A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting - Waistline Finishes

1. A Technical Foundation - Woman's Wear Pattern Cutting
Waistline Finishes

2. Waistline Finishes

3. Waistline around ‘belly
button’
Low Waist
3-4cm under waistline
MAXIMUM 10cm
Hipline
20cm under waistline
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

4. A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting:Waistline Finishes

5. Waistband Finishes
1. Straight waistband – this sits on top of the skirt or trouser block at
the waistline. It can be made as a straight line pattern
2. Low waistband is cut out of the skirt or trouser block and is shaped
to fit your body curves. Waist can be lowered a maximum of 10cm,
be careful as the garment needs to stay up and not fall down.
3-4cm is a common low waist.
3. Facing is hidden inside and gives a clean finish on the outside
4. Yoke is the same pattern cutting as a low waistband but is bigger
than 8cm.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

6. Sewing Techniques - shows how to sew the different waist
finishes step by step
ONLINE RESOURCES
You Tube = Tanya Dove
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=o9Tk5gzNRgg
https://
independent.academia.edu/
TanyaDove
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

7. Equipment
Pattern paper, ruler with a straight and curved edge
Pencil, (rubber)
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

8. Straight Waistband
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

9. PLAN
Create a rectangle.
Length = waist length
PLUS button
extension
Width = twice the
finished width
PATTERN
Add 1cm seam
allowance around all
edges
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

10. Button extension is on the
BACK side, or if at the centre
back it is on the RIGHT side.
Extension has the button
attached.
Other side has the button
hole.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting:Waistline Finishes

11. Facing
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

12. FACING PLAN
A Facing sits underneath
the garment and is used on
skirts, trousers, necklines
and armholes.
PLAN – draw the facing
width.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

13. FACING
PATTERN
A facing pattern reaches the
top edge and sits ‘loose’ on
the inside of the garment.
There is no need to add
seam allowance to the loose
edge as it is not stitched to
anything. Finish by
overlocking or binding.
Garment top edge is to the
top, skirt showing to the
waistline where the facing
sits on the inside.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

14. A facing is a clean top edge finish with no stitch lines.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

15. Low Waistband
Low waistbands shape around the body and have a pattern inside and
outside, showing a seam line.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

16. PLAN
Drop the waistline position. Picture shows 3cm under the natural
waistline position.
Then draw in waistband width.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

17. PATTERN
Waistband is CUT 2 on
fold. One on the inside
and one on the outside.
Skirt pattern stops
underneath the
waistband.
Front dart remaining is
very small so can be
moved into the side
seam and not used.
** Rule of thumb – if a
dart is smaller than 1cm
wide and 5cm long it
can be moved into side
seam, shaping more
and therefore not used.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

18. Binding
A binding is a narrow
strip of fabric sewn
around an edge.
It wraps over the
edge and therefore
seam allowance is
not required on the
garment it is being
attached too.
Generally seen on
blouses, necklines
and armholes as it is
a fine small finish.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

19. Binding is a strip of fabric 4 X finished width (to finish 1cm cut 4cm
wide). It is cut on the BIAS grain line to give stretch and ease when
sewn onto an edge. It is a neat small finish and commonly used on
women’s eveningwear necklines and armholes.
Length = length of seam where you are sewing plus 1cm seam each
end to fold inside to finish.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

20. A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

21. Invisible Zipper
• Invisible zippers are commonly seen on skirts and dresses, and
some trouser designs.
• Finished length for zips is 2cm ABOVE hip line position. If
waistline is lowered zip would be shorter. There is no need for a
zip to be longer than this position to fit the garment on.
• They are sewn on the LEFT side of the body for right handed
people to use.
• See Sewing Techniques for how to sew an invisible zipper.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

22. Fly Front Fly fronts are commonly seen on jeans
and casual trousers. They require two
additional pattern pieces for the zipper
to be attached into.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

23. FLY FRONT is shaped and
creates the topstitched line
on the outside of the
garment.
3-3.5cm width is standard.
Cut 1 piece only.
FLY BACK is attached
behind the closure with the
zip being sewn in between
the fly back and centre front
pattern piece. Cut one piece
on fold for the finished
edge.
Example shows a shaped
waistband with fly front.
Finished length is 2cm
above hipline.
A Technical Foundation - Women's Wear Pattern Cutting: Waistline Finishes

24. A Technical Foundation, Women’s Wear Pattern Cutting
· ISBN-10: 1849634718
· ISBN-13: 978-1849634717
Concept to Creation; The Design Process
· ISBN-10: 1849635730
· ISBN-13: 978-1849635738
A Technical Foundation - Menswear Pattern Cutting
· ISBN-10: 1784551236
· ISBN-13: 978-1784551230