Monday, January 15, 2018

The basic dress block #1


(Download links at the end of the post)

I would love to post here the basic dress block, which is the start of all kinds of dresses. If you are a just a bit familiar with sewing, you may have heard of this already.



When I first started sewing about thirteen years ago, I struggled with drafting a correct basic dress block for my figure because I was just a self-taught designer. I read a lot of designing books, and it finally became easier for me to draft the block for myself (at first, I was only thinking of sewing my own dresses). Gradually, I got more ‘customers’ who were my mother, my sisters, friends and their mothers. They all loved to have the custom-made dresses that I sew for them. Choosing between a dress made exactly for your figure and a store bought one, you know the result!

The hobby then became a small business. At peak time, I had customers waiting for 1 month to get their desired dress. I always draft a personal basic dress block for each of my customers and save it for the next time they come to me. As I had more customers, it took me more and more time to start from scratch, and I understand the feeling of those who must spend a lot of time beginning. That is why I turned to digital designing. And now I just need to input the measurements and print out the blocks. Next, I just need to modify it to make the styles to customer’s ideas.

A basic dress block is surely a great time-saver. From this you can easily modify and create all kind of styles and designs. If you are a newbie, just this block can turn into a great sheath dress! If you are already familiar with designing using blocks, you will find it enjoyable just copying it to drafting paper, then draw and cut them to your ideas. There are a lot of books about pattern drafting, and all of them start with a basic block. You can also find on the Internet a lot of blogs talking about pattern modification – I sometimes take ideas from them. Pinterest is also a good source for ideas – I have a board named Sewing where I put a lot of pictures related to sewing and pattern drafting. Surfing Pinterest has also become one of my favorite leisure time activity!

That’s enough with the blabbing! Now turn to the pattern pieces that I am sharing today!

The basic dress block is, um, up to its name, basic! And it is important – I must say it is the foundation of fashion designing. You cannot have a good dress if you do not have a good basic block – of course there are some dresses that do not require patterns, I will write about them some day.

As I am short and curvy, I love to make petite patterns to share with those who has the same problem with me. That is why this basic dress block is created for both petite size and normal size. It is also created without any seam allowance. When you finish modifying the block, add seam allowance as you love to.

The pattern is created in pdf format using A4 paper. The patterns use the sizes in the size chart here. If your size is different from the one shown in my blog, please comment your measurements below. I will make a pattern closest to your measurements. I can also create the pattern in other paper sizes (A0 to A4, Letter, Tabloid), so please inform me if you need them.

Not sure how to print and cut the patterns? Check the guide here.

Again, happy sewing! I hope to see your masterpiece!
XOXO
Tiên the Little Sewist

Download links for the basic dress block:

Check for your size in the Size Chart before downloading.

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