Making the pattern block for Recycled Ruffle Strap Dress

Here is how I approached the construction of the pattern block required for my Recycled
Curtain Ruffle Strap Dress. I already had the bodice block done up prior to this project,
which I had been using to make multiple outfits.

I used a CAD program to draw up the block so it was a lot easier, so if you know how to
use a CAD program then I would definitely recommend it. Plus you can just print out to
scale, which is quite handy!

I have had no formal training for pattern-making or even in general sewing, so please
excuse any wrong terminology or if there are better and easier ways for some steps, and I
would love some feedback. Minor tweaking was required after I made this block, but
nothing major should be needed.

Anyways, here goes!
1. Make note of the dimensions needed. All measurements are horizontal or vertical
with no funny angles, though the image can be a little confusing.
Now, unless you are as light as I am around the chest region, I would recommend
that you wear a bra when taking measurements.



You will need:
Chest measurement I measured just above the nipples
Under bust chest measurement
Waist measurement Smallest part of your torso
Waist to top of bra line on the side seams Name it SIDE SEAM
between P1(top of bra line) to P2 Name it B-TOP
between P2 and P3(to the centreline) Name it B-INNER
between P2 and P5 Name it B-OUTER
between P2 and P4 Name it B-UNDER
between P4 and centreline Name it B-FRONT-W
between P3 and waist level name it B-FRONT-H
between P4 and waist level Name it W-FRONT SEAM
waist to skirt hemline





1. Make a point on the upper left corner of the page. Mark this point A. From there,
draw a downwards line the distance of B-TOP. Mark this point B.






2. From point B, draw a horizontal line across the distance of half the chest
measurement plus 2m. Name this point C.






3. From point C, draw a line straight up, the distance of A to B.
Mark this point D. Join A to D.


4. From point B, mark the distance of B-INNER, towards point C. From point C
towards point B, mark the distance of B-OUTER. Find the midpoint between the
two points and Draw a line up to line A-B. Name the top point ET, and the bottom
EB.





5. Mark a spot from B towards A, the distance of 1/4 of A-B, and name F. From this
point, create a very slightly curved line to EB. Mark a point from C towards D,
the distance of 1/8 of the D-C line and name the point as G. Make a note of the
measurements F-B and G-C, as you will need it later.




6. From ET, mark towards point D, the distance of 1/8 of ET-D. Name this point H.




7. Measure 15mm up from F and name I. Measure 20mm up from G and name J.






8. Create the top of the bust by joining H to I, and H to J with shallow curves.
These lines can be tweaked later, according to preference of the shape.







9. You can now remove the rest of the lines to form the block for the top of the bust.


10. On a fresh page, make a mark on the upper left corner. This will be point A. From
there, draw a straight line down the distance of the F-B measurement from step 6.
Name this point B.





11. From B, draw a line down the distance of B-FRONT-H + 2mm. Name the point
C. Then from C, draw a horizontal line across the distance of B-FRONT-W +
2mm. Name as D. Draw a vertical line up from D, then across to form a rectangle.





12. From point A, draw a line across the distance of B-INNER . From this point, draw
a slightly curved line that mirrors the F-EB line in step 9, down to B.


13. From point F, draw an angled line of the distance of B-UNDER plus 5mm, then
curve the line ever so slightly. To get the correct angle, you will need to pivot the
line from F till the end meets the line E-D. Call this point G.



14. Remove the straight line between F and G, and E and G.
To figure out the measurements for the waist of the bodice, first quarter the under
bust chest measurement. Minus the dimension of B-FRONT-W. You will now
have two dimensions, which you will need to work out the ratio of.

For example, this is how mine went:

Under bust chest measurement = 19
B-FRONT-W = 80mm

So 19-8 = 11
11/9 = 1.22

So the ratio of my two measurements is 1 to 1.22

Now, apply this ratio to divide a quarter waist measurement.

Heres what mine looked like:

Waist = 16.5
Ratio 1:22

16.5/19 x 8 = 6.95 Call this measurement W-FRONT
16.5 6.95 = 9.55 Call this measurement W-SIDE


15. From point C towards D, mark a point of the distance of W-FRONT plus 2mm.
Name this point H. Draw a straight line from H to G.







16. Remove construction lines, and you have completed the second piece of the
contour bust block.



17. On a fresh page, mark a point in the upper left corner. This is your point A.
Draw a line down from point A the distance of F-G from step 15 (B-UNDER +
5mm). Name the second point B. From B, draw a line straight down, the distance
of G-H in step 15. Name this point C.




18. From point C, draw a horizontal line across the distance of W-SIDE + 4mm.
Name the point D. Now, project a line from both A and D, from A the distance of
B-OUTER, and from D, the distance of SIDE SEAM minus 20mm, till the ends
of the two lines meet.



19. From point B, draw a horizontal line of 2mm. Name this point F. Then from F,
create a very slight curve to A. Also from point F, draw a straight line all the way
down till it meets the C-D line. Draw a very slight curve that mirrors EB-G in step
5, from A to E. Remove



20. Remove construction lines and you have your third piece to the puzzle!





21. Now, for the last piece, mark point A on a fresh page. Draw down straight, the
distance of the SIDE SEAM + 2mm. Name point B. Mirror the angle of E-D in
step 18, then mark this distance across from B. Name the point C. Connect A and
C with a straight line. From C, draw a horizontal line across at the distance of
waist measurement + 2mm.


22. From point D, draw upwards the distance of half of the SIDE SEAM + 2mm.
Name the point E. From E, create a slightly concaved curve up to meet point A.





23. Remove construction lines and you have your last piece for the contour bust
bodice. So you should end up with something that looks like this when mirrored.






24. To make a pattern for the straps, first measure from the top of the bra line, over
your shoulder and down to where it meets the back panel. Take the measurement
and draw up a rectangular shape on the paper, with the width being 50mm and the
length being the bra top to back panel dimension + 30mm for the end seams.






25. For the ruffles, first find the radius of the inner circle by dividing the strap length
+ 5mm by two, as you will need two circular ribbons to form the ruffles for each
strap. Divide this measurement by 3.14.



26. Take the radius and add 70mm for the radius of the outer circle. Draw circle from
the same centre as the existing circle.



27. Draw a horizontal and vertical lines that intersect in the circle centre, to divide the
ring into four sections. Remove the lines on the inside circle.



28. Go around and measure each four division line from the inner circle towards the
outer, in the following increments, 10mm, 45mm, 60mm,70mm



29. Connect each point from 10mm to 70mm points.


30. Remove construction lines to finish ruffle pattern.








31. Lastly, to make a block for the skirt, add 12mm to waist measurement then
multiply by four.. Divide this figure by 3.14. With the resulting dimension as a
radius, draw a 45 degree arc. I did this by making a pivot point on the table, tying
a string to it and tying the other end to a pen so that the distance between the
pens nib and the pivot point is the exact measurement of the radius. Do not
disturb the pivot point and drawing, as it will be needed for the next step.




32. Add to the existing radius the dimension of the desired waist to skirt hemline
length. Use this new radius to draw the bottom hemline making sure to pivot from
the original point.



33. Divide half the waist measurement by 16. The resulting measurement will the the
size of each fold that makes up the pleats. Mark up on regular intervals along the
inner edge of the shape. Ensure that the remaining gaps are the same length on
either end. You can now remove the pivot point and construction lines. The
blocked in parts of the markings indicate where the two parts will fold onto
themselves, in either direction.



34. The block is now complete to be used to make a pattern.