The Sewing Place
Tools of the Trade => The Haberdashery => Topic started by: ClareInStitches on March 12, 2017, 12:39:46 PM
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I am part way through a Craftsy Course with Suzy Furrer, drafting my own 'pants' sloper. I have a French Curve, but she prefers to use a Hip Curve as it has a more gentle arc.
I have trawled t'interweb and the usual drafting suppliers for sources in the uk, but they seem to be either tremendously expensive or come as part of a huge set of other bits. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Clare
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Linda Lee on Fitting Solo uses one as well. Seems to be something they can get easily on t'other side of the pond.
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I've had a Pikaby Fashion Ruler for years which I use for hip curves but I don't know if they are still available. I also have a Morplan Pattern Master which I use a lot for altering patterns but they are quite expensive.
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@Clare: what does a hip curve look like? I have a
(https://morplan.scene7.com/is/image/Morplan/PatternMasters?id=phFqh2&fmt=jpg)
Patternmaster
and a
(https://www.sewessential.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1800x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/n/l/nl4198l.jpg)
French curve.
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I have a "fashion curve" - lots of curvy edges.
But a "hip curve" will never look like the hip of anyone other than the size that all patterns are drafted for already. So good if you're making perfectly proportioned slopers. But beyond that, not worth it for me!
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I found this on ebay but looking at it you could probably buy a straight metal one and curve it to your own hip.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hip-Curve-Ruler-24-in-/331979087410
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I have a variety of curves and use all of them more or less: the french curves for tighter curves, the hip curve for more gentle ones (funny enough, most of them not even in the hip area). If you pan on doing more pattern cutting it would be useful to invest in some. Other than that...you can free hand it using your wrist arc.
I bought mine locally but paid about 20 gbp for all of them.
Amazon seems to have a few too: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=french+curve
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Is the flexible curve worth having?
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I haven't used my flexible curve in like...wait, I'm actually not sure I've ever used it. It's faster to use the other ones than to adjust the flexible one.
A flexible ruler on the other hand, that I would buy :) Mine doesn't have a ruler and I find I would really need one to measure curves (armscye, necklines etc). At the moment I use my measuring tape, but it's a bit fiddly.
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I use a French Curve all the time, and also some cheap, smaller curves. Never felt the need for a hip curve though.
Jessie
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I use the Pattrenmaster. It has a hip curve, arm Syce, right angle, grading ruler etc all in one tool. I got mine through Amazon from Fred Aldous and it cost about £10.
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Mine came from Jaycotts and it's the same as the one that UttaRetch has. Useful for adding width/length, not used the curved side often though.
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I bought the Tailor and Designer curves from Lutterloh
The New Zealand site worked out cheaper than the European one though.
https://www.i-love-dressmaking.com/product/tailor-and-designer-curve-out-of-acryl/ (https://www.i-love-dressmaking.com/product/tailor-and-designer-curve-out-of-acryl/)
https://www.dressmaking.co.nz/products (https://www.dressmaking.co.nz/products)
I also have various other curves including French curves- all are useful in their own way.
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I use the Pattrenmaster. It has a hip curve, arm Syce, right angle, grading ruler etc all in one tool. I got mine through Amazon from Fred Aldous and it cost about £10.
I wonder why the imperial is more expensive than the metric.
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I have several curved rulers and use them all for one thing and another. Don't actually have a hip curve but that hasn't been a problem.
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I don't use my dedicated hip curve ruler often, but I do use it. It's the steel one in the photo below. I placed my clear fashion ruler on top, matching the curve, so you can see the curves. Hopefully you can make out the general shapes and see where they overlap.
~The clear ruler's hip curve goes from 1-17, and it matches the steel hip curve ruler's curve up until approximately 16.5.
~Between 16.5 and 17, the clear fashion ruler's curve is more severe than the steel hip curve ruler's curve at the corresponding half inch.
~The steel hip curve ruler does have a more gentle curve at the top for a couple of inches.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/0c/fb/6a0cfb58624d50cbfa2fdcef52d9a929.jpg)