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Traveling Companion

Drape Yourself a Bodice

Ann Steeves, contributor

6 users recommend

Draping for Apparel Design, by Helen Joseph-Armstrong  

Courtesy Fairchild Books

Learning to drape a bodice often takes some instruction.

courtesy of Cornell University

Draping for Apparel Design, by Helen Joseph-Armstrong  

Photo: Courtesy Fairchild Books

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If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this draping Web site is the equivalent of about half a textbook! No really, I mean it. This site appears to be part of a course through Cornell University. On it, an instructor shows the process of draping a basic bodice. From measuring and cutting the muslin, through pinning and adding/subtracting darts to the finished project, this is a great way to see the progression of flat cloth to body-contoured moulage or shell. It is great for giving you insight into the process along with the step-by-step increments.

The draping method is taken from Helen Joseph-Armstrong's excellent textbook, Draping for Apparel Design. Joseph-Armstrong's book is a standard at many colleges, including FIT and Parsons. This site is a valuable add-on that explains pictorially how to do many of the techniques described in the book. If you don't have the book, it is still a rich how-to that will give you a good primer on basic bodice draping. In addition to step-by-step photos and text, you'll also find two very helpful Quick Time stop-frame movies that show adjustments to the bodice before and after.

The draping Web site appears to be a work in progress, so check back often to see if anything has been added. This is definitely a site worth seeing!

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Comments (4)

kathihime writes: When you click on 'web site' it directs you an error message 404 NotFound:

"Not Found

The requested URL /courses/txa264/index.html was not found on this server.
Apache Server at instruct1.cit.cornell.edu Port 80"

I would to have the actual URL so that I am able to view this too.
Posted: 7:58 pm on March 24th

MichaelaMurphy writes: Munirkhamker, click on the words 'web site' located in the first sentence of the above post. This link will take you to where you can view the step by step process.
Posted: 10:42 pm on January 28th

munirkhamker writes: where is the step by step process? I cannot view.

please let me know.
Posted: 12:30 pm on January 28th

dnjmama writes: For a hands-on process like draping, there is nothing like seeing it step by step. Thanks for sharing this.
Posted: 1:52 pm on January 4th

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