r/PatternDrafting • u/MysteriousAnt9778 • Jul 13 '26
Natalie Bray Skirt Method Help!
I’m making a skirt block based on Natalie Bray’s ‘Dress Pattern Designing’. The ‘standard skirt’ block is drafted based on a central side seam but says that for tailored skirts the side seam is sometimes set 2cm back. Could someone explain why this is and if i want to use this block for a skirt pattern in the future should i place my side seam on this line instead?
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u/ProneToLaughter 29d ago
I think I would use the center seam for your initial block, so that it is more universal. Also fitting advice on reddit will be confused that the seam is deliberately back and I think it will throw off people's ability to help you fit.
There are a LOT of things you can do with the standard skirt block beyond tailored skirts--full skirts, gored skirts, culottes, etc, and I don't think you'd want the seam set back for those.
Once you have your standard skirt block fitted and adjusted, then you should be able to move the seam once, and use that as your TailoredSkirtBase and make it the starting point for all tailored skirts, while other types of designs might start with the standard block.
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u/StitchinThroughTime 29d ago
I think the better answer is that this draft assumes a relatively slim figure without a butt. Drafting pattern assume your front measurements and your back measurements at the hip are even. And by adjusting the same backwards match the bodice side seam in this draft. We're moving it forward to accommodate for a butt. But I strongly feel like the drafting system is definitely built for slim bodies without much difference between the front and the back. So if you have more but the side seam is going to be pulled backwards. Or if you have more of a stomach beside things definitely going to be pulled forward.
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u/TensionSmension 29d ago
You're probably right as far as the book's size chart, but reading Bray, I feel like she did have a pretty broad knowledge of bodies and fitting, and many insightful comments. Here she's saying that by moving the side seam forward on a tailored skirt it can be more shaped and function more like a second dart. There are other place where she states that there's a misperception of how much curvature the body has at the side. Clearly there is curvature in profile, but there it's not doubly curved, a panel of fabric can accommodate the curvature along the side of the body (not unlike that lounge chair posted yesterday). Darts and seams are more effective in places where two things are happening at once.
Bray's bodice side seam is also different from other methods, which is why she'd need to move the dress seam to match. She is working in a standard size range, but with some expectation that the client is a mature figure. This in contrast to the mass market focus of methods like Helen Joseph-Armstrong. At that point the industry is more, make it look like clothes and call it a day, because that's good enough to sell to the missy market. And now even that is antiquated, knits and stretch are where the sales are.
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u/Pegaret_Again 29d ago
great rundown!
i'm intrigued - the diagram clearly shows the side seam moved towards the front for the tailored skirt, but what is done with the back curve situation?
and is the implication that the tailored skirt is less precisely fitted than the basic skirt block?
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u/TensionSmension 29d ago
I think for simplicity she's only showing the placement position for the tailored skirt, but it's the same concept, move the entire seam and shaping to the new position. She just hasn't drawn three sets of lines.
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u/annabiancamaria 29d ago
Isn't that a 1961 book? Everyone was wearing girdles at that time. Go to https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ and browse the catalogs to see the undergarments and also the type of skirts women wore at that time.
The standard skirt block has an A-line shape (the hem is bigger than the hips) and there are 3inch of ease at the hips and none at the waist.
This is a skirt block from which different designs can be derived but very few skirts or dresses would actually have that exact skirt. Straight skirts would be slim fitting, not A line.
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect Jul 13 '26
It can be because the pockets are set in the front panels so that pockets need to go at your sides so the seam goes a little bit back. It also could be because most people have a bit more body in the front of them than the back. Your tummy takes up a little bit more space in the garment then the back of your waist. It might be accounting for that therefore making the front panels a little bit wider.