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THE FRENCH RULES TO PREPARE YOUR DRESS FORM



As you know, draping made in France has its rules well defined and they are followed by professionals, whether in preparatory courses or in haute couture ateliers.


These rules are important because in the process of developing a pattern using the draping, the pattern maker develops the pattern with all the important information to later pass it on to the next professional who will transform that pattern into clothing. So all these codes are necessary and are interpreted by everyone.


And for starters, it's important that you know the importance of the measure of your mannequin. Did you know that in France there is a specific material to make this? It's called bolduc, and it's a kind of braided strip, similar to a shoelace. In Paris it is sold in black, red and blue, especially for this function of making the ribbon on the mannequin. So much so that you can go to a haberdashery and ask for "bolduc pour patronage".


So, its normal use satin ribbon, because it has a similar measurement to the Bolduc, or even, there are those who prefer to use the soutache because it is of a greater weight, which makes it easier to work, since you can go "groping" and feeling the ribbon under the dummy.


Another particularity of the French ribbon is the colors: they normally use the lines of the ribbon of the vertical marking represented by the red color.


Likewise, when making the representation on the screen, it follows this rule, in the center of the front and center of the back of the marked screen, we follow the rule of marking with the color red.


For the identification of the horizontal lines, it can be done with the colors blue or black. Whatever! However, if the model to be developed has extra cutouts, in this case another ribbon color is used.


So, for example, if the bust, waist and hip lines are represented by the black ribbon, the style lines of a specific piece or cutout, in this case, will be represented by the blue color.


Similarly in screen correction, the pen color is represented by the ribbon color. And if there is an error or correction on the screen, another pen color will be used.


This organization of colors facilitates the process when making the mold, as we can make a quick reading of each line. When we are already used to these nomenclatures, we are able to analyze the screens when we watch Haute Couture documentaries, everything starts to make sense!


Adopt these rules yourself when you are making your pattern and realize how much this detail can make a difference when you are correcting the lines and measurements. It's the little details that then make a big difference! Try it and then tell me what you think!



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