Grain lines, cut and Ossie Clark

While working on Simplicity 3833 for the sew along I thought I'd work on Burda 10/2011 which requests you to cut your skirt piece on the bias, and I wondered how this will make the end garment look, especially cause this pic isn't that great for detail. I decided to do some reading on grain lines and cut to understand more

In my research I came across some articles about Ossie Clark which spoke of his talent at being able to cut a garment well. I was rather confused because it obviously didn't mean that he was good at holding scissors and I knew it had something to do with getting his garments to fit women in a flattering way, but I still didn't know what it meant when a garment was well cut! 

Ossie Clark

I thought I should share with you my findings and explain a little about grain lines and how they affect your projects and how you can use them to your own advantage.

To start with lets look at the structure of most fabrics which should have a warp and weft grain line. The warp being the vertical grain and the weft being the horizontal grain. (Remember weft is left!)

On a 45 degree angle to this is the bias

Most pattern pieces should tell you what angle to cut the fabric on - usually it's pretty important to follow these lines as they affect the end look of your garment and because the pattern designer wants to ensure you get the same end result as their initial design. 

Pattern pieces showing grain line direction arrows - Warp, Weft and Bias

But what if your free styling and making a skirt from some left over fabric or the pattern piece doesn't indicate the grain line? 

The angle of your 'cut' will create different drapes and will fit the body differently so it's handy to know which is which and how you can determine for yourself how the garment will look in the end. 

For example, you plan to make an a-line skirt. You don't always need a pattern if you take your measurements and translate them to the fabric. On the below images the stripes on the fabric will demonstrate the grain line used

Cut vertically with the warp the skirt will hang simply and will look neat and not give you much fullness - giving you a perfect A shape.

Most of the dresses I make are cut on the warp grain line

Cut horizontally on the weft, the skirt may drop a small amount as the weft is a slightly weaker weave then the warp and your skirt will flow a little more nicely. 

Cut on the bias, expect the fabric to drop, but also have the most flow and body. As the bias is the stretchiest angle, it will naturally flow better. The skirt will look less A line then if it was cut on the warp. This is also why circle skirts have the best fullness as they are normally cut on the bias too

On tighter garments, the bias cut helps the fabric to cling to your body which is more flattering, and something that Ossie was excellent at achieving. In the below image the sleeve and bodice of this dress are made from a non-stretch fabric cut on the bias. This method of cutting makes it stretchier in a way and moves with her body.

Source

In my early sewing days when I was a tight ass rebel, I used to put the pattern pieces wherever they fit (usually cause I never bought enough fabric) and the end result would never fit nicely like on the pattern envelope. The sleeves would twist around and making darts fit was impossible! 

So in summary, cutting the fabric on different angles will change the over all look and fit of your end garment. If you want your skirt to have more body or if you want your dress to 'cling' to your body better, cut it on the bias.

Ossie Clark & Gala Mitchell, 1974

Most early to mid 60's patterns are cut on the straight grain lines as the structured clean look was preferred, but by the end of the decade the 1930's look of glamorous dresses that clinged to the body and accentuated curves was more common - as we see in Ossie Clarks work. Fabric appeared to skim over the body and created movement with fabric that might not have been as compliant if cut normally, for example chiffon.

Ossie Clark Celia Birtwell feather print dress

Ingrid Boulting wearing Ossie Clark in 1970

Are you a fan of bias cut clothing or Ossie Clark for that matter? Have you ever tried cutting a pattern on a different angle then instructed?

Take care dearies!