I mostly use Carter Smith patterns for bias tube and jacket made from 2 squares and bias tube construction based on the Julianne Bramson and Susan Lenahan book Bias Cut Blueprints. All the paper tools are for the Bramson Lenahan tube method. I also have an article in Silkworm, the Silkpainters International publication in Volume 24, Issue No. 2, Summer 2017

To make the paper tool for yourself or modify mine for longer garments:

1) establish the hemline on the true bias (fold over the top of the paper to form a square) - on the paper below it is the orange line going from upper right to lower left

2) establish a centerline on the small triangle above by folding the paper in half at the corner in the upper left to the hemline (the green line)

3) establish a centerline on the larger trapezoid below the hemline by folding in half from the lower right corner to the hemline (the blue line)

4) measure the hemline length - on 85 x 11" paper it will be 12" which means the front and back will each be 6" along the hemline, each side will be 3" wide along the hemline

5) establish the sidelines and centerlines for above and below the hemline. (3" to the right of green line is yellow, to the left of greenline is pink. This is true above and below the hemline.)

Note that

a) All the lines are the same length if you add them up above and below the lines (the blue line is the maximum line length and all the others add up to that line)

b) The blue center line will be met at the hem by the two blue triangles at the edges of the hemline

c) Any line can be used as the center front, center back or side on the finished garment. In fact, center front can be anywhere at ALL along that hemline.

d) Pattern is placed on either side of the the hemline with neck, shoulder, and arms eye along the line.

e) If you use a LONGER piece of paper to represent a longer blouse or dress, the blue line will move to the left or right with respect to the hemline.

f) If the center front is along the blue line, which emanates from a corner, the center back will always be along the green line which also emanates from a corner.

g) The only cut before sewing the tube is along the hemline, and the fabric moves straight down so that the TOP edge and BOTTOM edge meet

h) The easiest way to have motif cross a line is at the top/bottom of the rectangle

i) The hemline is ENTIRELY along one side or the other of the hemline diagonal, though when folding the fabric up to make the actual hem, you will loose the point.

When you mark the silk, use the same strategy - fold the silk along the diagonals to establish hemline. Mark the hemline. Measure hemline to establish width of each front and back panel. Marks along diagonal hemline to indicate center front, center back, side seam. BOTH sides of hemline need marks as they differ. Put marks in the area which will end up in the hem. Color code can help. I always use the same colors I put on my paper tool. Put color codes along edge (they will end up in seams) corresponding to triangles on paper tool. Determine these marks by folding the silk along diagonals.