Recently I was drafting an off the shoulder shirt and while putting it together I realised that the angle with which the top of the front of the bodice connected to the off the shoulder sleeves didn’t match, or at the very least didn’t make for a smooth transition. (And on the back it created downward triangles). This lead me to have a more general question
When trying to create seamless transitions between patterns is it as simple as making sure that the angles and sizes between patterns align? If so how do you achieve that (considering my sleeve pattern and bodice pattern are in different files).
More specifically, you always sew the top of the sleeve to the armhole of the bodice so I feel like size discrepancies between sleeve and bodice can be easy to overlook.
The general rule of thumb for a smooth transition is that cross seams (or hems) should be at 90 degs to the seam. In the case of curves in Seamly this means making the start and end control points be 90 degs to the seam. More specifically though what matters is that the angle of the 2 sides of a seam add up to 180 degs.
That is a good question. The only solution I see is jotting down the angle and length of the shoulder seam, and draft the sleeve to match. But then I’d have to ask… why have the sleeve(s) in seperate files?
Maybe if I saw some screencaps of what your patterns are like I could make a better suggestion.
These downward triangles could be caused by a node included in the pattern piece which isn’t connected to the curve, or it’s not in the correct order of node selection. Don’t forget to repeat the curve after the node.
If you use this method, it will need to be checked each time the sizes change.
I haven’t done much homework on setting up automatic transitions between pattern files. You mustn’t forget that the smoothness of the transition relies on what went before in the pattern. And since each pattern file is a ‘stand-alone’, even the simplest line at angle that is created from a formula that is based on another line or curve that is taken from a measurement, will cause trouble if that whole draft isn’t in the pattern that it’s based on.
The beauty of Seamly lies in the drafting of patterns that will resize and change the angles according to the measurements file. Some formulas are based on measurements, and some are based on other things that were created using those measurements, and they all need to sync up to get the optimum efficiency from Seamly, which can only be done in a single pattern file.
There will always be small discrepancies because you’re measuring a person, do you always measure each person to the exact same spot? Then, you’re working with fabric which can move, stretch and skew, even if only so slightly that you can’t see it with a human eye. Then there’s the matter of following the lines while cutting & sewing - how accurate is the most experienced person? And then there’s the patternmaking system, the amount of ease, the accuracy of different parts and formulas.
Basically, Seamly will only do what you tell it to, up to producing the pattern. You can put in checks that will show you at a glance that things don’t add up and correct them, but after you’ve produced your pattern, if things don’t add up, then you must go & investigate where it comes from.
Why? Do you have to check each time if the bodice and sleeve were drawn in the same pattern? No. As long as you draft the bodice and sleeve at the same (base?) size the rest of the sizes will resize proportionately. It’s really no different than drafting on paper… then grading.
But again… I’d have to see the pattern pieces to understand what the issue may be.
I took this to mean in a sewn sample? i.e. It’s not hanging correctly?
Only if you have them in different files, then you’ll need to jot down the dimensions with every change in the pattern, because angles and lengths change in subsequent objects created. For instance, a person with a wider bust and a narrower waist, the side seam angle will change, so the angle of the curve handle will change, and just a standard grade between sizes will change the length of the curve handles.
I took it to be in the pattern Goes to show the value of the pictures.
I took it to be in the pattern