IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical: a garment sample file you post to SED
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical is Garment Construction (Practical), the 2-credit core practical of semester 2 in the BSCFFAD programme, B.Sc. Fabric and Apparel Design. You sew samples and two infant kit pieces at home, mount the samples in an A3 file and post it to the Student Evaluation Division in New Delhi.
The short version for BSCFFAD semester 2
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical asks for seven garment construction activities done at home: hand stitch, seam, fullness, neckline finish, placket and fastener, and pocket samples, then any two infant kit pieces. Each sample is labelled with its name, the date and your enrolment number, mounted in an A3 file and posted to SED, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi.
The manual for the course is dated August 2026 and was prepared in the School of Continuing Education, with Dr. Anuradha Arya as course coordinator. It says plainly that the practical file is compulsory for completing the programme. In the prospectus, BFADL-104 sits beside the 4-credit BFADC-103 theory course, a VOC minor (or Math), BEVAE-181 Environmental Studies and a value-added course, for 20 credits in the semester.
Across practical courses, the hands-on component worries learners far more than the theory papers, and some who write their term-end papers comfortably still get stuck at this stage. The BFADL-104 manual leaves no doubt about its weight: without the practical file, the B.Sc. programme is not complete.
Many learners who contact us find out about a practical component only late in the session. For BSCFFAD, BFADL-104 arrives in semester 2 together with BFADC-103, so it belongs to the same registration and should be planned from the first week of that semester.
“How many copies, and to which office?” is a question that reaches our desk often. The BFADL-104 manual describes one practical file sent to one address, the Student Evaluation Division at Maidan Garhi, and prints no copy count.
Jump to a BFADL-104 section
- The practical in brief
- Addressing the envelope to SED
- Seven activities and their units
- Activities 1 and 2: stitches and seams
- Activities 3 to 6: sample counts
- Activity 7: the infant kit
- Building the A3 file
- What to buy first
- What the manual leaves unprinted
- The BFADC-103 assignment and our shelf
- Why the samples must be your own
- Questions from search
Addressing the BFADL-104 envelope to the Student Evaluation Division
For the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical, the route is printed on the manual’s opening letter: the completed practical file goes directly to the Student Evaluation Division (SED), not to a study centre counter. The manual asks you to write three lines on the envelope, exactly as below, and gives the postal address under them.
- On the envelope: B. Sc. Fabric and Apparel Design; Garment Construction (Practical File); BFADL-104.
- Postal address: Student Evaluation Division (SED), Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068.
An A3 file with fabric samples mounted on it is bulky, so use a stiff envelope or a flat parcel that does not fold the sheets. The infant kit pieces go with the file, as the manual asks you to submit them with it. The manual adds only that the file is submitted “as per University guidelines”, without naming a date or a form.
Learners regularly ask us whether practical work goes to the study centre, the Regional Centre or headquarters, because the answer changes from course to course. For BFADL-104 the manual itself settles it: SED at Maidan Garhi is the address it prints.
We meet learners who email work that their course wants delivered another way. The BFADL-104 manual gives a postal address and no email or upload route, and stitched swatches cannot travel as an attachment in any case.
When a mark goes missing, learners holding a receipt have something to show and the rest do not. Keep the post office receipt and the tracking number for the BFADL-104 envelope until the mark appears.
BFADL-104 Garment Construction: seven activities and the unit each one cites
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical manual lists seven activities, from hand stitches on page 7 to the infant kit on page 37, although its introduction speaks of “6-7 practical activities”. The table below is built from the manual itself: what each activity asks you to make, the fabric sizes it prints and the BFADC-103 Basics of Garment Construction unit it sends you to.
Activity, sample count and BFADC-103 unit
Built from the BFADL-104 manual of August 2026, read in full in November 2026.
| Activity | What to make | Sizes printed | Reading it cites |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hand stitches | Temporary basting stitches and permanent stitches; no count fixed | Two pieces of 3.5 x 6 inches, 1 to 1.5 cm allowance | Unit 6, Block 2 (Seam, Seam Finishes and Defects) |
| 2. Seams | Seam samples; steps given for five seams | Two pieces of 3.5 x 6 inches | Unit 6, Block 2 |
| 3. Fullness | Any five samples of tucks, pleats and gathers | Tucks 6 x 10, pleats 6 x 18, box pleats 6 x 24 inches; gathers “6 X 12” | Unit 12, Block 3 (Fullness in Garments) |
| 4. Facing and binding | Two neckline finishes: bias binding and facing | 8 x 8 inches, circle, square or V neckline | Unit 9, Block 3 |
| 5. Plackets and fastener | Two placket samples and one fastener sample | 8 x 8, two 6 x 4 pieces, or 6 x 6 inches; fasteners on 6 x 6 | Unit 11, Block 3; fasteners Unit 8, Block 2 |
| 6. Pockets | Any two pocket samples | Base 6 x 6, patch 6.5 x 4.5, flap 4 x 2.5 inches | Unit 11, Block 3 |
| 7. Infant kit | Any two of nappy, bib, jhabla and mother gown | Measurement charts in cm (see Activity 7 below) | No unit named |
Three of those references carry a printing slip. Activities 4, 5 and 6 call Units 9 and 11 of Block 3 “Fullness in Garments”, the title Activity 3 gives to Unit 12. An eGyanKosh listing for BFADC-103 names Block 3 “Components of a Garment”, which fits necklines, plackets and pockets better, so read the unit number and ignore the borrowed title.
Many practical files we see only record what was done, while evaluators look for the link to a concept from the course. BFADL-104 makes that link easy to show, because Activities 1 to 6 each name the BFADC-103 unit behind them, and a sample label can carry the exact stitch or seam name from that unit.
Practical work usually follows a fixed sequence, and dropping one part costs marks. In BFADL-104 Activities 1 to 6 each run in the same three parts, material required, sample preparation and mounting of samples on file, so a mounted page with no label or a missing sample breaks that sequence.
Activities 1 and 2: which stitches and seams to sew when the lists disagree
The first two activities of the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical both send you to Unit 6 of Block 2, and both use two pieces of cotton poplin cut to 3.5 x 6 inches. Activity 1 is hand work with a needle and contrast thread; Activity 2 moves to the sewing machine.
Activity 1 gives steps for four temporary stitches (even, uneven, diagonal and slip basting) and five permanent ones: running, back, hemming, slip stitch and overcasting. Its introduction, however, names blanket stitch, blind hemming and buttonhole stitch among the permanent stitches, and no steps follow for those three. Activity 2 has the same gap. Its introduction lists plain, French, flat and fell, top, double top and mock flat and fell seams, while the steps cover plain, French, flat fell, mock flat and lapped seams, with the lapped seam described as the top stitch seam. The steps are the safer guide, because each one is numbered and has its own figure.
Across practical courses, the file itself is where most marks slip away, and it is also the part a learner can repair most easily. For these two BFADL-104 activities that means pressed swatches, trimmed thread ends and the seam allowance the manual prints for four of the five seams, from about 0.5 cm on the first line of a French seam to 1 inch on a flat fell.
Learners often hold three versions of one task: the manual’s, a counsellor’s and a sample found online. For the BFADL-104 stitch and seam lists, follow the manual’s numbered steps and BFADC-103 Unit 6, and put a remaining doubt to the programme coordinators rather than to a forum.
Fullness, necklines, plackets and pockets: how many samples Activities 3 to 6 ask for
The middle four activities of the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical each set a count, and the counts are easy to misread. Activity 3 describes four tucks (pin, spaced, blind and cross), four pleats (side, knife, box and inverted box) and gathers, then asks you to develop any five samples from that group. Activity 4 wants two neckline finish samples, each 8 x 8 inches, one with a bias strip cut at 45 degrees and one with a facing backed by adhesive interfacing.
Activity 5 asks for two placket samples and one fastener sample. Three plackets are explained: the continuous bound placket, the two-piece placket on a seam and the miter or kurta placket with a 4 inch opening and a 10 x 2.5 inch strip. The fastener sample is a single 6 x 6 inch piece carrying a round button, snap buttons, a hook and eye and velcro. Activity 6 asks for any two pockets from patch, flap and side seam pockets. Its closing line and Activity 5’s both say “both the methods”, a phrase carried over from Activity 4, so go by the counts given at the start of each activity. One more slip: the figure under the two-piece placket steps is numbered and captioned “Figure 5.2 Steps for Continuous Bound Placket”, although a second line under it names the two-piece placket.
Many learners ask us about page order in a file. The BFADL-104 list of activities already suggests one, Activity 1 to Activity 7 with the page numbers beside each, so mounting the samples in that order keeps the file matched to the manual.
Two of four infant kit pieces for the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical
Activity 7 of the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical moves from samples to drafting and complete garments. Its introduction names three pieces, the nappy, the jhabla and the mother gown, and the sections that follow add a bib, so four are described. The instruction at the end reads “Develop any two components of infant kit and submit it with your practical file.” Each piece comes with its own drafting procedure on pattern paper and a stitching sequence.
Infant kit sizes printed in the manual
| Piece | Measurements given | Closure or finish |
|---|---|---|
| Infant nappy (0 to 6 months) | Round waist 40 to 45 cm, full length 35 to 40 cm | Velcro, fabric ties or snap buttons |
| Infant bib (0 to 6 months) | Length 22 to 25 cm, width 18 to 20 cm, neck opening 8 to 10 cm | Velcro, snap buttons or fabric ties, any one |
| Infant jhabla (0 to 6 months) | Full length 26 cm, chest 45 cm, 1 cm seam allowance | Piping at neckline, sleeves and hem; snap fasteners at the front |
| Mother gown | Round bust 80, waist 64, bodice length 35.5, gown length 127, shoulder 16.5 cm | Bodice and skirt drafted separately, joined at the waistline |
Two small mismatches are worth knowing before you draft. The jhabla chart prints a 26 cm length, but the drafting line starts from 25 cm plus 2.5 cm. The gown chart prints “Wait” where waist is meant. The nappy draft also carries a figure titled “Drafting of Infant panty”. None of this changes the method; it only means checking each number against the figure as you draft.
Once the sewing is done, many learners are unsure what shape the finished submission should take. For BFADL-104 the manual’s wording is that the two infant kit components are submitted with the practical file, so they travel in the same parcel as the A3 file.
Building the A3 file: labels, margins and binding
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical file has a short set of rules, all in sections 1.2 and 1.3 of the manual. The file is A3 in size, or plain sheets that you bind as a file. Each sample is pressed, pasted on the sheet and labelled with three things: the name of the sample, the date and your enrolment number. Margins are kept, and drafting sheets are attached where an activity needs them. The manual also invites you to use your own choice of materials and some creativity in presenting the file.
Some learners spiral-bind a practical file without checking what their course asks for. The BFADL-104 manual names a size, A3, and allows plain sheets bound as a file; it prescribes no binding style.
A wrong enrolment number or wrong programme details on the opening page is a mistake we keep seeing. In BFADL-104 the enrolment number goes on each sample label and the programme, course title and code go on the envelope, so check each against your IGNOU identity card before posting.
Learners from Hindi-medium schooling sometimes find English technical terms the hardest part of a file. BSCFFAD is offered in English only, and the BFADL-104 manual sets no separate language rule for labels, so the stitch and seam names can follow the manual’s own English terms.
What to buy before cutting the first 3.5 by 6 inch swatch
The manual asks you to collect your fabric, sewing kit and sewing machine before starting, and each activity carries its own material list. Put together, the lists come to the items below.
Shopping list drawn from the activities’ material lists
| Item | Needed for |
|---|---|
| Cotton poplin | Activities 1 to 6 |
| Hand needle; thread in a contrast colour | Contrast thread: Activities 1 and 2; hand needle: Activity 1 and the Activity 5 fastener sample |
| Thread matching the fabric, tailor’s chalk, scale | Activities 3 to 6 |
| Sewing machine | Activities 2 to 6; for the infant kit, a hand machine or an industrial one |
| Adhesive interfacing | Activity 4, facing method |
| Round buttons, hooks, snap buttons, velcro, zippers | Activity 5 |
| Soft cotton or muslin; flannel or terry cloth (optional absorbent layer) | Activity 7: soft cotton or muslin for nappy, bib and jhabla; absorbent layer for nappy and bib only; plain or printed cotton for the gown |
| Measuring tape, pencil, pattern paper, paper and fabric scissors | Activity 7 drafting |
| Tracing wheel and carbon paper | Activity 7, jhabla and mother gown |
| A3 file, or plain sheets bound as a file | Mounting every sample |
Activities 4 and 5 also ask you to soak the fabric in water and press it before cutting, and the gathers sample asks for washing, drying and pressing. Doing that once for the whole length of poplin saves a step later.
What the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical manual leaves unprinted
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical manual is a working guide, not an evaluation scheme. It prints no marks, no pass mark, no last date, no viva, no practical examination, no fee and no cover page or certificate format. The IGNOU programme page lists BFADL-104 only as a 2-credit practical, with no evaluation details, and links no programme guide.
Two general rules from the July 2026 Common Prospectus still matter. Term-end examinations are held in June and December, and practical examination fees follow credits: Rs 300 up to 4 credits and Rs 500 above, paid with the term-end examination form and not refundable. Whether a BFADL-104 practical entry appears on your examination form is something to check when you fill it, because the manual itself describes only the file posted to SED. For anything the manual leaves open, the programme coordinators listed on the BSCFFAD programme page are Dr. Richa Prakash (richaprakash@ignou.ac.in) and Dr. Anuradha Arya (anuradhaarya@ignou.ac.in).
In our records, 70 to 80 percent of learners start work in earnest only during the final month ahead of a due date. The BFADL-104 manual prints no date, so there is nothing to count back from, and seven activities of cutting, sewing and pressing are better started early in the semester.
The Rs 300 and Rs 500 practical fees get mixed up by many learners who ask us. The prospectus links the amount to credits, so if a practical examination fee is charged for BFADL-104, its 2 credits fall in the lower slab; the BFADL-104 manual mentions no fee of its own.
Learners often cannot tell us whether a viva applies to their course. For BFADL-104 the manual describes no viva and no practical examination, only the file sent to SED.
The BFADC-103 assignment beside the practical, and our shelf for it
BFADL-104 has its own manual and no assignment booklet was found for it. The theory course of the same semester, BFADC-103 Basics of Garment Construction, does have a 2026 booklet: 100 marks, submitted handwritten to the study centre your Regional Centre allotted, with last dates of 30 September 2026 for the January 2026 batch and 31 March 2027 for the July 2026 batch. Its Part B is practical in flavour, a scrapbook of trims, fasteners, threads and needles, or a report on a visit to a garment store.
Theory-side help for BSCFFAD semester 2
| What you need | What we carry |
|---|---|
| The BFADC-103 written assignment (the 2026 booklet accepts handwritten answers only) | IGNOU BSCFFAD Handwritten Assignment for the BFADC theory papers; its code table lists BFADC-103 (confirm the current set and price on WhatsApp) |
| The BFADL-104 practical file | Nothing: the samples and infant kit pieces are sewn by you, and the product page sells no set for a practical code that has no IGNOU question paper |
Ask about the BFADC-103 assignment on WhatsApp
Why every sample in the file has to be your own stitching
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical exists to build hands-on skill: the manual’s welcome note says the course develops skills “that cannot be gained through reading”, and every sample is labelled with your enrolment number and the date it was made. A file of someone else’s swatches defeats the course and puts your name on work you did not do.
Ready-made practical files do the rounds, and some are sent in with nothing altered except the learner’s name and roll details; matching work from several learners stands out at once. A BFADL-104 file is made of fabric samples cut to the manual’s sizes and sewn to its steps, which is exactly why it has to come from your own hands.
Advice from a friend at another study centre often misleads, because centres run things differently. BFADL-104 avoids that problem: the manual sets a single route, the file posted to SED, whichever centre a learner is attached to.
IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical questions from search
Searched questions on BFADL-104
How do I check my IGNOU practical status after posting BFADL-104?
IGNOU practical status is shown on the university’s Assignment/Project/Practical Awards/Marks Transmission Status page, which takes your enrolment number and programme code. That page says an entry appears only after marks are transmitted following evaluation, and the BFADL-104 manual does not say how the file’s evaluation reaches it, so the post office receipt is your record until it does.
When will the IGNOU practical result for BFADL-104 show?
The manual prints no result timing. BFADL-104 has its own course code, so the IGNOU practical result for the IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical should show as a separate line on your grade card, apart from BFADC-103.
Practical marks often reach the grade card after the theory marks, and a pending entry hurts most when a job or another admission is waiting. BFADL-104 is one of the first-year BSCFFAD courses, so look for its line separately rather than assuming it arrived with BFADC-103.
Is the BFADL-104 practical file compulsory?
Yes. The manual says completion of the practical file is mandatory for completing the B.Sc. Fabric and Apparel Design programme, and that all activities must be submitted in a properly maintained practical file.
Can the BFADL-104 file be uploaded or emailed instead of posted?
The manual gives only the postal route to SED, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068, and the work is physical fabric. If IGNOU announces another route for your session, the programme coordinators are the people to confirm it with.
The IGNOU BFADL 104 Practical rewards learners who read the manual’s steps more closely than its introductions, and who treat the A3 file as proof of what they can sew.
Three causes sit behind most practical trouble we see across programmes: information reaches learners late and differs between centres, practical tasks assume time and presence that distance learners seldom have, and the file is treated as formatting when its job is to show applied skill. In BFADL-104 the skill shows in each seam, so careful mounting cannot cover for a weak sample.
The learners who do well begin early, check the rules for their own course, keep a dated record as the work happens and can talk through any page of it without notes. For BFADL-104 that means writing the date on each sample label the day it is sewn and keeping the drafting sheets for the two infant kit pieces.
If you also want the January and July cut-off dates for the BFADC theory assignments set out in one place, see the BSCFFAD assignment calendar on our sister site.
Message us about BSCFFAD semester 2
Documents behind this BFADL-104 page
- BFADL-104 Garment Construction (Practical), manual for B.Sc. Fabric and Apparel Design, August 2026: eGyanKosh record
- IGNOU Common Prospectus July 2026, section 5.25 and the programme table: prospectus PDF
- BSCFFAD programme page, School of Continuing Education: ignou.ac.in
- BFADC-103 assignment booklet for the January 2026 and July 2026 sessions: assignment PDF
- Assignment/Project/Practical Awards/Marks Transmission Status: status page
shrichakradhar.com is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by IGNOU. Any reference material we sell is a study reference and is not for submission as your own work; the BFADL-104 practical file and its samples must be your own.
