The concept of balance

Balance is one of the fundamentals of pattern cutting. Understanding its concept will not only help you to adjust your patterns but to also understand the impact these amendments have on a garment. This concept is fairly easy to grasp... so let's see this without waiting!
 

Concept

A skirt, top or trouser pattern is composed of a front and back panel and you might have noticed that some widths on a pattern are not the same at the front and back. Well, this is what  the concept of balance is: to distribute widths at the front and back panels accordingly to a certain body shape. To assess where and how much to distribute is not that hard, you just need a mirror and some honesty! A well balanced body is not so common so it's totally normal that you might need some adjustments. The measurements to add and remove will depend on your body shape so only you can judge the amount. 

This article does not include any pattern amendments per se. We will only focus on the concept of balance to understand how pattern amendments work. I have many tutorials coming soon for that matter, so stay tuned!

FIG.01

Pictured on the left is a side view of a "balanced" body shape. It is a standard shape that is often used in the fashion industry. The white lines represent the side seams, bust, waist and hips level. A balanced body is a body that is fairly distributed on each sides. The widths on front and back don't need to be perfectly equal but they are very close to each other. 

Patterns adapted for A or B cups are usually balanced equally at the bust whereas a C or D cup would require a much larger front panel at bust.

FIG.02

Pictured on the right is the balanced shape with a different body shape outlined on top in green.

You'll notice that the bust is slightly larger. The bust cup have been increased but the back panel is the same width as the balanced shape. Due to this bust cup increase, only the front panel must be increased at bust level. Back width remains the same but the total bust girth slightly increase.

You'll also notice that the waist is slightly shifted towards the front. The waist girth is the same as the original balanced shape but the abdomen is fuller and the back is curvier. For that matter, the front waist must be widen slightly and the back waist equally narrowed down, in order to preserve the same waist girth.

Such kind of correction at the waist can easily be done by increasing/decreasing the dart width at the waist. This is also why full abdomen corrections suggest to decrease or even suppress completely the front dart on a skirt or trouser!

FIG.03

Pictured on the left is the balanced shape with a different body shape outlined on top in pink.

You'll notice the waist is slightly larger at the front but remains the same as the original at the back. In this case, only the front waist will be increased and the total waist girth slightly increase.

At the hip level, it's the complete opposite. Buttock is fuller where as the hip remains the same as the original at the front. In this case, the back hip only must be increased and the total hip girth slightly increase.

FIG.04 

Pictured on the right is the balanced shape with a different body shape outlined on top in blue. 

You'll notice that the bust cup is increased and that the back width is narrower but the total girth remains the same as the original. Therefore the front bust area will be increased and the back width will be equally narrowed down, in order to preserve the same bust girth.

The waist girth is still the same measurement as the original but now it is slightly shifted towards the back. Therefore, the back waist must be widen slightly and the front waist equally narrowed down by the same amount, in order to preserve the same waist girth.

At the hip level, the measurement still remains the same but is slightly shifted towards the front. In this case, the back hip must be narrowed down and front hip equally increased by the same amount, in order to preserve the same hips girth.

I hope these examples helped you to better understand this concept of balance. Take some time to analyse your own body shape and experiment with your patterns. Theory and practice are equally important when learning something new!