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Tag: Bodice

Nape to Waist Length, Nape to Bust Line Length

The Nape to Waist Length measurement is, basically, the length of material needed to cover the front of the body from the bottom of the neck down to the waist.  It is a crucial to take this measurement correctly if one has any hope of drafting a bodice that fits correctly over the bust without riding up at the waist. Nape to Bustline Length tells us where the bust line is situated on the torso, and is also crucial to drafting patterns.

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Neck to Shoulder Length

The Neck to Shoulder Length is crucial to making shifts, jackets, bodices, doublets, and basically any other garment with a fitted shoulder and/or a sleeve that sits at the point of the shoulder.  If your Neck to Shoulder Length is off, your finished garments will always look droopy-in-the-shoulder (too long) or have that entirely unflattering Ack!-my-sleeves-are-attacking-my-head effect (too short).  The first case, the drop shoulder, comes in and out of fashion, but the second is pretty universally regarded as a bad idea….

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Armscye to Waist

The Armscye to Waist measurement, sometimes called the Side Length, is important for properly fitting bodices, jackets, blouses, or any other fitted torso garment.  Properly used, it helps us create garments that don’t wrinkle or poof at the sides of the torso.  The Armscye to Waist measurme becomes critical in boned bodices and corsets, because it prevents garments that dig in to the waist or armpits – problems that are uncomfortable at best, and leave scars at worst…

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Armscye, Front/Back Armscye

The Armscye measurement, loosely defined, is the size of the hole you need to put into a bodice, shirt, doublet, etc in order for your arm to fit through.  I suspect that many people guess on this point, and tend to guess large.  For many periods of history, including the Elizabethan era, however, the armscye measure needs to be fairly precise to help create the long, unbroken torso seen in period artwork.

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Underbust, Front/Back Underbust

The Underbust measurement isn’t as famous as the bust or waist, which is sort of a shame, I feel.  The Underbust is the measurement of the ribcage, directly below the bust.  Aside from being a crucial measurement for making modern bras fit, it’s important for underbust style corsets, some styles of later-era long line corsets, regency fashion, and even modern baby-doll styles.  Here’s how to take the measurement accurately….

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Waist, Front/Back Waist

There seems to be some confusion these days as to where waists are located.  Taking a waist measurement at the proper place is a crucial step in pattern making, especially for historical periods that emphasized the waist as a central point of the feminine silhouette.  We’re going to talk about the right way to take a waist measurement, as well as some “cheats” for specific body shape issues.

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