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I'm confused..I am drafting a swimsuit pattern, I have 'ease disabled' but yet the pattern is showing me +-2.625" of ease (for example) on the back bust measurement. Why am I getting this ease?
Also, it says that swimsuits default to 1/2" seam allowances but the distance between the black line and the blue line when I print is between 5/8th and 7/8ths..why is that?
How can I get rid of the ease and bring all the seam allowances down to 1/2"?
 
Posts: 6 | Registered: 01 January 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Please note what the negative ease allowance is for the stretch factor. Ease may be positive or negative and replaced by the stretch factor of your fabric.

I dont know if anyone has ever made a modern swim suit from a woven. A 100% stretch factor amounts to approx 8 or 9% negative total ease in a swim suit.

No ease would be zeroing out ease entirely for a woven resulting in matching the body chart and for a stretch fabric that would be super baggy.

Swim suits are one of the items I use the actual stretch percentage of the yardage.

There is an article showing how to compute the stretch factor and an article in how to construct the swim suit.

By entering a true value of the specific fabric's Horizontal and Vertical stretch ( which can vary even between color tones on fabrics from the same factory and same composition) you reproportion the pattern pieces to use the stretch as ease.

swim fabric does vary to stretch my own experiences says between 76 and 125% on the cross grain or horizontal stretch. Sometimes the vertical stretch is actually greater than the horizontal. When you have a pattern that is intended to stretch in both directions as the vertical length is secured by the crotch and expected to be stretched open its imperative you make both adjustments.

Default stretch is set to 100% H and 120% vertical.

Kaaren


patrns4u@aol.com
 
Posts: 3511 | Location: Henderson, Nevada | Registered: 02 July 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Hello
Unfortunately you have to "manually fix" the seam allowance. I too had the same dilemna, expecting the software to do exactly what I wanted it to do. Someone on this board suggested getting a rotary cutter (Olfa) that has an attachment so you can line that attachment up with your blue pattern line and move the rotary cutter blade out as far as you want it, 1/2, 5/8 or whatever seam allowance you wanted. I found mine in the quilting section at JoAnns.
 
Posts: 22 | Registered: 09 September 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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