Analysis of Pant Pattern Shapes for Tween Girls Based on 3D Body Scans

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare pant patterns for normal, overweight, and obese tweens in order to develop a better understanding of variations in pattern dimensions and shape. The goal was to evaluate the needs of the tween body so that apparel manufacturers, patternmakers, and other researchers can improve the overall fit quality of clothing made for this age group. Subjects were selected from 151 body scans of girls aged 9-14 from Auburn University’s body scan database. The scans were divided into three age subgroups (9-10, 11-12, and 13-14), then were classified by Body Mass Index scores as ‘normal’, ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ and lastly sorted into body shape subgroups. Average height,weight and BMI were calculated for each age and size group. One scan was chosen to represent each subgroup. Selected scans approximated the average height, weight, and BMI numbers, and appeared, according to visual analyses, to be representative of the body shape characteristics of the subgroup. Pattern development software ([TC]2 3D-to- 2D) was used to create pant patterns for each representative scan. To answer the research questions, full-scale, printed pant patterns were measured, and pattern shapes were visually analyzed using smaller pattern printouts. Through visual analysis and comparison of pattern measurements including direct linear measurements, proportions, differences and patterns shapes and angles, differences and similarities were found among the three groups: age, body shape and body size. For pattern shapes, age and body size seemed to change pattern shapes the most. The body shape subgroups differed which may indicate the need for three body shape apparel size categories. The greatest variation for age group was between the 9-10 year old and 11-12 year old subgroups. For body size group the largest differences occurred between normal and obese subgroups. The rectangle body shape group differed most from the hourglass and pear. Direct linear measurements showed that though crotch depth means did not increase with age, crotch length for the 9-10 year old group was 3--Y‘ smaller than either of the older age groups. Pattern shapes changed and waistlines became more curved with body size increase. The normal subgroup had largest center front angle range. This study contributed an exploratory understanding of pattern shapes and sizing in pants for the tween market.