Three dimensional modeling of garment drape

Methods and technologies that provide effective 3D representation of drape could bridge both physical and communication barriers in the textile and apparel supply chain. This study was conducted to develop methods and techniques for capturing and evaluating drape in 3D, and for accurate comparison of 3D virtual drape with actual drape in a virtual environment. A methodical approach was developed for matching the simulated drape with actual drape using the fewest applicable fabric properties. A framework integrating different segments of this research was also built.; Current methods and procedures used in evaluating drape for fabrics were studied from the published literature. An improved digital technique was developed to capture and evaluate fabric drape, and a complex set of metrics needed to discriminate drape configuration in 3D was devised. Drape variability for fabrics having varied mechanical properties was investigated, and a method of measuring drape by three dimensional scanning of draped fabric specimens was established.; For apparel, two garment patterns were designed; a three-gore skirt and a princess skirt. The garments were draped on a mannequin in the three dimensional body scanner. Point cloud images of the garments were captured and were processed, and three new garment drape parameters; Garment Drape Coefficient (GDC), Drape Distance Coefficient (DDC), and Number of Nodes (NoN) were developed for 3D quantification of garment drape. The results show that 3D garment drape was successfully captured using the 3D body scanner and modeled using point cloud editing software. GDC and NoN were found to signify the amount of garment drape and DDC reflects the lobedness of garment drape. The results show that GDC, DDC and NoN can differentiate garment drape and can be used as parameters for evaluating garment drape.; A commercial 3D draping software was selected to drape a virtually stitched garment from a 2D CAD pattern. An apparel industry particle model software was selected as the drape simulating tool in this research. For drape simulation to be accepted as reasonably close to reality there needs to be accurate representation of fabric mechanical properties in the particle model simulation. Fabric mechanical properties obtained from the Kawabata Fabric Evaluation System (KESF) cannot be input directly into particle modeling software to produce simulations that resemble drape of actual garments. A systematic way of selecting various input parameters to a particle model was developed. GDC, NoN and DDC were used as the parameters to match the simulated garments with actual garments. The result demonstrates accurate representation of drape in the virtual environment and development of relationship plots for synchronizing the KESF test parameters with the particle model simulation.; Finally, a framework for evaluating garment drape simulation considering variation in fabric properties and accuracy was built to provide a route map for capturing, evaluating and characterizing 3D drape in a virtual environment.; The results from this research are useful to computer graphics as well as textile and apparel industries. The research would benefit the apparel industry in simulating, quantifying and comparing drape of apparel virtually, and could eventually lead to improved products, higher product success rates, reduced quantities of incorrect product produced and enhanced business processes. In computer graphics, the results could be used in comparing simulation output and in devising a comparative standard for an acceptable simulation.