To the delight of our priceless men, femininity is back in fashion. Lovely ladies are happy to exchange boy's jeans for romantic dresses and light sundresses. Impractical, as many people think, women's wardrobe is gradually returning to the fairer sex, even in the cold autumn-winter season. However, the main difficulty lies in the fact that the chosen model of the dress should be like, okay to sit on the figure and be of good quality.
Of course, you can always spend days or even weeks searching for the right product, but many girls and women go the other way - they sew dresses on their own or in the studio. In the second case, the fashionista does not require almost any effort in order to get the coveted outfit. All the subtleties and nuances of selecting material, setting patterns, cutting and tailoring will take into account the master. It is more difficult for those who do everything on their own, and it is especially difficult for beginner seamstresses, because they need to calculate how much fabric is needed on the dress, take into account its composition and features of the pattern, as well as many other factors. In this article, we will talk specifically about the amount of material that will be needed to create a masterpiece worthy of an Italian catwalk.
Figure Features
Before embarking on sewing the product, the dressmaker must evaluate all the factors that directly affect the final result of her work. Sewing specialists identify three main nuances, which determine how much fabric is needed on the dress:
- product style;
- fabric parameters;
- figure of the model.
Sewing dresses for dolls in childhood was easy and simple - I cut off a piece of an old T-shirt or my mother’s favorite curtains and made myself a perfect piece of fabric for a beautiful dress. In those days, young seamstresses did not particularly care about how much their precious Barbie would be comfortable in the new thing, whether she would wrinkle her dress on her chest or hamper her movements. In the event of failure and lack of material, the missing piece mercilessly cut off all from the same curtain or the style of the outfit changed directly in the course of cutting and sewing.
In real life, the characteristics of the figure of a woman for whom the product is sewn directly affects the calculation of the fabric. So, thin it needs to be acquired much less than ladies with forms. In the same way, short inches can significantly save on the purchase of material, but tall top models of fabric will have to gain more than that.
Big small
For dresses of small sizes with a simple cut, it will be enough to dial one length of fabric plus 20-30 cm for processing sections and hem. Low growth does not always mean minimalism when purchasing supplies. Girls can be short, but full, or have completely non-standard body parameters. For example, it often happens that with narrow shoulders and a small chest, rather thin waist, a woman’s hips are very magnificent, and the seamstress needs to build a dress pattern taking into account such imbalances. In such cases, the top of the product may be smaller, and its bottom will be the same as for a dress of size 54. Then the fabrics must be taken from the calculation of two lengths plus the additional costs of folding and slicing.
It is necessary to consider whether the dress will have a detachable waistline, or if it is one-piece. When the bottom will be sewn separately, there is no point in gaining two lengths of material for the top, you can only get it on the bottom of the product.
Couture Dress
After determining the size of the dress, you need to determine its style. This factor is perhaps the most important, because the coveted outfit, tailored to order, the more valuable it is bought, that it was created taking into account all the requirements of the customer and should be perfect in all respects.
When calculations take place and the question arises of how much fabric is needed on the dress, it is necessary to consider:
- product length;
- the presence of sleeves, a collar, ruffle, flounces, frills, peplum, wedges, train or other asymmetric decorative elements;
- skirt style.
So, if the plans are to sew a simple sheath dress or an outfit on the floor, but with a modest cut and without additional elements, the girl has a miniature set and a fabric of standard width (150 cm), the material will need no more than one length of the product with the addition of a small allowance for the processing of seams and sections.
Flare-down dresses of 54 sizes, sundresses with a wide hem require you to buy a piece of fabric whose length is twice the desired length of the product. Separately, one sleeve length, collar, ruffle and ruffle height are calculated, with the obligatory consideration of the location of the shared thread. In order for the falling parts to fit nicely, they must be properly cut. Sometimes for one narrow part it is necessary to type a piece of fabric in its entire length, if the cut requires it.
Raw material
Well, the last major factor is the width of the fabric. As mentioned above, the standard value of this indicator is 150 cm, but there are exceptions. Natural silk, guipure, materials with sewing and other expensive fabrics are often produced with a narrower width (75, 80, 100 cm).
When buying material, you need to check it for the presence of an edge, or rather, for its width. Often the label indicates the total value of the width of the roll, but its extreme parts are absolutely unsuitable for cutting. The edge may not contain lint, have a blurry pattern, be with holes or other defects that the machines leave when the material is woven.
And there is another situation - the width of the fabric can be 180 and even 200 cm. Often these are costume and cotton cuts. Such material is not considered to be cost-effective, but sometimes it is suitable for sewing office or specially designed clothes (work, school uniform, overalls, dresses for matinees).
In the case of a narrow fabric, it will need at least two lengths of the product even for dresses of small size, but wide panels, on the contrary, are more economical, because they allow you to cut additional details on the main section.
A wealth of color and texture is the first enemy of saving
We have already figured out the main points, but there are a few additional nuances that should not be missed when sewing clothes. Experienced fashionistas, having come to the store, can tell by eye how much fabric is needed on the dress, taking into account various factors. It is not difficult for them to calculate the necessary cut length even when the material is not monophonic, but, for example, contains a drawing.
For some, this moment may seem insignificant, but in fact, the mismatch of the cage or any other pattern on the finished product will be very visible, the overall impression of the outfit can be spoiled forever when the direction of the pattern, rib, and print or large pattern were not taken into account when cutting "Sat" out of place.
Underwater rocks
Those who rarely sew may also not think about the fact that fabrics tend to shrink. When choosing the material, you can correctly choose the style of the dress, calculate the color and pattern, the width and method of weaving the threads in the fabric, but forget that some materials narrow after washing, while others, on the contrary, tend to stretch over time.
And if nothing can be predicted with how the material behaves during the long-term operation, then it is quite simple to prevent the narrowing of the product after the first wash. The fabric must be decanted. To do this, it is saturated with moisture using steam from an iron, a steam generator, simply wet from a spray bottle or by conventional soaking. This procedure is not needed for synthetic materials, shrinkage is provided by cloths woven from cotton, linen, silk threads.
Pro Tips
It is best to ask specialists about all disputed issues; you can always find information in specialized sources. The recommendations of professionals should never be neglected, their experience and knowledge will help to calculate how much fabric is needed on the dress (without sleeves and with them, with a collar or strap on buttons, with a belt or asymmetrical hem). Do not be afraid to ask for advice from the seller from the fabric store, often qualified and trained personnel who are ready to answer all questions of the buyer work there. They know the width of matter, its composition, fabric features, such as flowability of sections or the ability to drape.
In case of any doubt, it is best to pre-build a pattern of the future product and come directly to the store with it, so that by attaching its details to the fabric, you can clearly see the layout and future cutting.