Developing flattenable 3D foundation garments by developable boundary triangulation with fitting conditions guaranteed

Garment patternmaking is crucial to make a well-fit garment. Methods converting 3D body surfaces to garment patterns were largely studied by the computer graphics community. However, their results cannot be practically used in the apparel industry due to limited accuracy and inconsistency of the generated patterns. In addition, the resulted patterns are of 'strange' shapes not understandable to designers because some key garment fitting requirements are ignored in their ways of pattern development. In this paper, we propose a method to model flattenable 3D foundation garments based on boundary triangulation method with garment fitting requirements fulfilled. Firstly, features and landmarks of a digitalized human body are identified according to the ISO anthropometric standards and requirements of garment construction. A boundary framework is then modelled based on defined features and landmarks with properly distributed garment ease. 3D developable surfaces are generated by boundary-triangulating the framework in order to form 3D foundation garments. These foundation garments can be flattened without distortion to give 2D basic patterns, and such patterns can be used in a conventional patternmaking manner to create styles. At last, sample garments have been developed using paper and muslin fabrics to verify the fit of garments from those proposed fit ensured blocks.