Hello guys, i am looking for someone who can help me to create a pattern for a full body catsuit, I am a drama teacher and I have a play in January, the suits we want for the actors will be a full body unitard or catsuit, but it will be made in different types of stretchy materials, from white lycra, to PVC coated stretchy fabric. I would like to get the one that is 10 pieces, (one piece arm, 2 piece legs, torso, back, and crotch pieces I am wondering if anybody, I need the pattern to be fully resizable as we have a wide variety of body types in the play (9 guys) so I need the pattern to work nicely when changing the measurements of the individual, I have spent a fair amount of time trying to figure this out myself but I couldn’t, on the bright side, I have a good understanding of the software now haha. anyway, can someone quote me on this project?
Hello @Maoa2121
Drafting the pattern isn’t a problem, the problem is with the stretch in the fabric. Lycra & PVC coated fabric won’t have the same stretch and different weights of those fabrics will also behave differently, while one or both fabrics will stretch in both directions.
And then… Normally the back & front are in one piece with the legs and a guzzard at the crotch (and sometimes under the arms) to allow for a wider range of movement.
Stretch is always very tricky to draft for, I don’t think 1 pattern will do the trick, especially if you’re working with a wide range of sizes and different fabrics.
I think that the best person to advise you on this is @Douglas, however, there could be someone on the forum who can help you.
For the inexperienced, I believe that “gusset” is the more typical term for that piece.
gusset is the more typical term in American English
The stretch factor in the fabrics will indeed be an issue. I would reccommend you look at the available information from Stuart Anderson, who is a master patternmaker for stretch and dancewear.