Measurements, Etiquette and Dart Manipulation

Ready for the beginning of the tableau project where we will be making and measuring our actors, we were given a full comprehensive break down of the way in which to measure an actor. As well as the ways in which to prevent the actor being measured feeling awkward.

Having been placed in our pair for the Tableau work we were then given the opportunity to practise measuring on each other.

We were given helpful tips like using waist tape, tied over the bust or around the waist, to help measure things like nape to waist, or the hips measurement to the waist.

All of these tips and information can be added to my technical file.

Then we were briefed on fitting room etiquette, this is because we will be making toiles of our costumes and we will be fitting them to our actors as well.

The fitting room can be a stressful place, as there are a lot of people with lots of different ideas and opinions, all cramped in to a small place.

In the fitting room you will have the actor, the costume maker (You), the costume supervisor and the designer. For students like me, we would have out tutor in the fitting room as well as all of the above named people.

We were also given a run down of the “kits” we might need whilst working on a production. There would be a fitting room kit, which is completely different from the technical dress rehearsal dressing kit. 

Finally we did some very basic dart manipulation on miniature bodice blocks.

To get rid of a dart, you cut down one side of the dart and square straight down to the bottom of the pattern. Then overlap the old dart to get rid of this, this moves the dart to another position.

Bodice blocks can be cut into other ways to make darts, larger smaller or move then around the bodice block.

The basic bodice block can also be converted into a period bodice shape.

Often in period costumes the shoulder line is positioned on the back, rather than on the exact shoulder line.

Shoulder seams can be dropped 5-8 cm towards the back of a costume.

You attach the front and back bodice blocks together, having removed the dart on the front shoulder and squaring down like you did before.

Then you draw a straight line from the collar to the arm hole, the measurement from the shoulder line to where you should draw the line will be different on each pattern depending on what you want to achieve with the made costume. The measurement from the shoulder to the collar line is always one cm less that the shoulder to the arm hole.

You now cut along this line, separating the back bodice from the front.

Now you take out the bottom dart, measure it, and you can add it either to the side seam, making the bodice more fitted.

Or to create a curved shape on the bodice you can redraw the dart either side of the squared down line.

Cut through the shoulder and you will have 2 pieces for the front bodice.

For the back you calculate one third of the way up the arm hole from the bottom of the arm hole. You join this third by a curve to the dart on the back. This gets rid of the dart, and would be cut from the fabric, as if the dart did not exist.