Ying-Tze's Pattern Making Tutorial : Sailor Top Pattern

Cosmode magazine do provide free patterns and there are books specializes on Cosplay Costumes with lots of patterns for you to trace. However there's no magazine like that in our country (I guess >.<). If you want a better fit for your costume you have to make your own or make a commissioned one from seamstresses. That is, if you can afford them or you don't have time to make one :P So let's start!

This is what you need to make your own sewing pattern. Tailor ruler , pen , measuring tape and papers ! I usually use newspaper but for tutorial purposes , I use white paper this time :)

This is the measurement sheet that I use to write down all the measurements needed for the particular costume that I'm drafting.

 Note :

X = Your body measurement in INCH

Here I sketch a mini picture of the costume that I plan to make.There's a specific formula that I'm taught to follow ~ and it's kinda accurate so I use it every time I draft a costume :)  The first measurement you need is the length of your shoulders.

Next is your armhole .

Note :

( B ) = Back

( F ) = Front

When drafting a pattern , you have to draft the front and the back , so the measurements for front/back has a bit difference.

Next up , measure your Chest Circumference , Waist , Hip Length and Hips .

Note :

Hip Length = Length from your waist till your hips

Chest Circumference , not Width.

p/s : Hello guys , thanks to a reader for pointing this out ~ I'm used to calling it chest width but it's actually Chest Circumference . Don't make a mistake while measuring yeah ~ so sorry for the confusion ! :p

Chest length is pretty standard for everybody , so usually chest length = 10 Inch . Measure your Front Waist / Back Waist and the length of the sailor top.

Note :

Front Waist = The length between your neck and the front part of your waist.

Back Waist = The length between your neck and the back of your waist.

Top length = How long you want your top to be.

Let's get started !

1. Firstly , draw a horizontal and a vertical line at the side of the paper.

2. Then mark 3 Inch on the horizontal line and 1 1/2 Inch on the vertical line .

Notes :

The 3 Inch and 1 1/2 Inch are kinda like standard measurements for the neck part. It's pretty much almost the same for everyone .

3. Mark your  Chest Length = 10 Inch and draw another horizontal line.

4. Mark your Front Waist and draw another horizontal line. In this case , I'm using my measurements as an example , my Front Waist = 17 Inch .

5. The length of my top is 5 Inch down my waist , so I marked 5 Inches below my waist length and drew another horizontal line .

6. My shoulder length is 7 Inch so mark it on the red line. Connect the two points.

 

7. Mark your Chest Width.

8. Draw a straight line down using pencil. This serves as a guideline when you draw the armhole part later.

9.  Connect the points for the Chest Width and Hips Width. I ignore the waist part because mostly sailor top are kinda loose and doesn't follow the waist ? If you want it to be fitter , you can connect the waist point :)

10. Here comes the Armhole part. The dotted line shows the Armhole measurement. Use a ruler and measure from the shoulder point.  There you get the point for your armhole ! :D

11. Use the guideline that you drew earlier and draw a curve line, towards your armhole point :)

12. Time for the Collar ! Sailor Collars are kinda deep " V " like so I mark mine 1 Inch above my Chest Width :)

13. Connect the point between your neck and the Collar Point earlier.

14. Sketch your collar from the Shoulder Point to the Collar Point.

15. Ta-da ! Your Front Pattern for The Sailor Top is done ! 8)

16. Time for the back pattern now ! Repeat the same thing you did for the front :) All the steps remain the same so no worries !

 

17. For the Back Collar , you can choose how long u want the back collar to be . For me , I prefer 1 Inch above my Chest Width ( Just like my front collar ). Draw a square-like shape and connect to the shoulder point ! :D
 

18. Back Pattern for Sailor Top also done ! * A *

 

19. This step is for after you traced the pattern on the fabric. To get your Collar pattern , cut out the Front Collar part from the Front pattern.

20. Do the same for the Back Collar.

21. Stick the two collar pieces together using masking tape!

22. Here you go ! That's your Collar pattern for the Sailor Top ! :) 

23. This is how it looks when it's folded ! :3

Note :

All these patterns are only half of the actual piece . When you move the pattern onto the fabric , you'll have to fold the fabric into half so you can get two identical pieces :)

Again, I do not own any of these, I just reposted it here. Credits goes to Ying-Tze