Here I am demonstrating draping a vest on a form. Remember fabric is flat and the human body is round. We can shape the fabric to a body by adding darts or curved seams. No darts in fabric will make the vest stick straight out on the body unless it is made of knit which falls down or klings.So many dressy jackets and vests are worn today of knit with long points. They will not have to fit around a body, hence their popularity now.a I have also included a sketch of my personal mannequin that I have had for several years.It is now in the hands if my granddaughters that like to drape fabrics on it. I imagine that many of you have started your love of fashion the same way. It seems so easy. The next problem is how to get it off the mannequin and into a dress that people can wear.Remember you are taking a flat piece of fabric and draping it around a round cylinder{our figures} . This is where the knowledge of pattern making begins. To take your creation off the form you will need a lot of pins and pattern making chalk for markings. You will need to create a seam on each side and probably in the back. When you cut the fabric off the form keep it pinned together as best you can and lay it on a table. the fabric must lie flat. You might need to add more darts, folds seams to make that happen. After doing all this you can put it back on the form and see how it really looks. This is just for practice to help you understand more about the human figure you want to dress. This fitting is sometimes called a muslin because basic muslin fabric is used for this test. This suggestion is for using woven fabric but not knit. Knit is a whole different world.

My original illustration is copyrighted.