Press "Enter" to skip to content

The Basic Conical Torso Block (Part 2)

Now that I’ve got all the photography done, it’s time to pick up where we left off in The Basic Conical Torso Block (Part 1).  We’re completing a basic torso block that we can use for the simplified, conical torsos popular in Renaissance, Elizabethan, Jacobean, Pompadour, Colonial, and all other eras between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth centuries.  (She says, throwing as many keywords into one sentence as humanly possible.)  One block, three hundred years of fashion – how can you lose?

Please note, again, that I am working with a 16″ fashion doll for ease of picture taking (and model time scheduling).  She’s a Tonner/Effanbee Brenda Starr, in case anyone is doll shopping.

Preparing for Fitting

You could simply tape all your little triangles shut, tape a few long strips on to the strap stubs, and try to do the fitting with your nice, floppy piece of paper.  I’d advise against it (even when working with doll sizes) for three simple reasons.  First, all that tape looks a mess.  Secondly, paper is floppy, apt to tear or crease oddly, and generally ill-suited for even the most rudimentary fit-checks.  Thirdly, when we cut out the block, we only cut half of it and didn’t leave any extra for changes to the fit. That will make for some troubles if everything isn’t perfect.  And trust me, things are seldom ever perfect on the first go.  (If I thought it would be, we wouldn’t be talking about fittings, would we?)

You will need the paper block you've been working on, and a large piece of poster board (or some similarly stiff substance).
You will need the paper block you've been working on, and a large piece of poster board (or some similarly stiff substance).
Draw a horizontal line in the center of the poster board.
Draw a horizontal line in the center of the poster board.
Line up the paper block so that the Center Back line is against the horizontal line on the poster board.
Line up the paper block so that the Center Back line is against the horizontal line on the poster board.
Trace around the paper block, and mark the location of the shaping lines.  Flip the block over, line it up, and repeat so that you have one whole, fit-able block.
Trace around the paper block, and mark the location of the shaping lines. Flip the block over, line it up, and repeat so that you have one whole, fit-able block.
Both sides should be symmetrical, and should line up evenly.
Both sides should be symmetrical, and should line up evenly.
Now, go through and connect the marks you made for the shaping lines.  We'll be using these in the future when we alter the block into patterns.
Now, go through and connect the marks you made for the shaping lines. We'll be using these in the future when we alter the block into patterns.
Make certain that the shaping lines are symmetrical on both sides of the block!
Make certain that the shaping lines are symmetrical on both sides of the block!

Next: Adding the straps…

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

10 Comments

  1. Mathilde
    Mathilde June 26, 2010

    The links to pages 2-5 seem to be broken … they all lead back to the start of page 1. (Same for the Part 1 entry).
    :(

  2. missa
    missa June 26, 2010

    Hey, wow, that’s a good point – *all* of my paginated posts are broken. I’m looking into it now.

  3. missa
    missa June 26, 2010

    Aaaaalllllright, then. Fixed. That took entirely too long.
    < civic geekery >
    Note to the collective human knowledgebase known as the web: After upgrading to WordPress 3.0, my permalink structure (/%category%/%postname%/) with my marvelously nested category structure became too much for the wordpress/mod_rewrite engine to handle. Links within paginated posts automatically redirected to the post permalink, and all page information was stubbornly dropped from the link. On the advice of a terribly clever fellow at http://www.weberz.com/blog/2009/06/seo-experts-give-wrong-advice-wordpress-permalinks , I changed my permalink structure to /%year%/%postname%/ – still readable, faster, and most importantly, it fixes the problem.
    </civic geekery>

  4. Mackenzie
    Mackenzie September 4, 2012

    Where do you get such big poster board to do this for human-size? I got the standard size they sell for 99 cents at the pharmacy, and I’m a pretty tiny person, and I can’t do that with the center line. I’m going to be cutting two pieces and taping them together.

    • missa
      missa September 12, 2012

      You can find larger poster board than that at most art stores – (including Hobby Lobby, Blick, Michaels, etc) and any place that caters to students (walgreens, target, kmart, walmart-even-thought-I’m-still-boycotting), and often also at JoAnn’s.

      Hope that helps….

  5. PETA CUNNINGHAM
    PETA CUNNINGHAM December 4, 2017

    THANK YOU so much for sharing your knowledge with us. <3

    • missa
      missa December 4, 2017

      And thank you for reading and commenting! :)

  6. KJ
    KJ September 8, 2022

    Hello! I have no idea if you’re still active but if you are, do you have any tips on how to turn this block into a waistcoat pattern?

    • missa
      missa October 20, 2022

      The specifics depend a lot on the era that the waistcoat is for. In general, though, you’re going to be putting the center front, side front, and possibly side-back pieces together into one panel for the fronts. The center back (or center and side back, if side back was not added to the front panel) will become the back panel. Shaping generally moves to the center front seam, and possibly to the side-back seam.
      That’s actually a really good question. I’ll see if I can get some time to play around with this. :)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.