Lesson 1

Subject: Art/Fashion Design

Topic: Dart Manipulation
Grade: 12
Allocated Time: 120 minutes

Student Population: The twelfth grade heterogeneous class is comprised of 25 students

having various ethnic backgrounds, learning styles and multiple intelligences. The group
is taking an introductory Fashion Design elective and has basic knowledge of design
concepts and principles having previously taken art and/or design classes.

Description: This is the first lesson in a fashion design class. It serves as an

introduction and preparatory class for the beginning of patternmaking. It is intended to
begin the creative process by making an introductory page for semester long
patternmaking book. It also provides background information on the various places on
the bodice darts can be located.

State Standards:
9.4.12.A: Evaluate an individual’s philosophical statement on a work in the arts and its
relationship to one’s own life based on knowledge and experience.

9.1.12.A: Know and use the elements and principles of each art form to create works in
the arts and humanities.

Goal: Introduction of teacher to student and students to each other, creation of a mood
board and plotting on a chart different dart locations on the body.

Measurable Objectives:
● Students will be able to explain and create a mood board through reading a set of
given instructions, seeing examples, and creating their own with materials in the
classroom.

● Students will have 90% mastery of the different places designers plot darts on the
bodice through classroom discussion of dart concepts and the labeling and of a
dart chart.
 Student Behaviors Sources of Evidence Criteria for Evaluation

Students will get to know “All about me worksheet” Rubrics (Attachment F)

their instructor and other
students through beginning
of the year ice-breaking
activity
(Attachment A)
Student introductions to
each other as well as
teacher introduction to
students
Students demonstrate
proficient, partially
proficient, or needs
improvement level of
participation in Time and
Effort category on rubrics

Student Input

Students will create a mood Written directions given on Students demonstrate

board
Students will be able to
name the various places
designers put darts on a
bodice
mood boards (Attachment
B)
Blank mood board for
students to design their own
(Attachment C)
Blank chart for students to
label the different dart
locations (Attachment D)
proficient, partially
proficient, or needs
improvement level of
understanding in
Creativity and Design
category on rubrics
Students demonstrate
proficient, partially
proficient, or needs
improvement level of
understanding in
Understanding of Media
category on rubrics

Students will participate in Single Dart Series Template Students demonstrate

following directions, project
preparation, and orderly
dismissal after a group
activity
sheet for students to cut outproficient, partially
and store templates for proficient, or needs
tomorrow’s lesson improvement level of
(Attachment E) understanding in Attention
to Theme category on
Verbal directions for how to rubrics
assemble beginning of
pattern book
 Background Information
Mood Boards
What is a Mood Board?
● A mood board is a collection of ideas that give an overall theme or idea.
● They are typically used to help establish a style, theme, expression,
environment, atmosphere or feeling.
● Many different types of objects can be used in mood boards. Magazine
clippings, text, quotations, digital photos, Internet pictures, and fabric or color
swatches are some commonly found components.
● Principles of design should be kept in mind when arranging items onto the
page.
● A mood board gives an overall impression of an idea you wish to convey.

Method
● On a large board, lay out the reference materials you have gathered and consider how
they look together.
● Play with scale, proportion and color on the board and try to find a harmonious
combination.
● To do this, you can enlarge or reduce the size of items so that they appear smaller or
exaggerated.
● Consider the colors that will be used most prominently and which items are primarily
background.
● Creating your mood boards should use design ideas and your imagination to give the
viewer an idea of who you are as a designer.

Patternmaking Terms

Pattern Plot: the act of placing lines on a traced copy of the working pattern relating
directly to the design features. The lines are used as guidelines for dart manipulation.

Pattern Manipulation: the act of slashing and spreading or pivoting a pattern section to
alter its original shape. The new pattern shape represents design features of the garment.

Design Pattern: the finished pattern that contains all the features related to the design.

Pivotal Point: a designated point on the pattern (for example, the bust point). The
pattern is slashed to, or pivoted from, this point. This allows the pattern shape to be
altered without changing its size or fit.

Basic Patterns: the original pattern set: bodice front and back, skirt front and back, and
sleeve. They are the bases for all designs.
Patternmaking Techniques

Slash-spread and overlap: through the manipulating process, the patternmaker is able
to see how the original working pattern changed into a design pattern.

Pivotal-transfer: this method does not require that the working pattern be slashed in
order to change its original shape into a design pattern. It is a faster method and, with
experience, it is preferred.

Basic Dart Locations on the Bodice

1. French Dart

2. Straight (Side) Dart

3. Mid-armhole Dart

4. Shoulder tip Dart

5. Mid-shoulder Dart

6. Mid-neck Dart

7. Center Front Neck Dart

8. Center Front Bust Level Dart

9. Center Front Waist Dart

10. Waist Dart

Time Activity Differentiation

25 Minutes WARM-UP: First patternmaking Linguistic learners can write

class getting to know you activities
(As students enter class) “All About
Me” worksheet (A) will be waiting on
their desks for them to fill out.
● Students will be given
instructions to fill out
questionnaire.
about themselves on “All
About Me” sheet.
Kinesthetic learners can get
up and introduce themselves
during introduction.
Visual learners can
informally share a drawing
they made as part of their
introduction.
 ● After questionnaire is
collected, teacher will give a brief
introduction of who they are
before going around the class to
have students introduce
themselves.

30 Minutes INTRODUCTION: Students will be Linguistic students can

introduced to the concept of mood
boards and use their given materials
and instructions to create their own
board. This mood board will serve as
the beginning page of their semester
long patternmaking book project.
write explanations based on
mood board background and
directions worksheet as well
as research Internet articles
that have mood board
examples.

● Directions for mood boards (B) Kinesthetic learners can

are distributed and discussed as physically create their mood
a class to ensure boards from art supplies, and
comprehension. found objects.

● Teacher hands out materials for Visual learners can compile

students to make their own their images and play with
mood boards (C). the arrangement on the page
● to come up with a visual
● Students choose their own composition before creating
materials from: drawing their board.
supplies, magazines, fabric and
paint swatches, and small
found objects.

● Computers are available for

Internet research.

● Students will compile pictures

and clippings from various
resources and create a mood
board of their own.

● Students will be given

instruction to put away
materials after they have
completed their mood board.

50 Minutes DEVELOPMENT: Semester long Linguistic students can

patternmaking book project is write the various dart
introduced. locations on their chart.
Charting Dart Locations worksheet (D)
is handed out. Kinesthetic learners can
follow the different dart
● Students will look at diagram locations on life-sized model
and we will discuss as a class of a dress form.
the different placements of
darts on a pattern. Visual learners can
concentrate on the diagram
● Students will label their of the different types of
diagram. darts as their basis for
understanding them.
● After diagrams have been
labeled ask:
1. “Can anyone show me on their
diagram where the waist dart is?”
2. “Can anyone come up to the
board and draw a diagram of a
French dart?”

● Break students up into groups

of four.

● Distribute templates of One

Dart Series Quarter Size
templates (E) to students.

● Tell students what supplies

they will need to get out: Linguistic students can
scissors, hole punch and write verbally given
patternmaking copybook. instructions for how to
assemble their
patternmaking book to aide
● Students will cut out templates
them in its compilation.
to use for beginning of dart
manipulation and store them in
Kinesthetic students can
their patternmaking copybook.
physically cut pattern
templates and assemble
● Students will arrange the front
book.
of their copybook in this order:
1. Cover Page
Visual Learners can arrange
2. Mood Board
all of the components before
3. Directions and
assembling to get a better
Information on mood visual understanding of how
boards the book will look before
4. Charting dart locations
they begin assembling it.
worksheet.
 ASSESSMENT: Teacher uses a
checklist rubric (F) to rate student
experience as “proficient,” “partially
proficient” or “skill needs
improvement” for the following
categories: Time and Effort, Creativity
and Design, Understanding of Media,
Attention to Theme. This will assess
all of the activities from the day’s
class.

15 Minutes CLOSURE: The class will break out
of groups and the teacher will ask the
following questions:
● “What was the purpose of
creating your mood board?”
● “What challenges did you
have?”
● “Why do you think mood
boards are helpful for
designers?”
● “Was it easy or hard to use
your creativity to create
something that was personal to
you? Why or why not?”
Linguistic learners can
listen to questions and
participate in verbal review
Kinesthetic learners can
come to the front of the class
with mood boards and show
what they chose to to make
it with and why
Visual learners can look at
mood board they created
when thinking about
closure/review questions

CONNECTIONS: Students can

connect the principles of measurement
and proportion to math classes.
Students can also use verbal
expression about creativity through
class discussion that connects to
English class.

Follow-up:

● Students research dart manipulation over the Internet.

● Students can create designs on their cut out templates to model the appearance of
fabric and give a more life-like quality to the examples in their pattern books.

● Students can research the principles of design: form, line, color etc. and think
about how they can use them in fashion design when they are thinking of what
kind of patterns they want to create. Students can then research sources to find
examples of what they consider “successful design” and “unsuccessful design”.
Materials:

● “All About Me” worksheet (A)

● Directions for mood board (B)
● Blank mood board sheets (C)
● Materials and resources needed to aide students in completion of mood board:
computers, magazines, fabric and paint swatches, scissors, glue/tape, markers,
colored pencils
● Charting dart location worksheet (D)
● Dart template sheet (E)
● Hole punch for assembling books
● Rubrics for evaluating mood boards (F)
● Patternmaking for Fashion Design book

Resources:

● Patternmaking for Fashion Design – Fourth Edition: Helen Joseph Armstrong

○ This book serves as the most current and primary basis for pattern drafting
in the Fashion Industry.

● Patternmaking for Fashion Design – Second Edition: Helen Joseph Armstrong

○ This book is a previous edition of the book listed above. It provides some
of the examples in a more simplistic form.

● http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-mood-board.htm
○ This site provides background information on mood boards.

● www.viget.com/inspire/getting-moody
○ This site provides a practical how-to for creating your own mood board.

Technology

● The Internet can be utilized by students during the making of their mood boards.

● Follow-up and differentiation activities include multiple instances where Internet

research would be used to complete the activity.