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A French curve is a template usually made from
metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
,
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
or
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...
composed of many different segments of the
Euler spiral An Euler spiral is a curve whose curvature changes linearly with its curve length (the curvature of a circular curve is equal to the reciprocal of the radius). Euler spirals are also commonly referred to as spiros, clothoids, or Cornu spirals. E ...
(aka the clothoid curve). It is used in manual drafting and in
fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
to draw smooth curves of varying radii. The curve is placed on the drawing material, and a
pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a tra ...
,
knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evid ...
or other implement is traced around its curves to produce the desired result. They were invented by the German mathematician
Ludwig Burmester Ludwig Ernst Hans Burmester (5 May 1840 – 20 April 1927) was a German kinematician and geometer. His doctoral thesis (from German: ''About the elements of a theory of isophotes'') concerned lines on a surface defined by light direction. Aft ...
and are also known as Burmester (curve) set.


Clothing design

French curve physical templates are regularly used for original high
fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
and by home
sewist Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabri ...
s (along with other types of
artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
s) most usefully in necklines, sleeve, bust and waist variations. The varied curve radii allow for smooth and stylish personalized adjustments of standard purchased clothing patterns for an excellent, personalized fit. Fashion designers and sewists may use a selection of french curves,
hip curves In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region i ...
, straight edges and L-shaped right angle rulers. They may be in metal or clear plastics, with measurements marked in metric or imperial.


Digital versions

As modern computer-aided design (
CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
) systems use vector-based graphics to achieve a precise
radius In classical geometry, a radius (plural, : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', ...
, or approximate curves, mechanical templates (and most mechanical drawing techniques) have become obsolete outside of stitchers' home pattern adjustments and fashion designs. Manual curve templates are also used by model makers and others maintaining traditional trades and skills. Digital computers can also be used to generate a set of coordinates that accurately describe an arbitrary curve, and the points can be connected with line segments to approximate the curve with a degree of accuracy, although this varies with the type of curve. Some computer-graphics systems make use of
Bézier curve A Bézier curve ( ) is a parametric curve used in computer graphics and related fields. A set of discrete "control points" defines a smooth, continuous curve by means of a formula. Usually the curve is intended to approximate a real-world shape ...
s, which allow a curve to be bent in real time on a display screen to follow a set of coordinates that are not on the line being drawn. This is different from the way a French curve is placed on a set of three or four points on paper.


See also

* * * *


References


External links

* Weisstein, Eric W.
French Curve
' from MathWorld. *

' from Integrated Publishing. {{Authority control Technical drawing tools Curves Mathematical tools