Tag Archives: Crash Course

More information included in the full books!  The terms of usage for my tutorial. Please leave all copyright information in place and do not sell this Pattern Drafting Crash Course. If you want to link to it please go ahead but also let me know so I may link back. Any and all patterns you make using this information are yours and you may sell them just not my “How To Do It”. Please if you do sell the patterns made from this or any of my books, place a small note somewhere that you used my Pattern Drafting Crash Course or my books Pattern Making for Dolls and Pattern Drafting For Miniatures and list my URL or e-mail. This is a very small thing to do for me and otherwise I give the Pattern Drafting Crash Course freely with no expectations that you will buy the books or anything from me. Please feel free to drop me a line telling me what you used the Pattern Drafting Crash Course for or if you used it to make a pattern and sold it. I like to hear about your success!

This tutorial  was originally created in 2000-2001 and tested on my daughter at about a year old (she’s 13 now). I have also used this tutorial to draft for a doll as small as 1/2″ tall of course using magnifying glasses and a very sharp pencil! This is a preview of the techniques used in Pattern Making for Dolls and Pattern Drafting For Miniatures which were originally sold as hard copy books, moved to CD and finally are now available only in PDF as an instant download. Included in this tutorial series are all the items that will be needed for all the pattern drafts and even some of the items that will be needed for the stylization in following sections of the full book. Please feel free to draft patterns and critique anything you find that doesn’t work quite right for you. Please also remember the full book covers ladies clothing and babies clothing too along with stylization and construction tips and techniques. If you pass this on to anyone else please remember to give me credit and point them to my website or contact information. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have regarding my technique. … Continue reading →

Glossary of Terms Abdomen- area between the waist and hips around the belly button area Abdomen arc- 1/4 of the total circumference of the fattest part Apex- the doll’s nipple if she has one or the tip of her breast Arc- 1/4 of complete circumference measurement Banana dart- a dart that looks like a straight up and down banana Basic block- your pattern that you drafted from your measurements it has no design to it Bias grain- the diagonal of the fabric and your grain line is lined up with it for a different drape Blend- making separate lines look like 1 continuous one Bust- chest level on a child or man or the breasts of a lady doll Bust arc- the distance from the flat ribs below the bust to the apex Bust bridge- distance between apexes Cap ease – difference between cap and armhole measurement Cap- height distance from biceps to cap at center Center back- center of the back usually where there would be a spine Center front -center of the front of a doll where there would normally be a breast bone Circumference- distance around somewhere Cloth body- the body is made of cloth and is very soft and huggable. Composition body- the body I made of a plastic … Continue reading →

Waist To Ankle (Inseam) Waist Arc Crotch Depth Hip Depth Outseam 1) Side seam- pants length. Square out at top & bottom to both sides 2) Side hip depth- measure down and square out to both sides 3) Crotch depth- measure down from top crotch depth and square out to both sides 4) Waist to knee- square out to both sides 5) Center back- formula: waist arc + dart intake (see Miniature Draft Chart) + ease (see Miniature Draft Chart) 6) Back hip arc- from center back towards side seam 7) Back hip depth- from hip line measure up and mark 8 ) Crotch bisect- at crotch level bisect (45° angle) and mark out according to Miniature Draft Chart) 9) Crotch curve- using your French curve draw a curve from the mid-point to the crotch line touching the tip of the bisect 10) ) Hip- Draw in hip line with French curve 11) Center front- formula: waist arc + dart intake (see Miniature Draft Chart) + ease (see Miniature Draft Chart) 12) front hip arc- from center front towards side seam 13) Back hip depth- from hip line measure up and mark 14) Crotch bisect- at crotch level bisect (45° … Continue reading →

Here is a continuation of the Pattern Drafting Crash Course. A basic straight skirt and a bonus fuller skirt. Measurements Needed Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Miniature Draft Chart Waist Arc Hip Depth Front Back Hip Arc Side Hip Depth 1) Skirt Length- side seam 2) Side or Back Hip Depth (whichever is deeper)- square out to either side to the left back hip arc and to the right front hip arc 3) Back Hip Arc- at top square out back hip arc 4) Center Back- square out back hip arc at bottom and then connect from top to bottom to form center back 5) Back Hip Depth-Should be only slightly shorter than side hip depth, mark in. If you used Back Hip Depth in step 2 use Hip Depth here. 6) Back Waist Arc- from center back line towards side seam Formula: waist arc + ease (see Miniature Draft Chart) 7) Hip Line- curve from mark to hip level 8 ) Waist Line- curve from back hip mark to hip 9) Front … Continue reading →

Torso Skirt Check to be sure your skirt and bodice waists are the same and adjust slightly if necessary Trace your bodice front except for the waist. Only mark where it is Line up the center front/back of the bodice and skirt and the side seams. Trace the skirt. Blend the waist. Repeat for back with side seam allowance Torso Pants Check to be sure your pant and bodice waists are the same and adjust slightly if necessary Trace your bodice front except for the waist. Only mark where it is. Line up the center front/back of the bodice and pant and the side seams. Trace the pant. Blend the waistline. Repeat for back

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Miniatures Chart Measurements Miniature Doll Chart The chart on this page is a list of all the measurement amounts for places within the drafting instructions that say ‘see chart’. It is divided so that you can find the right measurement for your size doll that you may currently be working with and use the correct numbers for the step you are on. Most are for all the different types of dolls but one or two are for specifically just lady dolls or just babies and say so in the doll column. The chart is for just the drafts of the basic blocks – bodice, sleeve, skirt, and pants for the lady, child, baby and man sections in section I. Separate charts will be in later sections for other measurements as needed. Pattern Piece Doll Size Measurement Amount Bodice 6-10″ Ease 3/16   1:12 or 1″ Scale   1/8   1:24 or 1/2 Scale   1/16 Skirt 6-10″ Skirt Ease 1/4   1:12 or 1″ Scale   1/4   1:24 or 1/2 Scale   1/8 Pants 6-10″ Pant Ease 1/4   1:12 or 1″ Scale   1/4   1:24 or 1/2 Scale   1/8

Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Miniature Draft Chart. Sleeve Length Finger Span Upper Arm Sleeve Cap Bottom Marks Wrist Sleeve Cap Top Marks 1) Sleeve length-Otherwise referred to as center 2) Cap height-1/3 of sleeve length marked and squared out from the top, 1/2 of the upper arm measurement 3) Wrist or finger span-Mark out 1/2 of the wrist or finger span (whichever is larger) to either side of center 4) Sleeve sides-Connect cap height to wrist level, forming the sides of the sleeve. 5) Sleeve cap bottom marks- 1/8 of upper arm measurement marked from the outside in and up according to Miniature Draft Chart for your size doll 6) Sleeve cap top-Square out to either side 7) Sleeve cap top marks – Using the same 1/8 of upper arm from the bottom marks, mark from the center out and down according to the Miniature Draft Chartfor your size doll. 8 ) Sleeve cap mid marks- Measure diagonally from the tips of the small marks and divide in half. Mark. 9) Sleeve cap curve- … Continue reading →

Here is the start of the actual drafts. You will need to reference the Miniature Draft Chart for the ease necessary for the draft. Right now I am waiting for the Miniature Draft Chart to post and will update the links to it after it does! Measurements Needed Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Miniature Draft Chart Full Length – Front Back Waist Arc Shoulder Slope Side Seam Length Across Shoulder Side Seam Allowance Center Length – Front Back Mid-armhole Mark Ease 1) Full Length- a straight line the length of your full length measurement 2) Across Shoulder- from the top of the full length line across the amount of your across shoulder measurement 3) Guideline- square down approximately 1/2 of the full length amount 4) Center Length- measure from the bottom of the full length line up and square in approximately 1/2 of across shoulder measurement 5) Shoulder Slope-from bottom corner to guideline 6) Shoulder- from tip of shoulder slope to across shoulder 7) shoulder to center length guideline and bisected (for bisect … Continue reading →