The Multi-Panel Maillot

Most of the patterns on this website are simple manipulations of the one piece block. Indeed virtually all non-draped patterns are block manipulations somewhere along the line. Years of working with woven fabrics has taught pattern makers how to close darts or hide them within design lines on the garment. The manipulated pattern piece changes shape only by adding to it or subtracting from it. It doesn't get skewed or twisted.

Stretch fabrics are different. They are rarely darted as they are expected to skew their flat form to stretch around the body. Look at the illustration below.

The image on the left is a simple rectangle drawn somewhere on a swimsuit aligned squarely to the knit of the fabric. Let's say once put on the body the rectangle disorts to the shape shown in the middle. From this we can determine the direction of primary and any secondary tension directions. A wrinkle occurs in a garment when greater tension is applied at an angle to rather than with the 'grain'. To fix this problem you need to either change the tensions or rotate the fabric such that it's aligned to the grain (right image) ... or both. The simplest way to change tensions is by shortening or lengthening the pattern. But often you can't do this with your pattern piece. Instead you may need skew the actual pattern shape to change lengths. Sound complicated? We'll demonstrate both in making this pattern.

An interesting side note here is an important mass production lesson. Woven fabric pattern makers are used to rotating pattern pieces in a lay up in order to save fabric wastage. Without thinking they do the same thing with stretch fabrics, not realising that they might just have gone that little too far further off grain to cause ripples to occur. I say further because areas like the underarm near the bust are typically 15 degrees off grain when the center front is perfectly on grain in something like a tanksuit ... 20 to 25 degrees off grain with a horizontal primary tension line is just asking for ripples and garments that don't 'feel right' to the wearer.

The image above illustrates the pattern we're going to make. This pattern is based on the size 10B/C palette line maillot pattern we created previously (using 12% horizontal negative ease and 0% vertical ease). Before you start each step, click on the link marked "Illustration for this Step". A pop up window with an illustration for that step will help guide you through the instructions. At the end of each step your draft should match the illustration.

Step One

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Using the palette line maillot pattern created previously, separate the back palette section across the bust line. Draft a straight guide line from the leg hole, along the side seam to the waist line on both the front and back panels. Divide the waist into five equal increments (each is waist x 0.88 / 10 if you consider the front and back blocks are only half the garment). Place a 10C (34C) underwire line about the but point as illustrated.

Step Two

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As we can put darting into the seams under the bust, we can apply some of the empire line techniques to this pattern. This means drafting in a guide line where the empire line would sit (about 1cm below the underwire). As with the empire line pattern, we need to reduce the width at the empire line. In this case I removed 2cm from the front side seam and 1cm from the back side seam. We do however need to replace that width at the bust line so it still fits the palette panel, and thus we later add two 1.5cm allowances in the seams under the bust.

Using the guides at the waist, draft in your panel lines. These lines should be straight as we will be skewing them later. The lines above the waist should be exactly vertical, except the newly reduced side seams. The lines below the waist can angle outward a little to whatever is visually pleasing.

Step Three

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Remove the excess side seams. Draft two 1.5cm squares centered on your guides, but above the palette line. The extra height will be to allow for the extra legnth needed when pulling in unber the bust.

Step Four

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Redraft the top of each panel to include the extra height and width being inserted (see illustration). I've made each panel head a different colour so you can see how they're overlapping. If you're doing this on paper, do the panel heads on a separate sheet of tracing paper so you can put them together and true up the new palette line in the next step.

Step Five

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Assemble the front panel heads and align them with the back so that you can true up the palette line curve. The curve should be gradual but try to maintain as much of the extra height as possible. The red line is a good recurve line.

Step Six

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Transfer the newly recurved panel heads back to the front and clean up the guides. I've left it red to show what's happened. You can also remove the empire line guide now.

Step Seven

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OK, here's you first lesson in skewing! The two panels on the left of this image are the side panels from the front and back blocks. We're going to put them together to form a single panel which matches the other four in width (yes I know the centre front and back is still a fold ... it's up to you if you want to cut and seam it ... personally I wouldn't).

To put them together first draw a vertical guideline and horizontal (waist) guidle line. I like to distort the vertical guide about 3 degrees to the left above the waist because it sits nicer on the body but this isn't necessary. Place the panels against the guides as shown by cutting at the waist. Here's where a CAD program really helps. If you have one, now slide the edge of the panels along the guide until the become square to the waist as shown. If you don't have a CAD program you need to measure how much you are sliding at each end and recurve the now skewed panel.

Don't think much has happened? Compare where the 'grain' would have sat on the old panels if they had not been rotated to where the 'grain' will be now?

Step Eight

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We now repeat the process for the remaining two panels (the center front and back are left unchanged). Their guidelines are perfectly vertical.

Step Nine

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Recurve all the vertical seams ever so sligtly.

Step Ten

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Check the palette line is still smooth by placing all the panels along side each other at the top.

Step Eleven

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Check the leg line is still smooth by placing all the panels along side each other at the bottom

Step Twelve

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Retrace the panels if necessary. Be sure to clearly label your patterns with a title, panel name, size, cutting instructions, author’s name, date and revision number. Finaly, add seam allowance to the pattern based on how you intend to assemble it. I've shown this pattern with 10mm allowance for overlocked seams (8mm to blade, 2mm off cut) and 10mm for fold over elastics.

Step Thirteen

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Just for completeness it is possible to tweak the waist line a little. Because you have multiple panels which are vertical you can afford the extra fraction of tension on each one without that tension going significantly off grain. Of course this would suit women with narrow waists compared to bust and hips ... it could be argued that multiple panels are necessary for such women.