My Bodice Sloper Journey

I have briefly touched on this topic before but I was just starting a journey making a sloper. If you are new to sewing you are probably wondering what the heck is a sloper to begin with? A sloper is a fitted generic pattern based on your own measurements. There is zero ease on this so its fitted, there are no seam allowances (you can add those later on) and there is no style. So it’s like a tight t-shirt made out of woven fabric.

For a lack of a better word I have been dragging my feet on working on a sloper for a really long time because I KNEW that it is going to take forever. Its great if you have someone help you but I don’t. It’s just me, a pattern, muslin and some pins. Guys it takes time. I’m not gonna sugar coat it! It takes some SERIOUS time and patience some that I have little of at times. You have to start, make adjustments and then you have to make a muslin and then get it fitted. BUT I will say its awesome!

All of the big four patterns have fitting shells patterns, they call them a fitting shell instead of a sloper. BUT my only issue with those patterns is that it is ONE size, not multi size so if you are like me size 20 for the bust, in between sizes for the waist and 18 for the hips then a once size pattern is NOT gonna work! I mean it can but I’m trying to make this less painless than it already should be. You need something that is multi sized. So instead of using a fitting shell pattern from the big four. I used a Palmer Pletsch pattern. I used Mccalls 6891 which is no longer in print BUT re-issued under a Butterick B6843. It is THE same pattern. So if you are looking for this pattern this is it. However, I will say if you are looking to do a sloper use M7279 or B6849 shown below. That is a TRUE fitting shell pattern, plus its multi-sized so you can grade away.

Another fitting pattern is McCall’s 7279… which has now been re-issued as Butterick 6849. Their patterns are AWESOME and I actually love their tissue method because it just makes sense. Their patterns walk you thru every single adjustment that you might need and they have lines to guide you on where to make those changes in the tissue. So its easy.

Technical Drawings for B6849 and M6891

So I painstakingly did all the adjustments and made a muslin and adjusted and tried different things. Some things I didn’t need, others I did. It took an entire weekend because I had to give myself little breaks in between PLUS you have to also sew this stuff. BUT I was able to make myself a sloper after it was all said and done using M7279.

You might ask yourself WHY you made a sloper? Well, the beauty of a sloper is that you can grab any bodice pattern and compare it with your sloper. You will see right away what needs to be changed. What kind of changes? It can be as simple as lowering a dart, lowering a neckline, adjusting the shoulders, adjusting the arm holes aka armscye, increasing the length of the bodice, adding width to the waist. You can grab a sloper for your sleeves and change the sleeve pattern rather quickly with just a sloper. for the sleeve. Remember I told you guys I have to do a bicep adjustment EVERY Single time. You can do all of those things right away and know that the bodice or sleeve on the pattern will fit! It will fit as long as the sloper fits your measurements. '

This is the way that I got my sloper done. However, there are other ways that you can get a sloper. You can do a little bit of math and take an online class with Tricia Camacho from Creative Costume Academy and she will walk you on how to draft a bodice sloper. BODICE only! Remember a true full sloper (aka fitting shell) is not only the bodice (front and back), but also sleeves, skirt and pants. She is an excellent teacher. I have seen Tricia teach a class and she’s excellent.

The Sew it Academy also has a class on bodice slopers and dart manipulation. They teach you how to sew from the very start. Great if you are a beginner and they have a ton of courses on a bunch of other things. there is a monthly fee, I was part of it for a while and it is great, and they teach you a lot of things in addition to how to create a sloper.

You can also attend You Tube University and draw a sloper with videos online. That is always something you can do, its free and here is a good one by Christopher Sartorial.

Lastly, Mimi G and Tricia Camacho who owns Creative Costume Academy JUST started an online school that is called Pattern Making Academy it is BRAND spankin’ new. They will teach you how to create a sloper, dart manipulation and what is the best part of creating a sloper.

In the video I also mentioned that Palmer Pletsch has in person workshops using pattern B6849 in different locations thru out the United States. I have never had a chance to attend with all the COVID restrictions and I may hold off on any traveling for a while but I would love to go because its a chance to work alongside another person on fitting.

Slopers have another use, and its actually the best reason why you make yourself a sloper. I will talk about that next week!