Bodice

In patterns, bodice usually means the upper section of a dress with a waist seam, as opposed to the skirt below. A fit-and-flare dress has a fitted bodice joined to a fuller skirt; a shift dress has no waist seam, so its front and back run from shoulder to hem in one piece.

A fitted bodice gets its shape from:

• Darts: bust darts from the side seam, waist darts pointing up toward the bust, and sometimes shoulder or back neck darts.
• Seams: princess seams or panels that replace the darts.
• Gathers or pleats into a yoke or waistline.
• Stretch, in knit bodices, which often need no darts at all.

Bodices are finished at the neckline and armholes with facings, bias binding or a full lining, and closed with a zip, buttons or a keyhole when the neckline is too small to pass over the head.

In pattern making, the bodice block is the most important foundation: it carries the bust, waist and shoulder fit of every top, dress and jacket developed from it (see pattern block). Most fit questions, from gaping necklines to pulling across the bust, are bodice questions.