Pattern and cutting

The national dress model: the yoke is oval, the sleeves straight and short, the skirt straight and long, the neckline round to match the yoke, with set-in gathers decorating around the yoke. Order of modelling: 1) on the back and front pieces the shoulder and bust darts are closed and moved to the yoke line; 2) the neckline is widened and deepened to match the model picture – a little at the back, more at the front; 3) extra width is added to the front and back skirt so it can be gathered onto the yoke, slightly more at the front. Modelling is done first in a notebook at 1:4 scale, then on millimetre paper; patterns are cut along the resulting lines: front skirt, back skirt, front yoke, back yoke, sleeve. Preparing the pattern for cutting: 1) write the piece name; 2) write the number of parts; 3) mark the grain direction; 4) mark folds; 5) write the seam allowance to be left on the fabric; 6) check the lengths of the pieces that join (front and back neckline, shoulder, armhole, side edge, sleeve seam and yoke edge) and their match. Pattern paper is cut with scissors: hold sharp scissors away from your eyes, the paper flat on the table and fingers out of the blades’ path. When done tidy up paper scraps.