Make a Pattern for Sewing a simple BODICE TOP.
What is a Bodice ?
It is basically a top, the garment which you wear on the upper part of the body. The method I have described here is a very simple BODICE pattern which you can draft and sew with the bare minimum sewing knowledge. You can experiment with this, give darts or any adjustments you want to it. Add sleeves ( draft different types of sleeves) Change necklines ( Draft different neckline) or any embellishment to make it your own. This is where it starts.
Related posts
How to make a Bodice top
If you are new to sewing checkout this post with many tutorials on tips on learning to sew and many sewing techniques
Checkout this detailed post on taking the basic body measurements . If you would like to know more about reading a tape measure properly checkout this post.
The basic measurements you should take are
Desired length How long do you need the top to be ( add 3 -4 inches to this measurement) Waist length measure from where shoulder meets your neck to the waist Shoulder From where your shoulder meets the neck to the tip of the shoulder bone Bust measurement Around the bust Waist measurement Around the waist Sleeve length Sleeve round Where you want the sleeve to end Neck depth Both front and back. Hip round measure around hip loosely
You can either make the sewing pattern on a paper or draw directly on the cloth with chalk. Start by marking on paper assuming the line A-B is folded cloth . If you are directly marking on the cloth take the two front and back pieces and fold in half and take the folded side as AB in the diagram and start marking
M
ark the neck width A-C ;Neck width can be taken as per this table
| Bust Measurement | Neck width ( inches) | Neck depth (inches) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 2 | 4 |
| 22 | 2 | 4 |
| 24 | 2 1/4 | 4 |
| 26 | 2 1/4 | 4 1/2 |
| 28 | 2 1/2 | 5 |
| 30 | 2 1/2 | 5 1/2 |
| 32 | 2 1/2 | 6 |
| 34 | 2 3/4 | 6 1/2 |
| 36 | 2 3/4 | 7 |
| 38 | 3 | 7 |
| 40 | 3 | 7 |
| 42 | 3 | 7 |
Neck depth ( this is how deep you want the neck to be – Mark the front neck depth and back neck depth); – Mark from C to the line A-B. Front neck depth can be taken as per the above table, Back depth depends on your preference ; If you decide to take front and back neck depth same , lessen the depth by 1/2 inch on both sides to adjust
Mark A- F = (Distance between the shoulder tips divided by two ) + 1/4 inch
Waist length A-E
A-D should be marked as per the below table
Bust measurement inches Armhole depth 26 61/4
28 6 3/4 30 6 3/4 32 7 34 7 1/4 36 7 1/4 38 7 1/4 40 7 1/2 42 7 1/2
Mark G from line A-B = Bust measurement * 2 inches = E-G
Mark P from the line A-B= Waist measurement * 1.5 inches= P-H
Mark I from the line A-B = hip round measurement * 1.5 inches =B-I
Join the line G-H-I to form the sides.
Add 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches seam allowance .
Draw straight line down from F so that it intersects with line G-D . Square up from C & D also.
Mark the back neck . You can take back neck as anywhere between one to three inches. Give a curved shape
From point F on shoulder tip mark down 3/4 inch to point L ( please make this 1/2 inch for kids) Give the shoulder slope by joining the line C-L
Back armhole – Where the lines from F & G intersected (name it K ) go outside ( measure the distance between G& K and divide by two) . Mark the point as J . Make a curved shape of the armhole from L-J-G – this is the back sleeve line.
To mark the front sleeve line Mark from K to the inside 3/4 inch for adults and 1/2 inch for kids. Mark this point as N . Draw up a straight line to L . From N Go outside 3/4 inches diagonally to O as shown in the diagram
Draw a soft curved line touching O from L to G – This is the front sleeve line.( Blue line)
Give the neckline you want – refer here for different necklines
Make sleeves as per the instructions here and you are good to go sewing.
What I do when making this pattern to sew tops is to draw directly on to the cloth with chalk. Both the front piece and the back piece will be kept folded . I will draw the pattern on the top piece ( which finally will turn out to be the front piece), cut out the back sleeve line and neck, remove the back piece ( which is the back piece now) , then continue cutting the front sleeve line and neckline on the remaining cloth with the marking lines already there. This way, no need to mark the front and back bodices seperately .Cut the two pattern pieces and makes sure that the lines drawn are all cut away.
Checkout this tutorial to see how to make facings for the necklines for a clean and neat finish
Do the same for the back neck and front neck.Join the shoulder seams . Checkout the different types of seams you can use in your bodice. Join the sleeves. You can add this to a skirt to make a dress or adopt different design features to make it your own.
I decided to add this bodice to a paneled skirt to make a long gown.
Happy sewing
