Replies

1. 
   suesew | May 23, 2007 05:20am | #1

   You would overlay your sloper onto a commercial pattern to see how much ease there is, or to see if the back length is too long or short. You can line up the shoulder lines to see if the darts are pointing at your bust point. You can measure from the shoulder to the waist and from the waist to the hip line to see if the pattern's fullness matches yours. Almost all patterns have the waist marked on them - are you looking at all of the top pieces? Once you get the hang of it, iit can be a quick and hellpful way to check out a new pattern. Be sure you understand "Ease".

2. 
   Teaf5 | May 25, 2007 01:07am | #2

   The waistline mark is usually a horizontal line about 2" long, near the side seam of the front and/or back bodice. The pattern envelope will tell you the back waist length, which is measured down from the center of the neckline (15-17" or so) to the waistline, so you can draw the intended waistline if it wasn't printed. Then match the side seams and continue that line across the front bodice. If the bustline is marked, it's usually a crosshaired circle at the bust apex (you can draw a horizontal line across it to make it more distinctive for comparison to your sloper.) If it is not marked, you can use a ruler to extend the dart(s) lines until they intersect or until they cross the crossgrain (horizontal line) of the bodice to find the manufacturer's bust apex.Ooh, hard to explain in words, but really fairly easy on the pattern!

1. 
   Josefly | May 26, 2007 10:36pm | #3

   "If it is not marked, you can use a ruler to extend the dart(s) lines until they intersect or until they cross the crossgrain (horizontal line) of the bodice to find the manufacturer's bust apex."Can you say more about this? Mentally, I'm trying to extend dart lines, but they intersect each other at the dart point. Are you talking about extending the lines of more than one dart? What am I missing?

2. 
   myca99 | May 30, 2007 12:29am | #4

   Josefly, I think she is saying to extend the center of the bust dart (side seam) and the center of the waist dart (waist line) until they cross at the bust point. Teaf5, that makes sense. I got confused because my jacket pattern has a side front and a center front, and I suspected the princess line was off the bust point. But the dart should point me right to it. Thanks!

1. 
   Josefly | Jun 07, 2007 06:40am | #5

   Oh, that makes sense - don't know why I couldn't see it. Thanks for the explanation.