LESSON THE BIAS DRAPING

LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of the lesson, you must have:

1. Identified important points in bias draping;
2. Acquired knowledge on how to do the bias draping
3. Valued the knowledge on how to do bias draping.

LEARNING CONTENT

Bias Draping
Bias cut garment is a
cut with the warp and weft
threads at 45° angle. It
allows the weave to open
and spread, giving the fabric
the soft drape that
characterizes the bias cut.
At the same time, the stretch
enables the fabric to mold to
the curves of the body.

Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975)

 a designer that has become synonymous with the bias cut.
 First designer to widely used/utilized the bias cut.
 She took the advantage of the flexibility and fluidity of the bias grain to
contour dress shapes in a new way, highlighting the natural curves of the
feminine form.
  She created a collection of groundbreaking work in 1920s, when the
corsetless dressing finally became established.
 She uses purity of the simple draped square in her work

The Bias cut naturally requires large pieces of fabric to accommodate the tilted
pattern pieces. Traditionally, it uses softer fabric for bias cut such as georgettes,
crepes, and chiffons. Used often in lingerie for its ability to conform to the figure,
silk charmeuse is a contemporary fabric favorite. Of course, any fabric can be cut
on the bias. Even heavy woolen garments incorporate the use of bias to help a
collar roll better or to give some stretch to a specific area.
The bias cut has remained popular throughout the twentieth and into the
twenty-first century, the 1930s in particular. In the costume-design studios of
Hollywood’s Golden Age, extravagance was the rule. Designers employed an army
of experts to create some of the extraordinary clothing cut on the bias seen in the
films from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Draping Exercises
Bias-draped Camisole
This camisole takes advantage of the
bias cut with both the easy drape of the silk
mesh over piece and the cut of the pattern
pieces. The front and back are basically
squares tilted on the diagonal, the bias grain
falling straight down the center front and
back. The bias silk charmeuse fits by allowing
the fabric to stretch gently over the bust and
shape to the figure over the waist and high
hip.
Step 1
 Pin CF bias line to CF of form.
 Smooth muslin to the sides of form
and pin as closely as you can
without allowing it to pull or twist.

Step 2
 Clip at armscye where necessary. Note
that when fabric is pulled tightly, ease
forms above and below bust point, but
the shape of the form is still visible, as
the bias grain tends to mold itself over
the form.
Step 3
 Form a side bust
dart to pull fabric
even closer to the
form.
 Repeat from Step
1 for the back.
 Pin the sides
together right
sides out and trim
excess fabric.
 Twill-tape the
hem.
 Twill- or sticky-
tape the bustline
where lace will
meet bodice fabric. This will be the point at which the bust ease can no
longer be shaped to the body.
Step 4
 Center bias line of lace inset piece to CF.
 Trim excess where lace will meet top edge of the front piece.
 Tape the upper edge. Trim excess above the tape.

Step 5
 Think of the lace inset as a sort of
yoke.
 As it meets the top of the front edge,
it absorbs that extra ease there, and
allows a smooth fi t from CF to mid-
underarm area.
 Turn under lower edge of lace piece
along this line.
 Turn down upper edge of lace piece.
 Turn side seams front over back.
Step 6
 Align bias line of bodice overpiece to
CF and determine amount of drape or
“cowl.”
 Here, a silk mesh is used to indicate a
softer fabric. It would be good practice
to try draping with a piece of softer
fabric such as chiffon or georgette here,
but if it is not available, the same
muslin as the body drape will still work.
 Pin at the sides and again check the
depth of the CF drape. Because the
lace is sheer, you need to cover the
bustline, but you also want the lace still
to show.

Step 7
 Trim side edges of draped piece
and setthe straps.
 Remember that the side bust
underarm area needs to remain high at
the armhole to cover the side of the
bustline.

Fitting on the bias

With the bias, if you want a particular area to be more tightly fitted, it is not
always that area that needs to be taken in. Try following the length grain up to
the edge of the piece and pulling in there.
Bias chemise with princess line
The bias cut is perfect for lingerie,
softly molding to the shape of the body. As
with the bias-draped camisole, the heavier
hemp/silk muslin will be used. With the bias,
the weight of this fabric will give and stretch in
a way that is more similar to the silk that will
be used for the final garment. Also, it is easier
to see the
actual grain
lines with this
more loosely
woven muslin.

Draping in full for the bias

For this chemise the front and back sections will be draped not just from the
CF to the princess-line seams, but with a full front. It is necessary when working
with the bias to have the support of the larger piece. If it is cut on the bias line, it
will stretch too much.
Step 1
 Set front section by first aligning bias line with CF of form.
 Trim along the style line, which is about at the princess line.
 Trim away the excess, leaving at least a 1" (2.5 cm) seam allowance.
 Repeat for the back.
 Join the shoulders and pin wrong sides together.
Step 2
 Set side panel piece by centering bias grainline on side seam of form.
 Anchor it around the armscye and then allow it to fall freely.
 At this point the bias will begin to stretch.
 Let it fall naturally; when it seems to have stopped stretching, pin it lightly
along the side seam to keep the grainline vertical.
Step 3
 Pin the three pieces together, wrong sides out.
 Find the balance, experimenting with pulling and fitting as closely as you
can.
 Try pulling from different areas of the same section and see what
happens.

Step 4
 Turn front and back over
side panel,trimming and clipping
where necessary.
 Turn front over back at
shoulder.
 Stand back to check the
silhouette: it should skim the
body, not have a tight fi t.
 Pin up the hem. Check the
waist again; pull in as close as
 possible with the fabric still falling smoothly (not shown).

Step 5
 Place godets by opening up front and back princess seams and inserting
godet sections behind the other sections, pulling godets out until you get
the flare you want.
 Turn seams to the inside.
 Tape the neck and armhole.

REFERENCES

Draping for Fashion Design. Retrieved from

https://www.pdfdrive.com/draping-for-fashion-design-e187301311.html
February 10, 2021
Draping the Complete Course. Retrieved from
https://www.pdfdrive.com/draping-the-complete-course-
e157984926.html February 10, 2021
Dress Design, Draping and Flat Pattern Making.
https://www.pdfdrive.com/dress-design-draping-and-flat-pattern-making-
e186946068.html February 10, 2021