Bodice Sloper

This lesson will teach you how to drape the basic bodice. This introductory lesson would
be the first draping lesson that you would complete if you were studying at a fashion
college.

This lesson incorporates all of the fundamental pre-draping procedures, including

measuring the dress form to prepare your muslin blocks, measuring, tearing, blocking
and pressing your muslin pieces and the importance of adding guidelines for balancing
the grain as you drape. You will learn how to manipulate the muslin on the dress form to
create your 3D draped pattern and then how to mark the drape before transferring it to
the table for trueing. In addition to learning how to drape, you will learn all about the
tools and how to use them, so that the result is a perfect fitting bodice sloper.

This sloper can later be used as the foundation for many of your pattern making projects
or you can attach the bodice to a skirt to create a cute dress style.

MODULE 1 • PREPARE THE DRESS FORM

STEP DESCRIPTION

1 Apply style tape to your dress form to establish the bust level. Tape from
center front to the side seam.

2 Then on the back at the shoulder blade level, which is 1/4 th the distance
from your neckline and waistline, tape from the center back to the
armhole ridge. Be sure that both guidelines are parallel to the floor.

MODULE 2 • EXTRACT MEASUREMENTS

STEP DESCRIPTION

1 To prepare your front muslin block, measure across the bust level from
STEP DESCRIPTION

center front to side seam and add 4” (10.2cm). This will be the width of
your front block.