Let's draft together the pattern of this pencil dress.
It has cuts that fit perfectly an hourglass silhouette, and a flattering neckline and bodice shape.
It is also perfect as an exercise on dart manipulation: one is changed into a cut, one into a stitched pleat, the skirt dart is divided into three darts.
The perfect fabric is a medium weight one with a small stretch, as crepe, crepe satin, ponte...
Start from a fitted basic block with zero or negative wearing ease, according to the fabric you are using and to the fit you like.
You can learn our method for drafting perfectly made to measure basic blocks (contoured ones, and the ones with wearing ease) and for fitting them in our basic blocks course/module 1. You will learn in depth also how to manipulate darts, add volumes and a lot of pattern transformations that will take your pattern making skills to a higher level.
A full explanation on cups, corsets and much more is covered in our basic blocks course/module 2.
Start from bodice.
On back and front draw the shoulder strap by moving the armhole 2-3cm inward, then making the strap 4-5cm wide.
On back, square across the center at armhole height. Then erase the dart and discard it half from center and half from side.
On front, reduce the waist dart and discard half of it from side (to make the side as slanted as the back one), then draw the front neckline. Then widen the bust dart by 1cm at the neckline.
Cut through all lines to separate the pieces.
On front bodice draw the style line: it starts 4-6cm below armhole, passes through bust point, makes a right angle 3-4cm before center front and ends in the neckline 1cm before center.
Cut through the waist dart and the style lines.
Separate the front bodice pieces:
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