a tight fitting tank top and leggings.  I added bust points and a piece of elastic around my natural waist as a guide.  I had help drawing dots and lines on my neck, back, and shoulders to complete my human dressform look.  My helper measured anything I couldn't measure myself.  39 measurement points with some having 2-4 different measurements.  It took a while, but we just finished.  I'm excited to start by drafting a basic skirt.  I've already done it for class twice and it is very quick and easy.  If I can get it to fit soon, I'm going work on drafting a high-waisted pencil skirt as my first real project! In between my classes, homework, and a possible internship....you know, when I have time...HAHAHA!

To prove that I drew on myself with an emerald green marker:

I photoshopped out the bust point X's.  It looked too pornographic for blog post.

Just a few more followers until my vintage pattern giveaway!  Yesterday we bought 2 huge boxes of older patterns (one box was a dud though) with 60's, 70's, and 80's patterns.  I'll pick some of the nice ones from there and from another stash of patterns we bought a while ago.

Maybe it will coincide with my 1st Blogoversary on April 23rd!