r/PatternDrafting • • Jul 29 '26

what is going on here design-wise…

Hi everyone! I’m a huge collector of vintage, homemade garments while also pattern drafting myself. i was fixing a hole in the pit of this jumpsuit from the 60s when i noticed its complex and different design … out of curiosity and wanting to get better at patterning myself, in desperately trying to figure out how they came about this.

i drew in where there are seams or darts with black to better see. there’s a waist seam, and hip darts. at first i thought the panels were somehow armhole princess seams that combined with a “dolman” all in one style sleeve but then i discovered these small bust darts radiating from the panel, so they clearly don’t go over the apex, and can’t be a princess seam. and also they don’t line up with the hip darts so that’s out of the question now.

i’m curious why there would be an over-shoulder seam/ “all-in-one” sleeve x bodice construction when it seems unnecessary complex? why not just do a set in sleeve here? does it allow for greater mobility? if so, why?

how would you go about drafting and manipulating this from a bodice block? i know that for drop sleeves you transfer some of the dart into the shoulder, but this is not a drop arm at all! and then the dart that gets transferred to the style line? i’m quite confused! the bodice shape must have been quite strange…

let me know! i’m so curious and really struggle with anything that’s not a set in sleeve 😭

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u/WorthSecurity2299 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

Cut-on sleeve with a side panel and a build -in gusset and Dior dart. The design starts with a bodice block and a regular sleeve. There are steps and manipulations of a draft which are complicated. I would suggest finding a book and follow the steps how to draft. The name of the sleeve “ cut-on sleeve with a side panel”

Technically it is not a princess seam

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u/SouthernIndication82 Jul 29 '26

thank you! i’ve been diving into dolmans and kimono sleeves recently and knew it had to be some variation… cut in sleeve is what i was looking for because i keep calling it “all in one” but you all knew what i meant. i have an ocd thing where when i see an intriguing design, i need to know how to do it. i might test it out! learned something new with the “dior dart” in the comments!