Simple Tuck Shift

As they say, the simple things are often the most difficult.  Or so I found out this weekend with the #PatternPuzzle.  What looks like a very simple style was in fact, one of the most difficult patterns I have done in quite a while.

Using my fitted dress block, the first stage of pattern development is to alter the fitted shape of this block to a more relaxed fit.  This includes not using the waist darts and reducing the back length of the dress by taking 2cm out across the whole pattern.  The effect on the front dress is to increase the size of the bust dart.  And finally balancing the dress block by moving the side seams forward, making the front and back the same width.

The first stage of the pattern development is to transfer both of the front bust darts to the left shoulder.  As you can see in the first image below, this distorts the left side of the front dress placing excess length on one side of the dart.  To compensate for this excess we can fold a little out through the waist (red area).  This is not an entirely legitimate pattern making move but will help to balance the dart so we can  build the large tuck in the shoulder work.  In the third image, the pattern is slashed open to add the desired amount of fabric for the shoulder tuck.

 The final pattern below has both the front and back dress cut on the bias grain to make the most of the large front drape.  When making the first toile of this style you will find the fold edge of the tuck to still a little too long.  To correct that problem, slash into the front tuck and reduce the long side before joining the pattern back together (much like the second image above).

If you are thinking of trying this pattern let me know if you have any questions through the comments section below.  If you’d like to buy a copy of these pattern making notes for your own personal use at home you’ll find them here:  Simple Tuck Shift – Pattern Making Instructions.

Enjoy 🙂